THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Engineering club launched by MCMT

Children as young as nine got to grips with a number of technology-led activities last week when a special engineering club took place in Bridgnorth.

The Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology (MCMT) teamed up with Black Country Atelier (BCA) to offer an action-packed menu of activities spanning the entire five days. This included designing and making a programmable Tamagotchi-style pet, constructing wide bridges and tall skyscrapers, and the challenge of creating the best rocket car.
A total of 15 young people – aged between nine and 13 years old – were supported by MCMT staff/apprentices (and instructors from BCA) to come up with ideas, work with hand tools and access some of the best technology installed at the 36,000 sq ft facility. MCMT is equipped with over £3m of equipment across its dedicated fabrication, foundry, lathe, metrology, milling, robotics and vehicle trimming sections. There is also a CNC zone that houses three-axis and five-axis machining centres donated by the Engineering Technology Group.
For further information www.mcmt.co.uk

Sodick Europe HQ set for UK

Continuing sales success has spurred EDM distributor Sodick Europe to create a new, architect-designed HQ in the Midlands.

The facility, located with easy access to the M40 and the wider Midlands motorway network, is due to open in mid-2019, and will be the central focus for the company’s chain of dealerships across Europe.
Sodick Europe, established 15 years ago as the European Division of Japanese corporation Sodick Co, now has a turnover of £45m, with 17 distributors serving more than 35 countries.
The new 45,000 sq ft HQ underscores the UK’s position as the heart of Sodick’s European organisation, and will act as the operational centre for sales, service and market support. Initially, 50 staff will be employed, with plans to triple that number within a couple of years
For further information www.sodick.org

Mazak announces major apprentice intake

Yamazaki Mazak UK has reaffirmed its commitment to the next generation of engineers by taking on 18 new apprentices in 2018.

The most recent intake of apprentices will start working at Mazak’s European Headquarters in Worcester next month, and will join the existing 48 apprentices who are currently training with the company. Since 2011, Mazak has successfully trained 109 apprentices, and the September intake will take this figure to 127.
The 18 apprentices who have been accepted on the 2018 training programme will be assigned to various departments, including production and business support. Five apprentices will be undertaking machining-related roles, three will be working in the sheet-metal department, six in mechanical roles, three in electrical, and one will join the Mazak’s Spindle Service Centre.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Precision cylindrical grinding technology

The latest Kellenberger 100 Concept cylindrical grinding machine will feature on the Hardinge stand at the forthcoming AMB 2018 exhibition (18-22 September, Stuttgart).

In terms of functionality, the Kellenberger 100 Concept, which was launched last year, delivers a range of configuration alternatives to meet the widest range of grinding applications. Modular construction based on a common platform is designed to reduce machine build time yet accommodate numerous ‘standard’ options with a good price-to-performance ratio for the end user, says the company.
Three important features distinguish the 100 machine series. Firstly there is a collision-free compact wheel-head solution with integral motor spindles and a reinforced casing for larger wheel diameters when internal grinding. A choice of 10 wheel-head variations is available to ensure the optimal machine configuration based on the components to be processed.
The second stand-out feature is the enhancement of performance parameters. A higher grinding wheel drive power increases productivity, while the Z guideway produces higher profile precision from the C axis, again enhancing precision when performing
non-circular grinding.
Finally, the service-friendly machine concept is also of note. Kellenberger’s service teams were involved in the design and optimisation of the machine, which impacts on faster maintenance and service operations, while optimum accessibility of maintenance-intensive components is assured.
The Kellenberger machines feature the latest Fanuc 31i CNC controls with 19” touchscreen guidance system on an operator friendly, intuitive touchscreen panel. Among the options is the newly designed cycle programming or workpiece-related graphic programming.
For further information www.jonesshipman.com

Seven AGS principals at AMB

Seven of Advanced Grinding Solutions’ principals are exhibiting at the forthcoming AMB show in Stuttgart (18-22 September): Bahmuller, Tschudin, Rollomatic, Magnetfinish, Gerber, Platit and HandlingTech.

Bahmuller produces internal and external cylindrical grinding machines for manufacturing precision components used in the fuel-injection and turbocharger industries. One of Bahmuller’s largest end users is Delphi Technologies, which produces diesel injector systems for heavy-duty truck applications at its manufacturing centre in Gloucestershire.
Tschudin has chosen the AMB show as the worldwide premier appearance of its 350 Cube centerless grinding machine. The Tschudin Cube is thought to be the world’s smallest centerless grinding machine with a footprint of just 1500 x 1500 x 1500 mm, and is designed to grind small components from 1 to 20 mm in diameter for the automotive and medical industries.
Since starting working with Rollomatic last summer, AGS has reported major sales to cutting tool and medical component manufacturers in the UK and Ireland. In fact, Rollomatic continues to enjoy record machine sales of its range of blank preparation and five- and six-axis tool-grinding machines.
AGS currently has several Magnetfinish machines under order for the UK and recently gave the company its biggest ever single order (in excess of £1.2m) following sales made to a UK-based automotive parts manufacturer that will take delivery of large robot-based deburring machines early next year.
Platit machines are used for the coating of cutting tools, and the company will be demonstrating its latest cost-effective machines to show how small-to-medium tool manufacturers can profit by bringing the coating of their cutters in-house.
Completing the AGS line-up at AMB will be HandlingTech, which makes loading solutions that are custom-designed for any machine tool.
For further information www.advancedgrindingsolutions.co.uk