THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Renewable electricity for Renishaw UK

To further help meet its ambition of achievingnet zero by 2050, Renishaw has signed a two-year contact with the world’s first green energy company, Ecotricity, which will now supply the company’s main UK sites with 100% renewable electricity.As part of its ambitious climate transition plan, Renishaw aims to reduce emissions relating to its business activities and purchased energy – Scopes 1 and 2 – to net zero by 2028.

Renishaw’s partnership with Ecotricity is the latest move towards exclusively using green energy across the world, with company sites in India, Japan, Mexico and the US among those already running on 100% renewable electricity. The global businessself-generates 11% of its electricity consumption and most of the electricity itacquires is certified renewable.By the end of 2024, 100% of what Renishaw purchases globally will meet its sustainability requirements.
For further information www.renishaw.com

ITC unveils Widia seven-flute milling line

The Widia VariMill range of solid-carbide end mills, available in the UK from Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC), is seeing yet another evolution with the arrival of the new high-performance machining line of VariMill Chip Splitter end mills.

Suitable for cutting materials in ISO groups P, M, K, S and H, the new series is a high-performance tool that ITC says delivers exceptional material removal rates. The Chip Splitter series is for high chip control in dynamic milling, ramping, helical interpolating and side milling at high speeds and feed rates. This capability enables the tool to run with a longer axial depth of cut while diving into deep pockets in high-temperature alloys, steel and stainless steel. The Chip Splitter series is available as a five- or seven-flute variant with Widia’s WP15PE and WS15PE carbide grades to accommodate the machining of various materials.

Widia’s VariMill Chip Splitter offers features that improve chip evacuation by breaking the chips into small segments. This simplifies swarf removal from the work area and significantly improves cutting speeds and feeds when processing small pockets up to 5xD, or when machining at full depth of cut.

The seven-flute end mills are available with a straight or Weldon shank in 3xD or 5xD variants. Straight-shank 3xD end mills are available in 10, 12 and 16mm diameters with the Weldon shank designation also offering a 20 mm diameter variant. The 3xD tools have a flute length from 32 to 50mm with an overall length of 80 to 110 mm. Similarly, the 5xD plain shank variant is available from 10 to 16mm diameter with the Weldon shank also offering a 20mm diameter variant.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Enhancing the UK’slaunch capability

Skyrora and Spirit AeroSystems are announcing a new collaboration on orbital launch capability. UK-based launch-vehicle manufacturer Skyrora is developing an agile, end-to-end launch service to provide access to space for small satellites globally. Having conducted a test launch of the suborbital Skylark L vehicle in October 2022 as part of the company’s incremental learning approach, Skyrora is well on track to become the first UK company to vertically launch satellites from the UK, expecting to conduct up to 16 launches per year once at scale.

Spirit’s presence in the UK space sector is growing. Its broad offering of adaptive manufacturing and testing solutions in metallics and composites, at both its Scotland and Northern Ireland facilities, brings significant industrial capacity to Skyrora’s launch proposition. Leveraging Spirit’s aero-structures expertise, the companies will explore opportunities to transition Skyrora’s orbital launch vehicles from development to full-scale production.
For further information www.spiritaero.com

Construction of EMIoT gets underway

Derby College Group (DCG) reports thatground has been broken for the upcoming East Midlands Institute of Technology (EMIoT) at the Roundhouse Campus, marking a significant milestone in the development of cutting-edge education and training facilities in the region. The facilityis poised to become a beacon of excellence, with collaboration between academia and industry in addressing the growing demand for skilled professionals in technology-related fields.

A partnership between Derby College Group, the University of Derby, Loughborough College and Loughborough University, the EMIoT aims to deliver a world-class, research-orientated, employer-led learning facilities, founded on clean growth and digital delivery. It is working closely with global employers, including Rolls-Royce, Uniper, Toyota, National Grid ESO, Alstom, Fujitsu and Bloc Digital to ensure programmes deliver a workforce with future-ready skills.
For further information www.derby-college.ac.uk

Student success in robotics

The winners of the 2023 WorldSkills UK Industrial Robotics competition, held in conjunction with FANUC UK, were announcedat an awards ceremony in Manchester last month. Representing the best of the UK’s rising robotics talent, Hannah Currie and Peter O’Neill from Northern Regional College in Northern Ireland beat over 50 talented young apprentices and students to take gold at the national finals, which were held over three days at FANUC’s UK headquarters in Coventry. The duo now have the chance to represent Team UK at the WorldSkills International Industrial Robotics competition in 2024.
For further information www.bit.ly/484XXBj