A prominent cornerstone of the Okuma trade fair booth at the recent EMO 2019 exhibition was taken up by the company’s large MCR-S double-column machining centre. The machine is predestined for the die and mould industry as it combines high productivity, dimensional accuracy and high surface quality, reports Okuma.

With these properties, the MCR-S can rough, finish and fine-finish a workpiece in a single set up. The machine’s accuracy relies on a number of hardware and software technologies. One of these technologies is a swivel image sensor that measures the tool’s cutting edge. As a result, tool change related cutting edge offsets can be reduced to less than 10 µm.
According to Okuma, surface quality is achieved with the company’s intelligent ‘Hyper-Surface’ technology. By automatically detecting and correcting errors in the machining data, the application creates extremely smooth surfaces that are said to rarely need manual post-processing.
The high manufacturing quality has a positive impact on the machine’s productivity. Pablo Liechti, product manager, provides an example: “We have a customer who saved 38 hours in total when machining a large die mould with the MCR-S. They benefit from a shorter finishing cycle, fewer hours spent on polishing and little need for matching the press dies to their counterparts.”
For further information www.okuma.eu

As a specialist in producing one-off or low-volume development work, East Grinstead-based Classic Components is often called upon to turn work around at short notice, usually without any drawings.

As a long-term user of XYZ’s ProtoTRAK-controlled machine tools, their ease-of-use was familiar to managing director Malcolm Duffield, but the arrival of the latest RMX 3500 bed mill with new ProtoTRAK RMX control has been a revelation.
The advantages of the latest control on the RMX 3500 have helped Duffield achieve significant savings both in programming and cycle times.
“Moving from the old DPM control to the new RMX ProtoTRAK has been a step-change for me,” he says. “The time savings I’ve seen so far are thanks to innovations such as the adaptive material removal strategy and the ability to import DXF files.”
An example of the benefits of the DXF converter is in the production of sprockets for vintage aircraft. On his older machine, Duffield had to input every co-ordinate, which was time consuming both in terms of inputting and cross-checking the data. Now, it is simply a case of importing the DXF file and pressing cycle start.
“I’ve gone from what could have taken a couple of hours, down to a matter of minutes to start machining,” says Duffield.
One of the key new features of the RMX ProtoTRAK control for XYZ’s bed mills is adaptive material removal, which calculates the optimum tool path for the machining of pockets or ‘area clearance’. The savings can cut hours from cycle times, improve surface quality and improve tool life. For Classic Components, this feature has cut the cycle time on one particular part, a development of a toilet flush unit for an upmarket bathroom manufacturer, by 50%.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Coventry’s new water park, The Wave, is clad in an oval-shaped structure with blue shingles, a reference to flowing water.

The £36.7m park designed by architects FaulknerBrowns, features curved aesthetic panels achieved via the metal-bending expertise of Barnshaws. Barnshaws was approached by contractor Billington Structures to deliver approximately 120 curved RHS (rectangular hollow section) and PFC (parallel flanged channel) sections in various sizes within a timeframe of four weeks. Billington Structures selected Barnshaws due to its expertise in mandrel steel bending.
For further information www.barnshaws.com

South Ribble Borough Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council have granted permission to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to build and equip a £20m state-of-the-art facility in a landmark location at the heart of the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone, one of four zones that make up the wider Lancashire Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Cluster.

The 4500 sq m facility, which will have a focus on vehicle electrification, battery assembly and lightweighting technologies, is being built with capital funding provided through the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP)’s Growth Deal. In addition, a £2.5m revenue grant from the European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF), matched with £1.6m from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult), will secure the creation of a high-performing technical R&D team that will work with manufacturing companies and their supply chains.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

The £20m Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru (AMRC Cymru) has opened for business in Broughton, north Wales.

This state-of-the-art centre will be a catalyst for growth and jobs in Deeside, north Wales and the wider cross-border and ‘Northern Powerhouse’ region. AMRC Cymru will provide businesses with a new level of research and development opportunities and support. The facility was officially opened by First Minister Mark Drakeford and Economy and North Wales Minister Ken Skates.
AMRC Cymru will enable businesses to access advanced technologies, helping them to drive improvements in productivity, performance and quality. Situated in the Deeside Enterprise Zone, the facility will focus on advanced manufacturing sectors, including aerospace, automotive, nuclear and food. It is predicted that the new centre could increase GVA to the Welsh economy by as much as £4bn over the next 20 years.
For further information https://is.gd/beyura