EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

‘Medusa’ set for open day launch

The first UK-built large-format hybrid 3D printer is due to be unveiled later this month in what could drive a major reshoring boom.Rapid Fusion will showcase ‘Medusa’ at a special open day on 26 February at its Skypark R&D centre in Exeter.The company has tapped into a £1.2m grant from Innovate UK to develop, test, design and build the industrial 3D printer, which it says is three times faster than conventional machines, twice as accurate and promises to reduce training and maintenance costs by 30%. Among project partners are Rolls-Royce, AI Build and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).

Open day registration https://tinyurl.com/r-f-medusa

Cobot welding open day

On 26 March (10:00-14:30), Fronius UK will host an insightful collaborative robot (cobot)welding cell open day at its facility in Milton Keynes. The free-to-attend event offers an opportunity to see the CWC-S and mobile cobot welding cells in action. Fronius cobot welding cells enhance production processes by delivering precision, efficiency and safety. The cobots are suitable for both small components and larger, more challenging fabrications, ensuring a versatile solution. They also eliminate the need for extensive programming skills thanks to their intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Register at www.bit.ly/4hRpvPu

Atkin lands biggest export contract

The Atkin Automation division of Group Rhodes is celebrating a record seven-figure export contract win. A North American customer has placed an order for three special-purpose laser processing cells together with three additional process lines comprising a fleet of 36 decoilers, recoilers and associated products. The substantial contract, secured with a repeat customer, will support the creation of three new material processing lines.Atkin Automation, originally the combined WT Atkin & BHP brands, says it is renowned for the quality of its coil processing line equipment.

More information www.bit.ly/3CycnQn

Funds support large-scale manufacturing

Swiss start-up SAEKI has closed a $6.7mseed fundinground that it says will support the company’s efforts in helping totransform large-scale manufacturing. As AI accelerates design capabilities, manufacturing must evolve to keep pace. SAEKI is addressing this challenge head-on, developing autonomous factories that integrate quoting, 3D printing, machining and inspection into a fully automated process.

“There’s an exponential and widening divide between what we can design and what we can actually build,” says co-founder and CEO Andrea Perissinotto. “While engineers can use AI to create hundreds of optimised designs, legacy manufacturing simply can’t deliver these components cost-effectively. By automating the entire process, from quoting to final inspection, we can make these advanced designs manufacturable at scale.”

More information www.saeki.ch

Heller Welcomes Strategic Partner

H.I.G. Capital is taking a significant stake in the Heller Group, a Germany-headquartered machine tool and manufacturing system manufacturer. The partnership will ensure the success of its transformation and open up many new opportunities for Heller in the areas of investment, efficiency improvement, product innovation and international market development.

Heller CEO Dr Thorsten Schmidt says: “The partnership with H.I.G. is a milestone for our company. H.I.G.’s additional financial resources and global network will enable us to achieve our strategic goals faster. Our aim remains clear: securing and expanding our innovation leadership in the market to reach new industries and customers.”

More information www.heller.biz