At the height of the pandemic, XYZ Machine Tools reduced overall staffing levels while maintaining those crucial areas of customer support, service, programming support, spares and sales, with a core of 22 employees.

A strengthening in sales throughout June and July have seen that number increase to 56, with the prospect of more people being pulled off furlough in the coming weeks.
“Thanks to our strong financial position we’ve been able to weather whatever COVID-19 threw at us,” states Nigel Atherton, managing director of XYZ Machine Tools. “We were resolute in maintaining core customer service functions and this has paid dividends as customers have continued to accept existing orders, while we’ve also seen relatively strong sales of new machines during the pandemic. We must obviously remain focused and wary of the ongoing situation, but it’s encouraging to see customer confidence returning, with positive signs of a willingness to invest in new machine tools.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Protolabs has secured a global accolade for demonstrating excellence in health and safety.

The company received a RoSPA Gold Health & Safety Award for ensuring its staff, customers, contractors and any visitors to its manufacturing facility in Shropshire remain safe. “Great pride is taken in achieving excellence in the workplace, whether that is being at the forefront of innovation or creating the safest possible working environment for our employees,” states general manager Lee Ball.
The RoSPA Awards scheme is the longest running of its kind in the UK and receives entries from organisations around the world, making it one of the most sought-after global accolades in health and safety. Andrew Green, facilities manager at Protolabs, says: “As an organisation we always seek to do the right thing by our employees and all visitors to our facilities, which makes this award even more special. It reinforces our commitment to excellent standards.”
For further information www.protolabs.co.uk

The events industry, endorsed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, has issued new guidelines – the ‘All Secure Standard’ – to ensure that exhibitions can go ahead in the coming months.

These guidelines will enable UK manufacturers to plan their attendance at MACH 2021 (25-28 January) in detail and with certainty. The MTA, which owns and organises MACH, has been closely involved in drafting the guidelines with the Association of Exhibition Organisers.
Marcus Burton, MTA president says: “I’m pleased the Prime Minister has announced that exhibitions and events can resume from 1 October. The supporting guidelines will help us accelerate our preparations for MACH 2021. We’re starting to see the early signs of recovery in a number of sectors and the timing of MACH 2021 could not be better in terms of helping UK manufacturers to invest in productivity improvements and plan for recovery and growth.”
For further information www.machexhibition.com

A landmark has been passed by the Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton.

More than 1.5 million Ingenium powertrains, which are used in all of JLR’s vehicles other than the electric I-PACE, have been produced at the factory. The Ingenium family supports the company’s long-term commitment to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel economy across its product range.
JLR has committed to advancing the electrification of its vehicle line-up and establishing a concept hydrogen fuel cell powertrain solution, using the government’s recently announced £735m investment in advanced propulsion. The Engine Manufacturing Centre also houses the assembly of electric drive units (EDUs), offering full flexibility between new petrol/diesel engines and EDUs for customers who want to make the switch from conventional to electrified vehicles.
For further information www.jaguarlandrover.com

In 2019, Japanese manufacturer Kitagawa introduced the first in a new range of compact, general purpose rotary tables, the MK series, for adding a rigid fourth CNC axis to a three-axis vertical machining centre. Now, the MK200 has been joined by a second model, the MK250, with significantly uprated performance. Availability in the UK and Ireland is through sole sales agent 1st Machine Tool Accessories.

The most notable improvement on the MK250 is the 1000 Nm, pneumatically actuated clamping torque, making it more than 80% stronger than the first model. As with all Kitagawa tables, this torque is determined by the point at which the force on the worm wheel causes it to displace by 30 µm. In contrast, some manufacturers quote the slipping torque as a maximum, which can cause inaccuracy or even failure.
If a Kitagawa TSR181A tail spindle with integral clamp, also available through 1st MTA, is added for securing a component or tooling column horizontally between centres, the clamping torque increases to 1600 Nm. The result is even faster, heavier duty, more productive machining. As the table has a small footprint, loss of bed area and working volume in a machining centre is minimised.
Kitagawa has both stronger and more compact rotary tables of similar capacity available in its product ranges, such as the GT250 and CK250, but Kitagawa asserts that the MK250 meets 90% of all customer requirements. The unit on its own can support a load of 250 kg horizontally, while it may alternatively be used to hold a component or column weighing up to 125 kg in the vertical orientation. Maximum positioning speed is 33.3 rpm.
The type of the faceplate is specified by the customer, either with T-slots or pre-drilled holes.
For further information www.1mta.com