THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Trumpf open house

Trumpf UK will stage an open house at its Luton headquarters on 12-13 July. The event is a prime opportunity for OEMs and subcontractors to see the latest machine and software solutions in laser cutting, punching, welding, bending and laser marking technologies. Special focus will be on how to remove secondary laser cutting processes by automating part separation and skeleton handing. Visitors will also see demonstrations of new features, such as Edgeline Bevel, an innovation that allows flat-bed laser machines to produce chamfers and countersinks in sheet metal.
For further information www.bit.ly/43DoOSz

Space Week set for lift-off in Cumbria

Later this month, manufacturers in Cumbria will have opportunities to see how they can diversify into the space industry. ISH (Industrial Solutions Hub) is hosting Space Week across West Cumbria on 26-30 June. The event will feature a wide range of speakers from the space industry, who will address business delegates at Lakes College, Workington on 26-28 June. Leaders from the UK Space Agency, the Satellite Applications Catapult and businesses already operating in the space sector will share information on how the market works. The Space Skills Alliance will also deliver a workshop presenting the skills needs of the industry.
For further information www.bit.ly/3IKHIPF

Guhring celebrates 50th anniversary

Guhring UK celebrated its 50th anniversary in style with a celebratory event at its Birmingham headquarters. Hosted at the company’s manufacturing site in Estone Drive, Guhring welcomed technical partners, customers, suppliers and esteemed guests such as chairman of the board, Oliver Guhring.

The company launched 50 years ago in a rented facility a few miles from its existing site as an operation selling drills to local manufacturers with a trade counter for ‘walk-in’ orders. Wind forward to today and the company operates from a 60,000 sq ft manufacturing facility that produces solid carbide and HSS round tooling, as well as PCD tools. Also available is a complete service for bespoke tooling production, tool regrinding and service, coating, tool design and more.
For further information www.guhring.co.uk

Automation can be the key to success

The adoption of robotics and automation in UK manufacturing has the potential to improve productivity, efficiency and quality across multiple sectors, delegates discovered at a Manufacturing Technology Centre conference: ‘Robotics and Automation – A New Perspective’. According to speakers at the conference, the adoption of robotics and automation offers the potential to overcome problems such as labour shortages, skills shortages and low productivity.

More than 300 delegates from a wide range of industries shared insights into the transformational benefits of cutting-edge robotic technologies and heard how automation can improve productivity and drive global competitiveness for UK businesses. Topics covered at the conference included overcoming barriers to adoption and meeting the challenges presented by automation.
For further information www.the-mtc.org

XYZ machines reduce cutting times for impellers

Sheffield-based Straaltechniek UK has been manufacturing equipment for the surface preparation industry since 1982 with its range of blasting and shot-peen machines.A key element of the blast wheel is the impeller, which is made from D2 tool steel. Originally manufactured in several operations on a lathe and then a machining centre, this component has six side apertures making it an ideal part for production on a turn-mill machine.

Ryan Doxey, machine shop supervisor, says: “We installed the XYZ TC 320 LTY in November 2022 as it has a full C axis and driven tools on a Y axis, so we can virtually finish one impeller from a solid billet in a single operation. Significant savings in handling, set-ups and faster machining combine to give us a valuable reduction in cycle times. There are a large number of different impellers as, we not only make blast wheels for our own machines, but also retrofit and refurbish machines from other manufacturers, bringing them up to the latest modern efficiency standards. We carry out all the programming on the shop floor and the Siemens 828D ShopTurn Touchscreen control is a favourite with our machinists.”

As well as the XYZ TC 320 LTY, the company also has a XYZ VL 425 lathe with ProtoTRAK control, which turns the blast wheel itself.

“The blast wheels can be up to 405 mm diameter, and we program them on the ProtoTRAK control on the shop floor with sufficient capacity to hold them in soft jaws to complete the machining,” explains Doxey.“The ease of programming on ProtoTRAK and the reliability of this machine gave us the confidence to invest in the XYZ TC 320 LTY and ShopTurn.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com