Mazak appoints sales manager for Midlands

With over 20 years’ experience in the machine-tool sector, Brian Edmondson has assumed the role of Mazak area sales manager for the Midlands, having previously been the company’s area sales manager for the northwest.

Edmundson brings with him a wealth of technical expertise and hands-on engineering knowledge to now support customers in the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. He will be responsible for serving the needs of Mazak customers operating across a variety of market sectors, ranging from general subcontracting through to automotive, aerospace and medical.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

£6.5m boost for SME manufacturers

SME manufacturers across England have been given a £6.5m funding boost to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and address key barriers to growth.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme, which is funded by ERDF and delivered by Oxford Innovation Services, has been extended until December 2022, and will give a further 2800 companies access to industry experts and grants to tackle immediate business issues and support improvement plans.
This additional backing will safeguard/create 3500 new jobs and takes the total package of support the initiative can deliver to £18.3m across 17 regions, with businesses in Sheffield able to apply for the first time. Firms are given access to a dedicated local manufacturing growth manager, who will use GROWTHmapper – an in-depth business diagnostic tool – to develop an individual action plan and support business projects that range from environmental improvements, leadership, management and marketing, to skills, quality and supply-chain development.
For further information www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk

Storage interface automates sheet metalworking

Automated material flow offers manufacturers significant time and cost savings.

With this in mind, Kasto has introduced a new system for efficiently transferring material automatically between its sheet-metal storage towers and flat-bed processing plant, such as laser-cutting machines and turret punch presses. The system enables minimally attended production, achieves high throughput speeds and relieves staff of the laborious and potentially risky task of handling large metal sheets.
The system comprises two sheet manipulators suspended from a gantry projecting from the storage tower and two pick-and-place tables below. These tables are positioned side by side at the same distance apart as the manipulators; the table nearer the tower being a similar distance from it and fixed to the floor. The second (shuttle) table has a slatted surface and is rail-mounted, allowing it to travel to a production area and back.
Each manipulator operates differently in that the one closer to the tower uses an array of suction cups to hold the sheet during lifting and lowering, whereas the other employs a rake-type gripper which opens so that the rake tips move further apart than the width of the sheet, allowing it to be lifted from underneath off the slatted shuttle table after the rakes have closed. Regarding motion, the manipulators always move horizontally in unison and vertically in opposite directions.
Kasto’s system is not designed to return the sheet containing laser-cut or punched components back into the storage tower, although such fully-automatic operation can be supplied by the company with double pick-and-place stations, and with manipulators moving independently – one above the other.
For further information www.kasto.com

BMW unveils AM campus in Munich

BMW has officially opened its new Additive Manufacturing Campus in Munich.

The new centre brings together the production of prototype and series parts under one roof, along with research into new 3D-printing technologies and associate training for the global rollout of tool-less production. At an investment of €15m, the facility will allow the BMW Group to develop its position as a technology leader in AM. Last year, the BMW Group produced approximately 300,000 parts using this innovative technique. The Additive Manufacturing Campus currently employs up to 80 associates and operates about 50 industrial systems.
For further information www.bmwgroup.com

Optima invests in BLM 3D tube laser

Kings Lynn-based Optima Metal Services has expanded its offer with a £3m investment in a dedicated facility to house a LaserTube LT8 3D tube laser from BLM Group.

Says Optima’s operations manager Andy Knowles: “The BLM LaserTube was commissioned in January with the expectation that it will generate 10% of the company’s turnover in its first year. Part of our work now is to explain to customers exactly what this machine can do.”
BLM’s LaserTube LT8 can cut tube up to 240 mm diameter (virtually any tube profile can be processed) and up to 12.5 m
in length. The maximum unload length is 8.5 m, while the maximum tube weight that can be profiled is 40 kg/m. In addition, the machine can be specified with either a 3.5 kW CO2, or 3 or 4 kW fibre laser source, delivered through a 3D tilt cutting head.
Along with the mechanical specification, it was BLM’s use of software to enhance the manufacturing process that was key in helping Optima make the final investment decision.
“BLM Artube software is excellent and extremely flexible,” says laser tube manager Clyde Stratton. “We particularly like the way we can import a SolidWorks model and see it separated it into individual parts for production, on the fly. This saves lots of time and effort and, again, adds value for customers.”
The versatility or Artube allows the user to quickly add, edit or remove features from an imported drawing, while it also offers suggestions for jointing techniques.
“Our view is that if we are going to invest, we will not cut corners and definitely won’t settle for second best; it simply has to be right for us and our customers,” concludes Knowles.
For further information www.blmgroup.com