Aerospace supplier Erodex UK has appointed Damian Ward as its new engineering director. Ward has more than 20 years’ experience providing tooling and engineering solutions within the aerospace industry and joins from Matrix Tooling Solutions, where he was business development manager. Prior to this, he held the role of aerospace business manager at Seco Tools.

Within his role as engineering director, Ward will be responsible for engineering operations at the company’s West Midlands based graphite machining facility, driving efficiency gains and reducing cost by implementing engineering best practice via the latest tooling, work-holding and software solutions.

“Erodex are the leading supplier of graphites, EDM consumables and state-of-the-art graphite machining to the UK aerospace industry, with a very capable and experienced engineering team,” says Ward. “I see further developing the engineering operations as a really exciting opportunity. We have a fantastic team, have benefited from continued investment in the latest five-axis CNC machine tools, and have a clear direction for investment moving forward.”

Ward’s introduction follows the previous appointment of James Kirk in 2019 as group operations director, with the two now working closely to drive the company’s continuous improvement programme.

Erodex director Steve Rolinson says: “These are exciting times for Erodex. Our goal is to expand and increase our presence within emerging overseas markets such as Latin America. By increasing engineering efficiencies, we can be more competitive in these markets while reinforcing our leading position within the UK aerospace sector. We’re delighted to welcome Damian to the company and look forward to seeing the benefit that his wealth of tooling and engineering expertise will bring.”
For further information www.erodex.com

Among the latest innovations presented at the recent GrindingHub exhibition, the new VHybrid from Vollmer was one of the talking points of the show. With the facility to both erode PCD and grind carbide cutting tools in a single operation by combining the two technologies into a single machine, the VHybrid is the epitome of flexibility.

To celebrate the arrival of this innovation and develop a greater understanding of the concept, Alexander Schmid, product manager for rotary and PCD tools at Vollmer, discusses the new arrival in more depth.

“We started with two technologies, disc and wire erosion technology,” he says. “With this technology, we have significant success processing tools via erosion. The concept for the new VHybrid machine is borne out of the successful VGrind technology. This means that we have vertical spindle alignment with the upper spindle being the grinding spindle, and the lower spindle having both erosion and grinding. With this functionality, we can erode and grind most of the tooling that is available on the market. Furthermore, as the use of complex tools such as full-head PCD tools is steadily increasing, the demand for machines that enable combined machining, eroding and grinding, is also growing.”

The concept of the VHybrid 260 offers the user the possibility to erode 100% but also to grind 100%. This is a decisive advantage as both technologies are available for use on the same tool. But the machine offers many further benefits besides.

“For instance, the generator in the VHybrid machine is the most powerful in an erosion machine on the market right now,” says Schmid. “We have received feedback from the market that our system is the benchmark in terms of efficiency and surface finish.”
For further information www.vollmer-group.com

A series of upgrades for GF Machining Solutions’ wire EDM machines will future-proof their performance, says the company. The upgrades relate to the CUT C, E and P wire EDM ranges, increasing their productivity, functionality, autonomy and process reliability.

For instance, with the Turbo Tech upgrade, customers can improve their processes and achieve higher quality and productivity. By applying the upgrade, the machine is provided with an additional technology priorities option – a compromise between speed and accuracy – in good or bad flushing conditions. Productivity can increase from 10% to 40%, depending on the geometry of the part and the flushing conditions experienced.

If customers need additional functionality they can enhance their machines with the Taper Expert upgrade (pictured), which enables the machining of large taper parts.

Customers can also increase the autonomy of their machines. One example is the big spool upgrade (up to 25 kg wire), which ensures longer process continuity with no need for constant wire changes.

In addition, users can take advantage of GF Machining Solutions’ rConnect platform, which comprises three digital services: rConnect Customer Cockpit, rConnect Live Remote Assistance and rConnect Messenger. With the ultra-secure hotline, rConnect Live Remote Assistance, customers benefit from the personal support of GF Machining Solutions’ qualified experts, while the rConnect Messenger app allows them to gain remote access to their machines and receive status updates on their mobile devices.

Thanks to the recently developed Seamless Support, a new module in Live Remote Assistance, customers are able to generate their service requests or ask questions about applications directly from their control system.
For further information www.gfms.com/uk