EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

World Machinery to stage open house event

World Machinery is hosting an open day at its Bridgnorth headquarters in Shropshire on 19-20 July. The company will use the event to showcase the latest Bodor fibre laser cutting technology, including a 30 kW, 3000 x 1500 mm P3 model. World Machinery will also promote a Bodor T230A tube laser cutter for round, square and rectangular tube, as well as a Bodor i7 compact fibre laser cutter with 6 kW resonator. Several press brakes will also be on show, including a GHBend 1132ES pump-control model (110 T x 3200 mm) and a GH-3512 up-stroking machine with double side quick-release clamp as standard.
For further information www.worldmc.co.uk

CMZ increases lathe production capacity

CNC lathe manufacturer CMZ has taken a step forward in its growth strategy: setting up its new ‘Precitor’ plant. With the target of manufacturing 850 machines a year, the company has invested around €8m in extending its current machining plant in Elorrio, Spain.The new Precitor plant will be working at 100% capacity by the second half of 2023. Notably, the extension of the plant will help the group to increase the manufacture of cylindrical parts by 55% compared with the existing plant. At the same time, closure of the current plant at Elorrio is planned for mid-2023.
For further information www.cmz.co.uk

National success for MTC Training apprentice

An MTC Training apprentice has become SME Apprentice of the Year and winner of the top accolade, Best of British, in the 2023 Enginuity Skills Awards.The two honours, presented to Anisha Roberts at the Park Plaza in London, recognise the 31 year-old apprentice’s inspirational journey into engineering, as well as her dedication to the profession.

Inspired by an older colleague, Roberts left her teaching assistant role to pursue an engineering career at the age of 29. She felt that university was not a viable option with two small children, so she started an apprenticeship. Judges for the SME Apprentice of the Year category were impressed by Roberts’ support in helping her now employer Williams Jet Tenders (WJT), in Wallingford, become more sustainable, saving the company money in the process.
For further information www.mtc-training.co.uk

£10m HIP Centre

With a £10m investment, Wallwork Group is establishing a state-of-the-art Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) centre at its Bury site in Lancashire. Housed in a newly prepared 2500 sq m facility, the company expects its HIP to be fully operational in September 2023. “As the UK’s premier independent heat treatment, vacuum brazing and advanced ultra-hard coatings company, this is a significant expansion of Wallwork’s thermal processing services and is part of a commitment to invest £20m over the next five years,” says director, Simeon Collins. “It cements our position as the UK one-stop shop for component manufacturers.”
For further information www.wallworkht.co.uk

Largest laser DED AM cell at GKN Aerospace

GKN Aerospace now has the world’s largest known laser directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) cell as part of its new Global Technology Centre in Texas. Cell 3 is the next step in pushing the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing of titanium aircraft structures through the process of laser metal deposition (LMD) with wire.

Shawn Black, GKN Aerospace’s president of defence, says: “Cell 3 will create opportunities to deliver a whole new level of additively manufactured titanium components to the sizes needed for safety-critical air and space structures. The technology is a game-changer and has shown its proficiencies in producing components faster and with significantly reduced lead times.”
For further information www.gknaerospace.com