EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Trumpf 3D printers at Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters will use 3D printers from Trumpf to manufacture components for its helicopters, as well as for aircraft from parent company Airbus. The company is expanding its additive manufacturing capabilities with a new 3D printing centre in Donauwörth, Germany, with Trumpf supplying machines for the 3D printing ofstructural components made from titanium and high-strength aluminium.

“With innovative manufacturing processes, we are working on the helicopters of the future in Donauwörth,” states site manager Helmut Färber.“Among other things, 3D printing reduces the weight of components, which helps aircraft operators cut fuel consumption and lower costs. It can also help reduce CO2 emissions in flight. We’ll use the 3D printing process to produce components for the electric-powered CityAirbus, the experimental high-speed Racer helicopter and the Airbus A350 and A320 passenger aircraft, among others.”
For further information www.trumpf.com

Unison launches consumable tooling service

Unison Ltd, a UK manufacturer of tube and pipe bending machinery, is introducing a new bend tooling service to make it simple for businesses to receive quality consumable tooling precisely wheneverrequired.The result of a £500,000 investment to date, with a further £250,000 spend planned by Christmas 2023, at the heart of the service is a new tooling manufacturing centre at Unison’s Scarborough headquarters. From here, the company prepares tailored tooling agreements, with around £100,000 worth of tooling, including mandrel balls and wiper dies, held in stock.

“We’ve been aware of a gap in the consumable bend tooling market for some time,” says Unison sales applications engineer Luke Gibson. “As such, we wanted to extend our tooling service to provide even greater convenience to Unison customers, while also giving users of other makes of tube bending machines rapid access to our consumable and long-life products.”
For further information www.unisonltd.com

Paperless shop floor

AMRC Cymru is set to become the first facility in the University of Sheffield AMRC cluster to run a completely paperless shop floor.Senior manufacturing research engineer Anmar Al-Qutayri devised theidea, which uses computer software and an interlinked touchscreen kiosk to house all the necessary documents for a shop floor to function safely.Al-Qutayri says the system is very easy to use: “One of the best things about it is you can store as many documents as needed, all in one place, and complete updates quickly without the need to use countless sheets of paper.”
For further information www.bit.ly/46orl4N

Engineering skills conference

Engineering and manufacturing leaders from across the West Midlands are set to descend on the inaugural Next Gen Makers Engineering Skills Conference at The Black Country & Marches Institute of Technology for an insightful day of discussion on 2 November.In partnership with MSC Industrial Supply, the free event will see leaders from across the region explore how to tackle the long-standing skills crisis currently posing a significant business challenge for engineering and manufacturing companies throughout the Midlands region.
For further information www.bit.ly/46oVKAg

NCMT appoints NE and Scotland sales manager

Andy Skee has joined machine tool supplier NCMT as sales manager for the northeast of England and Scotland. The company is sole agent in the British Isles for Makino machining centres and EDM machines, and for Okuma machining centres, CNC lathes and grinders. It is also the European agent for photo-activated adhesive work-holding systems manufactured by Blue Photon in the US. From previous roles, Skee has direct experience using Okuma twin-chuck vertical machines at a subcontractor specialising in subsea equipment manufacture, followed by several years in a similar role within the UK MoD.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk