Editor’s Pick

10th edition of Advanced Engineering

The Advanced Engineering 2018 exhibition is celebrating its 10th birthday by being bigger and better than ever, according to show organisers Easyfairs.

New for this year is the Nuclear Engineering zone. Other zones include Aerospace Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals and Connected Manufacturing.
This year’s exhibition will build on the success of the 2017 show, where attendance increased by 15% on the year before. Visitors stayed on average just under three hours at the event. The 2018 exhibition takes place on 31 October and 1 November at the NEC, Birmingham.
For further information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

ITC stands out at MACH

In the past two years Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) has expanded its facility, invested heavily in new technology and significantly increased its product offering with the addition of the full-line of Widia indexable insert tools and the Big Kaiser brand of tooling and tool-holding technology.

At MACH 2018, it was the internal investment programme and ITC product extensions that were prominently promoted by the company.
ITC drew the attention of show visitors to the new range of micro-tools that are manufactured on the company’s Rollomatic GrindSmart Nano 6. As the first machine of its type installed in the UK, the addition gives ITC the opportunity to manufacture cutting tools from 0.2 to 2.0 mm, with concentricity tolerances below 0.001 mm. The six-axis grinding centre with an integrated robot-loading facility has been working around-the-clock since it was installed.
The result of this new technology has seen ITC extend the diameter range of its most popular product lines. With many of the solid-carbide end mill lines previously available in diameters from 3 to 25 mm, the new GrindSmart Nano 6 has enabled ITC to extend current product lines with diameters starting from 1 mm.
ITC also offers a variety of diameter increments to suit the needs of the end user. The enhanced product ranges with micro dimensions incorporate two-, three- and four-flute solid-carbide end mills with a choice of diamond-, AlTiN- and Cupro-coated tools to support the machining of everything from aluminium through to steel, hardened steel, graphite, aluminium alloys and more.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

MACH 2018 opens its doors

MACH, the UK’s largest exhibition for machine tools and manufacturing technologies, opens its doors today for a week (9-13 April) of trade, innovation and networking at the NEC in Birmingham.

Staged by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), this biennial exhibition shines the spotlight on all the latest product developments. In 2016, both Halls 4 and 5 were completely sold out, attracting 25,627 visitors from diverse sectors across the whole of the UK manufacturing industry.
With over 600 companies exhibiting, an impressive £150m of business was attributed to MACH 2016, and 2018 promises to be bigger and better with new zones, advanced technologies and a vibrant seminar program. As always, MTI magazine will have a strong presence at MACH, where from hall 17, stand 434 the team will be handing out copies of the show issue to passing visitors. All are welcome to call by the stand for a friendly chat about any requirements for buying or selling new or pre-owned machine tools.
For further information www.machexhibition.com

HRH Prince of Wales honours Mazak

Yamazaki Mazak has been awarded Employer of the Year at the 2018 Industrial Cadets Awards, beating the likes of Airbus, the RAF and Tata Consultancy Services to the accolade. Held at the Kelvin Lecture Theatre at the IET’s Savoy Place in London last month, the awards were presented by HRH The Prince of Wales and celebrate both the achievements of young people who have completed their nationally accredited work-based experience programmes, as well as the vital input, support and efforts of businesses, employers and education organisations.

One of just two accolades open to employers, the Employer of the Year award recognises companies that have demonstrated outstanding engagement with young people and the Industrial Cadets initiative, as well as illustrating best practice in employer engagement on the work experience STEM agenda.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Speed and accuracy aids world record attempt

Having smashed the previous mark by 20 mph, Scunthorpe-based Becci Ellis set a world record of 264.1 mph on 17 August 2014 and became the world’s fastest woman on a conventional motorcycle over a standing-start mile. Achieving the female land-speed record also makes her the fourth fastest rider in the world, just 30 mph behind the overall world record set by late American rider Bill Warner.

Becci’s feat was performed at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire on a 1300 cc Suzuki Hayabusa that, when launched in 1999, won acclaim as the world’s fastest production motorcycle. In preparation for Becci’s record-breaking run, her Hayabusa was highly modified, enabling it to generate 650 bhp.
Not satisfied with being the current holder of the record, Becci is now busy preparing for a new attempt to set the benchmark even higher. In addition to multiple further modifications to the previously record-breaking Hayabusa, particular attention is now being paid to the aerodynamics of the bike.
Rather than use traditional wind tunnel testing methods to analyse and improve the bike’s aerodynamic performance, the team behind Becci’s latest record-breaking attempt are using advanced virtual simulation techniques.
To help gather the raw data needed to enable the best possible virtual simulation outcomes, the team enlisted the help of Manchester Metrology, a specialist in the field of laser scanning and data capture. Mindful of the need to acquire highly accurate data, the staff of Manchester Metrology used a Faro Edge ScanArm HD to undertake the critical scanning routines of the bike.
Philip Knowlson of Manchester Metrology says: “The Faro arm was ideal for this application as it has a scan rate of up to 560,000 points/second.”
For further information www.faro.com