EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Renishaw inspires budding engineers

To help more young people get excited about engineering, Renishaw is supporting the Technology Club at Blue Coat CEVA Primary School in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. The sessions are run by Technology for Fun, enabling year-six students to experience hands-on engineering activities and build real working models that they then take home.

The club runs for one term each year, with every session supported by a Renishaw science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) ambassador.Technology for Fun is dedicated to inspiring young people about engineering. It offers fun, engaging STEM activities and resources including project books, class kits and teacher resources.

For further information www.renishaw.com

Transatlantic deal puts AWI in good shape

The UK’s leading manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire is heading to Wire 2024 (Dusseldorf, 15-19 April) off the back of one of its largest ever export orders. Alloy Wire International (AWI), which is taking its 60-strong range of exotic alloys to the show, has just sealed a $400,000 contract with a US springmaker to supply a high-strength nickel cobalt alloy.

The DFARS-compliant material will find use in an aerospace application that requires heat and corrosion resistance, with AWI chosen for its quality and the ability to process the order in just a matter of weeks.It is these two qualities, alongside 400-tonne stockholding capacity, that AWI will be pushing in Germany when it looks to increase its international sales even further.For further information www.alloywire.com

Good year for German machine tool exports

In 2023, the German machine tool industry sold machines including parts and accessories to the value of €9.5bn abroad, some 9% more than in 2022. “It means we’ve defended our title as world champion ahead of China and Japan,” says Dr Markus Heering, executive director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association). Within the triad of Europe, America and Asia, exports to America grew the fastest, increasing by 18%. The US purchased machines to the value of €1.4 billion, while Mexico also performed strongly. Indeed, exports to Mexico rose by 28%.

For further information www.vdw.de

World-unique forging research centre opens

The world’s most advanced research and innovation hot-forging platform opened on 21March at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland. The new facility connects the $75bn global forging sector with the Scotland-based team and industry-scale testbed no matter where they are in the world.

Based in Renfrewshire, FutureForge is a world-unique platform for hot-forging innovation with advanced industry 4.0 capabilities that enables companies from overseas to connect in real-time with the AFRC remotely. FutureForge comprises: a tri-modal 2000 tonne press offering open-die, closed-die and isothermal forging capabilities; instantaneous data analytics;two furnaces;and a custom-built smart robotics manipulator arm.

For further information www.bit.ly/3vqwGvo

Future engineers get busy

Young students got hands-on with crawler robots, drone simulators and 3D printers at a state-of-the art engineering centre to celebrate British Science Week. More than 50 children were treated to an immersive experience at Sellafield Ltd’s Engineering Centre of Excellence, shining a light on the exciting careers available in automation, AI and more. The visit from Distington Community School to the centre at Cleator Moor saw children aged seven to 11 set a series of engineering challenges. They enjoyed a host of activities led by the team at the centre, each set up to show the diversity within engineering.

For further information www.bit.ly/3IBtEaG