Industry gets set for UMEX 2021

UMEX 2021, Asia’s largest exhibition for pre-owned machine tools, will take place on 3-5 September at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India. The venue will stage six other exhibitions at the same time, catering to the entire gamut of metalworking, metalforming, manufacturing and fabricating. As cost plays a vital role when selecting machine tools, the market for pre-owned machinery is growing rapidly in India’s industrial sector.

The manufacturing sector in India as a whole has the potential to reach $1tn by 2025 as it looks to meet growing demand in industries such as heavy engineering, automotive, rail, shipbuilding and more. Additionally, India is now among the world’s top 10 markets for machine tools, exceeded the $100bn mark during the past couple of years. In Europe and North America, MTI is the official industry and media partner of UMEX 2021. In Europe and North America, MTI is the official industry and media partner of UMEX 2021. Please contact MTI CEO Bob Sadat to discover more about the opportunities available.

For further information
www.umexonline.com
bob@mtimagazine.com

Rotary table provides ‘astronomical’ benefit

A recently installed CNC rotary table from PL Lehmann is enabling a Bostomatic high-speed milling machine belonging to Billingshurst-based Thomas Keating Toolmaking, a specialist in scientific ground and satellite-based THZ instruments, to perform highly efficient five-axis machining.

“When judged against the alternatives that we considered, the Lehmann TF 507510 rotary table best met our exacting technical criteria and represented excellent value for money,” says managing director Dr Richard Wylde. “Now installed on our rebuilt Bostomatic machine, it is in daily use.

“In addition to the advantages that the rotary table provides to our tool-making activities, it proves extremely useful when we manufacture high-precision scientific instruments,” continues Wylde. “For example, we’re currently involved in the production of next-generation, satellite-based weather prediction instruments. The precision 3+2 axis capabilities provided by our Lehmann rotary table are invaluable when undertaking this challenging work.”

He adds: “Equally, when recently manufacturing thin, metal film coated dielectric mirrors for use in dynamic nuclear polarisation instruments, the rotary table enabled our complex five-axis machining tasks to be performed with ease. In addition to delivering five-axis capabilities, our new Lehmann rotary table has considerably increased our manufacturing speeds. So successful has it been that we are currently in the process of purchasing another Bostomatic that will be fitted with a second Lehmann rotary table.”

Estimates suggest that 90% of machining procedures carried out by five-axis machining centres are basic five-sided processes. Therefore, the fitting of a CNC rotary table (which costs a fraction of the price of a five-axis machining centre) to an existing three-axis VMC, represents an cost-effective way of achieving five-axis capabilities.

For further information
www.lehmann-rotary-tables.com

Sustainability goals for Faro

Faro Technologies, a specialist in 3D measurement, imaging and realisation solutions is setting out two strategic goals in support of its environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts. The first goal is to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 25% by 2025 through aggressive activities. The second goal is to establish middle and high school partnerships to improve curriculum in STEM subjects, especially for minorities and females from low-income and disadvantaged areas. Year-one STEM funding will be $50,000 across the US, Canada, Germany, Portugal, the UK, Singapore and India.

For further information
www.faro.com

Robot gripper offers integral services

The Stark division of the Roemheld group has developed a robotic gripper with zero-point clamping for automated pallet exchange on machining centre tables without their own media supply. The new clamping solution is available in the UK and Ireland through subsidiary company Roemheld UK.

Using Roemheld’s latest zero-point solution, the services needed for clamping and releasing the workpiece, whether hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical, are all transferred to the clamping plate via a multiple coupling integrated into the robot’s pallet gripper. The company can supply the system to suit a user’s specific requirements, representing a cost-effective, entry-level solution to automated production that is suitable for retrofit at any time.

Implementation is short owing to the system’s standardised coupling and flexible modularity.

Furthermore, the air-blow removal of swarf and automatic checking of correct component seating, clamping and release, means that customers can rest-assured of safety at all times.

For further information
www.roemheld.co.uk

Esprit CAM adds binder jetting

Esprit CAM has deepened its partnership with France’s Technical Centre for the Mechanical Industries (CETIM). While Esprit supports additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as direct energy deposition (DED) and powder bed fusion (PBF), a third AM technology is now available: binder jetting. By preparing data in Esprit Additive Suite products, CETIM was recently able to build a job made of six impeller parts with a binder jetting machine from Sweden’s Digital Metal. Although Esprit Additive support for binder jetting technology is not yet commercially available, this success demonstrates what is possible.

For further information
www.espritcam.com