EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

£2.2m seed round for machine tool AI

Productive Machines, an artificial intelligence (AI) start-up from the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), has raised £2.2m in seed funding to make its advanced machine tool process optimisation technology available to a far wider range of manufacturers worldwide.UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) led the round with participation from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, ACT Venture Partners and Fuel Ventures, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK.

Productive Machines has developed a powerful computational model to predict and mitigate the influence of harmful vibrations at every stage in metal and composite milling. It uses a digital twin to determine the best parameters for each machine tool and production run.Machines configured by Productive Machines can produce parts in half the time it took originally and deliver improvements in surface quality and tool life. The technology is already in place at 10 major manufacturers, including Renault and MASA Aerospace.
For further information www.productivemachines.co.uk

Kurt buys Bellatex

Minneapolis-based Kurt Manufacturing has acquired Bellatex Industries LLC, owner of CarveSmart, the original dovetailed quick-change vice jaw system. The asset acquisition includes all CarveSmart patents and inventory. Kurt Workholding will now carry a full inventory of current CarveSmart products along with the new Kurt TriLock vice with CarveSmart jaws. Pre-cut machinable jaws and jaw extrusions will still be available to new and existing CarveSmart customers. Kurt is transitioning all CarveSmart website assets to the web address below to maintain continuity for all customers.
For further information www.kurtworkholding.com

Partnership helpslocal talent into aerospace sector

A landmark partnership between IN4 Group and the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) will directly route over 160 local people from all backgrounds to job opportunities with employers from the advanced aerospace engineering and manufacturing supply chain in the northwest.The collaboration will support local people with the training and development of the most in-demand tech skills and provide them with access to a clear pathway of career opportunities in the 125-plus companies that are part of the NWAA’s membership network, including Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, Safran and MBDA.
For further information www.in4group.co.uk

MACH zone status for MMMA Metalworking Village

As part of a long-term partnership agreement, the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) and the Metalforming Machinery Makers Association (MMMA) have created a renamed focus zone within the MACH 2024 exhibition.The rebrand will see a clearly identified area on the MACH 2024 floorplan labelled ‘MMMA Metalworking Village (Sheet Metal, Metal Forming and Fabrication)‘. In addition, the area is now referenced as an official‘zone’ (MMMA Metalworking Village) on the MACH 2024 website. There will be a dedicated entrance to the village in hall 6.
For further information www.mmma.org.uk

60th anniversary for LK Metrology

Established in 1963, LK Metrology has an impressive heritage dating back to the birth of co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM) technology. Founded by former Rolls-Royce engineer and CMM pioneer Norman Key and his father-in-law Jim Lowther, the company is credited with many innovations in the CMM industry. For instance, in 1972, in partnership with Rolls-Royce, Key worked alongside the person who would co-found Renishaw a year later, Sir David McMurtry, who today is its executive chairman, to develop the now industry-standard Renishaw touch-trigger probe.
For further information www.lkmetrology.com