British high-tech company Domin is transforming hydraulic technology with efficient, 3D-printed components, supported by the precision of a Studer S33 universal cylindrical grinding machine.

Based at the Domin Technology Centre near Bristol, the company develops advanced servo valves and high-performance pumps for various sectors. Domin uses metal additive manufacturing to create complex, flow-optimised internal structures that would be impossible to produce conventionally. The resulting hydraulic systems can deliver efficiency gains of up to 90% compared with traditional solutions.

However, the precision required for Domin’s products extends beyond 3D printing. Its maraging steel components require accurate post-processing to align the control edges of valve spools with the windows of their housings to within a few micrometres. Previously, this was achieved using wire EDM, but the process was too slow to support increasing production volumes.

“We were faced with the problem of scaling an extremely precise but slow process for our growing production,” explains Cameron Adams, manufacturing engineering manager at Domin. “We needed a machine that would reliably guarantee the highest precision while offering the flexibility to combine different machining operations.”

Domin selected the Studer S33, which now grinds the diameters and fine control edges of valve spools. On the S6 Pro valve, for example, the required diameter tolerance is just 3 µm. During acceptance testing, deviation across 50 components was only 0.0006 mm using in-process measurement.

The S33 has also transformed productivity. Machining time for the S6 Pro valve has been reduced from almost one hour using EDM to just five minutes with cylindrical grinding. Its two-wheel configuration also allows diameters and shoulders to be ground in a single operation, eliminating wheel changes and tailstock movements.

With production volumes set to increase, Domin is now planning automated part loading.

More information www.studer.com

Precision Micro has secured a major contract to manufacture chemically etched flow plates for data centre cooling. The seven-figure order will see the UK-based chemical etching specialist supply plates for advanced thermal management systems, following several years of investment in capacity to meet growing demand for compact, efficient cooling technologies.

Compact plate heat exchangers use chemically etched flow plates to transfer heat within a highly compact structure. They are increasingly being adopted where conventional heat exchanger technologies can be too large, heavy or inefficient. For datacentres, this is becoming increasingly important as higher compute loads drive demand for more effective thermal management.

“This contract is the result of a strategy we put in place several years ago,” explains Ben Kitson, head of business development at Precision Micro. “We identified growing demand for compact, high-efficiency cooling across several emerging energy applications and invested in the unique capacity and infrastructure needed to support it.”

He adds: “As power densities increase, cooling technologies must become more efficient, compact and reliable. Chemically etched flow plates are a strong fit due to their ability to achieve high feature density and complex geometries.”

Precision Micro has been involved in advanced heat exchanger plate manufacture since the early development of the technology. Recent investment has focused on increasing large-sheet capacity, expanding etching infrastructure and supporting the chemical management required to process high volumes of material.

The company can chemically etch large-format plates up to 1.5 m long and 610 mm wide, with material thicknesses up to 2.5 mm. This capacity enables manufacturers to produce larger, thicker plates while maintaining the accuracy, repeatability and burr-free finish associated with chemical etching.

More information www.precisionmicro.com

Corrosion has long been accepted as an unavoidable operational cost, but new research from Interpon Powder Coatings suggests it could represent one of manufacturing’s biggest opportunities for cost reduction and performance improvement. According to the company’s new Cost of Corrosion report, manufacturers worldwide could recover up to $875bn in preventable costs through improved corrosion protection strategies.

Published by AkzoNobel Powder Coatings, the study surveyed 1000 manufacturing leaders across multiple industries and regions to assess how businesses are balancing durability, sustainability and operational efficiency amid increasing regulatory and environmental pressures. The findings reveal that the hidden costs of corrosion extend well beyond equipment damage. Around 32% of respondents identified lost customers, product returns and reputational damage as the greatest financial impact, while 28% highlighted the environmental cost associated with waste and landfill.

The report also shows a growing recognition that corrosion protection is becoming strategically important to long-term business performance. Nearly half of manufacturers surveyed described anti-corrosion protection as essential to their operations.

Sector-specific insights indicate that EV manufacturers are leading the adoption of advanced powder coating technologies to improve durability and sustainability, while architectural manufacturers face increasing pressure to replace legacy systems with longer-lasting, environmentally compliant alternatives. Industrial equipment producers are also under pressure to modernise, although investment costs remain a challenge for some businesses.

“Corrosion protection was once seen mainly as a way to prevent product failures and financial loss,” says Jorrit van Rijn, marketing director at AkzoNobel Powder Coatings. “Today, it plays a far bigger role – helping manufacturers cut waste, improve efficiency and deliver longer-lasting, higher quality products that customers trust and value.”

More information www.bit.ly/4frXlfO