AJ Engineering is expanding its premises in a £2.5m investment over the next three years that will allow the firm to more than double its production capabilities and employ more staff. The company has expanded its Forres-based manufacturing sites by adding 4.7 acres through the acquisition of neighbouring land owned previously by Moray Council. Existing buildings at the former sawmill site at Waterford will be refurbished and a new automated fabrication facility installed.

Owned by Alan James, the company currently employs approximately 80 staff over the existing Greshop Industrial sites at Forres, including seven apprentices. However, the expansion plans means that the next three years will see the creation of up to 36 jobs. Phase one is to refurbish the existing buildings at Waterford and purchase and commission a cut and drill line. Phase two will be the installation of an automatic shotblaster, while the third phase will see the arrival of a plate processor.

For further information www.ajengineering.co.uk

As part of an ongoing strategy of investing in manufacturing assets for maximum long-term benefit, so far in 2020 Dawson Shanahan has spent over £500,000 on new machinery.

Along with a further Miyano ABX turning centre and Schmid T200 orbital forge, which is for making plasma-nozzle components to reduce both material waste and cycle times, the company has also replaced an older machine with a more modern Studer CNC cylindrical grinder. Furthermore, a rotary transfer machine is being completely refurbished for CNC control, while cobots (collaborative robots) also form part of the investment.

For further information
https://dawson-shanahan.co.uk

To give “a much needed confidence boost to the marketplace”, Ward Hi Tech has extended its incentivised purchasing scheme to October 2021. The move means that customers can secure a new machine tool today and have it distributed within a fortnight to any premises in the UK or Republic of Ireland, but not start paying for it until October.

Ward Hi-Tech is anticipating an impending uptick in business, stating: “With three vaccines about to be rolled out in the next few weeks, a ray of light is now clearly visible at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.” Alongside the long-term payment holiday and attractive cash-flow scenario, together with a significant saving in interest costs and potential reduction in year-end tax bill, the company describes the benefits of the scheme as “endless”.

For further information www.wardhitech.co.uk

A recently installed Studer S33 CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine is helping operators at Ricardo Driveline and Transmission Systems to maintain their high-precision grinding standards.
The Leamington Spa facility operates four Studer CNC universal cylindrical grinders, including a recently installed S33 model. Since its installation, the Studer S33 has been busy undertaking the grinding of development and prototype components, as well as small production runs.

Production team lead Victor Smith says: “When compared with the other grinding machines that we considered, the Studer S33 proved to be the ideal solution for our demanding needs. Also, considering its impressive specification, we were surprised that it was only marginally more expensive than its less capable competitors. Further factors that influenced our decision were the consistent high-quality of the components that we grind on our existing three Studer machines. Also, over many years we have enjoyed excellent aftersales support from Studer and the company’s UK agent Micronz.”

The components produced by Ricardo have demanding technical specifications related to parameters such as surface finish, roundness and dimensional tolerances, and the Studer S33 is helping the company to adhere to all of these requirements.

Studer supplies the S33 with optional distance between centres of 400, 650, 1000 or 1600 mm, and a centre height of 175 mm. The maximum workpiece weight is 150 kg.

An automatic swivel with 1° Hirth serration positions the wheel head. The machine also has an external wheel head with a grinding wheel on the right with degree separations of 0°/15°/30°. An optional C axis is located on the S33 work head for thread grinding, while the workpiece table features a double T-slot to accommodate dressing devices.

For further information
www.micronz.co.uk

Global cutting-tool manufacturer Dormer Pramet has started to incorporate Industry 4.0 within its production processes and is currently working with IBM on several key projects.

This work includes using large amounts of data to map the value chain throughout every department of its production unit in Sumperk, Czech Republic, and incorporating computer software to identify defects in tools during the early stages of manufacture.

All of the project’s digital elements aim to enhance Dormer Pramet’s existing manufacturing capabilities. The company will use these elements to further improve its production, increase the quality of cutting tools, reduce waste and advance the service provided to customers. Each of these digital tools form part of Dormer Pramet’s ‘Make the Shift 2030’ activities, which will ultimately help to create a more sustainable business.

For further information www.dormerpramet.com