Editor’s Pick

Plans for landmark machining plant

Sheffield Forgemasters has submitted a planning application for a landmark 30,000 m²machining facility on brownfield land in Sheffield’s Meadowhall district. Located on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, the new facility will form one of the world’s most advanced large machining facilities, supporting the company’s manufacture for the UK defence programme.

With work on the site planned to start in Q4 2024, the building will cover a space equal to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools and contain 17 new machines, including some of the largest and most advanced five-axis vertical turning lathes (VTLs). Gareth Barker, COO, says: “The planning application covers an ambitious new project to create a facility that will deliver some of the world’s most advanced, large-scale machining capabilities.”

More information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

Government’s industry focus welcomed

The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) says it welcomes the new government
and its robust commitment to revitalising the UK’s manufacturing and technology sectors.
For over a century, the MTA has championed the cause of a comprehensive industrial
strategy, and it is thrilled to see this vision finally seeing recognition and implementation by
the new administration.
The Labour Party’s manifesto promises a strategic partnership through a new industrial
strategy that is both mission-driven and future-focused. According to the MTA, this initiative
is precisely what industry needs to seize emerging opportunities and remove barriers to
growth. Establishing an Industrial Strategy Council on a statutory footing – ensuring
representation from all regions, businesses and trade unions – marks a significant shift
towards long-term economic planning and stability.
More information www.mta.org.uk

Record submissions for ADIPEC Conference

The ADIPEC 2024 Technical Conference has received a record 5977 submissions, a 16%
increase over last year, with major submission growth seen in categories such as AI/digital
transformation and energy transition/decarbonisation. There is also an increased level of
submissions from African and Arab states.


The Technical Conference is a key part of ADIPEC, the world’s largest energy event, which
takes place in Abu Dhabi on 4-7 November 2024. This year, the conference will feature 159
sessions across 12 categories, for which energy experts and engineers from around the
world submit their work for consideration as a presentation. The ADIPEC Technical
Conference is renowned for bringing together the brightest minds and technical experts
from across the energy value chain.
More information www.adipec.com

Work-Holding Upgrade Doubles Productivity

At the Elland, West Yorkshire factory of Archway Engineering, which manufactures drilling equipment for site investigation, mineral exploration, water well construction and environmental monitoring, a Leadwell V-50L three-axis vertical machining centre performs some of the shop floor’s more arduous machining operations. Remarkably, the company has seen a doubling of component productivity on this machine simply by changing the method of workpiece clamping.

The transformation is courtesy of investment in three US-made Chick OneLOKs from sole UK agent 1st Machine Tool Accessories. One of the units remains permanently at one end of the machine’s 1420 x 610 mm table, where it has been clocked into a known position to within 10 µm across the 152 mm face of the clamp’s fixed hard jaw. The other two OneLOKs are removable to make room to mount a 4th-axis indexer, but they are quick to set up again relative to the permanently-positioned clamp by means of a parallel bar.

During frequent small-batch runs, it is a simple matter to secure three parts side by side, write a sub-program to machine the workpiece in the permanent One LOK, probe the position of the parts in the other two clamps, repeat the sub-program twice at the appropriate offsets, and run the complete cycle in one go.

Danielle Toner, production manager at Archway Engineering, says: “The quicker set-up times using the Chick OneLOKs and the faster machining cycles that their secure clamping allow means we can produce a typical short batch of parts on the Leadwell in two days, compared with up to one week previously.Overall, our investment in Chick work-holding solutions has been a fantastic success and the advice and service provided by 1st Machine Tool Accessories have been first class.”

More information www.1mta.com

ETG has laser focus with new arrival

Now available from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) is the new Durma HD-FO laser cutting machine. As the latest addition to the Fabrication Division at ETG, the HD-FO series demonstrates high productivity, cut quality and integrated automation solutions. In addition, the machine provides low operational costs and an ergonomic quick-opening top cover and easy access to the cutting area.

The Durma HD-FO laser is a user-friendly machine that integrates automated work processes and offers energy-efficient operation.

Notably, the design minimises footprint by incorporating the laser source and chiller. Sheet loading and unloading are easy in cases where no shuttle table is necessary. Although the machine comes with a manual cutting table as standard, customers can optionally select the pneumatic shuttle table option.

From a specification perspective, the Durma HD-FO laser has a working area of 3048 x 1530 x 125 mm in the X, Y and Z axes with a maximum sheet capacity of 575 kg. The Durma machine offers X, Y and Z-axis travel speeds of 90 m/min and synchronised acceleration of 14 m/s² with a positional accuracy and repeatability of 0.05 mm. The Bosch Rexroth CNC control and user-friendly 19-inch screen combine to simplify programming and setting up.

According to ETG, the automatic focusing Durma Precitec Lightcutter laser head presents a combination of power and precision that enhances cut quality and edge finishes. The laser source is available with a range of options that include the YLR1000, YLS2000, YLR3000 and the YLS4000, which offer power from 1 to 4 kW for cutting mild steel up to 20 mm thick as well as stainless, aluminium, copper, brass and a host of other material types. More information www.engtechgroup.com