THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

7% more visitors at Subcon

The organiser of Subcon 2018, which was held at the NEC in Birmingham last month, says the show secured a 7% increase in visitor numbers.

In addition, the exhibition attracted more senior buyers than ever before. A cross-promotional partnership with Automechanika Birmingham, taking place at the NEC at the same time, was also successful in bringing new visitors to Subcon.
This year’s event debuted The Engineer Expo to create a cross-sector industry event with visitors able to enjoy unlimited access to both shows as well as The Engineer Conference, which featured names like Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren presenting to two theatres. Both shows will return to the NEC in 2019 from 4-6 June, together with the biennial Advanced Manufacturing Show.
For further information www.subsonshow.co.uk

Warwick to focus on Excetek

Following “an exceptional 12 months of business” with repeat/new customer orders and enquiries for the range of Excetek CNC wire-cut machines, Warwick Machine Tools will go forward concentrating exclusively on providing pre- and post-sales and service support for the brand in the UK and Ireland.

However, existing UK customers with ONA EDM machines will continue to be supported.
National sales manager Andrew Kilshaw explains the rationale behind the decision: “We have had an exceptional long-term relationship with ONA, supplying and supporting customers in many industry sectors, and we will not abandon those customers with older and more recent ONA EDM machines as we have the most technical experience and expertise to support them in the UK. However, the continued growth of Excetek demands our full focus and the tough decision was recently taken to end the business partnership amicably.”
Dudley-based Electro-Discharge Limited provides a good example of customers returning to WMT for further wire EDM capacity from Excetek. The company now has three of the latest generation Excetek CNC wire cut machines, which were installed to operate automatically at speed, to close tolerances in a ‘lights-out’ environment. Electro-Discharge now has two Excetek V650Gs and a smaller V400G CNC wire-cut machine.
General manager Rupin Vadera says: “Although we were aware of the Excetek range, we didn’t initially fully appreciate the capability and functionality offered. We arranged a demonstration at Warwick Machine Tools’ showroom and everyone was impressed with both the build quality and performance. The price-to-performance ratio is exceptional. The three new VG series machines are in addition to two larger V850G machines installed here last year.”
For further information www.warwickmachinetools.co.uk

Speakers named for manufacturing event

Notable industry leaders have been announced as part of an interesting line up for this year’s National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expo.

The event, which takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 26 June, promises a host of informative sessions, networking opportunities and debate from manufacturing leaders and academics. Among the topics set to be discussed include project management, supply chain optimisation, procurement, IT logistics, materials handling and robotics.
Some of the key speakers taking part this year include: Lesley Rudd, chief executive of the Sustainable Energy Association; Christopher Snelling, head of UK policy at the Freight Transport Association; Alan Harrison, group lean manager at IMI Plc, Tim Eaton, head of logistics and supply chain at Flogas; Rob Morton, supply chain operations director at The Quadrant; Ashley Naughton, head of supply chain consulting at ITG – Tata Consultancy Services; and Emma Hancock of Network Rail UK.
For further information
www.manufacturingevent.co.uk/register/

Custom-built engine up for grabs

A 727-in3 EFI custom-built hemispherical engine from Sonny’s World Class Racing is the prize in the 2018 Sunnen Engine Charity Sweepstakes at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show.

The engine can be street-driven on 93 octane fuel, producing 1310 hp, naturally aspirated. This will be the 30th anniversary of the Sunnen Engine Charity Sweepstakes, with all proceeds going to Victory Junction, a camp founded by NASCAR’s Petty family for children living with serious medical conditions. The winning ticket will be drawn at the PRI show in Indianapolis in December.
Valued at more than $60,000, the engine will include: Sonny’s fully in-house ported hemispherical cylinder heads, Sonny’s/Brodix 5000 BS block featuring 1” raised cam with special high-flow water jackets, a Bryant billet crank, Carrillo steel billet rods and much more.
Over the past 30 years Sunnen, PRI and many well-known engine builders have teamed up to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities within the racing community. To purchase tickets for the Sunnen Engine Charity Sweepstakes, or for more information on Victory Junction, please visit the web address provided.
For further information https://victoryjunction.org/sunnen-sweepstakes

German Chancellor meets service robot

Collaborating with robots and controlling them with gestures? German chancellor Angela Merkel experienced first-hand how this can be achieved in her opening day tour at the recent Hannover Messe 2018 exhibition. On the IBG Automation stand, Angela Merkel and the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and his wife Angélica Rivera, got up close and in person with robotic hands from Schunk.

SCHUNK – HMI 2018, Hannover Messe, Hanover Trade Fair

Schunk’s SVH mechatronic gripping hand, which is designed for applications in assistance and service robotics, is very similar to its human counterpart in terms of size, shape and mobility. The five fingers can carry out all kinds of gripping operations with the help of nine drives. Elastic surfaces on the front phalanxes ensure a reliable hold on objects being gripped. As the hand can perform and imitate numerous gestures, visual communication between humans and service robots becomes significantly easier.
For further information www.schunk.com