THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Open house success for Trumpf

Another successful open house took place at Trumpf’s UK headquarters in Luton last month, where the company opened the doors to customers so they could see the latest machine tool and laser technology solutions.As in previous years, the 2023open house was proof of the need to meet with customers personally and, once again, Trumpf was delighted with the number of visitors who walked through the door.

Trumpf welcomed 170 visitors over the two days, with the company taking several orders. During the day, visitors had the opportunity to choose from various technology presentations, including EdgeLine Bevel for automatic chamfer creation, laser cutting, automated welding, and the latest sheetmetal software developments with TrumpfOseon.There was also prime opportunity to see the latest laser cutting, punching, welding, bending and laser marking technology in live action.
For further information www.trumpf.com

Mills CNC confirms SPE attendance

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, will exhibit at SPE Offshore Europe 2023, the offshore industry’s leading conference and exhibition taking place in Aberdeen on 5-8 September.The company, through its CNC machine tool technologies, automation systems, and turnkey and process improvement solutions, aims to strengthen its already-strong presence in the oil and gas, subsea, and renewables sectors through its attendance at the show (stand 2K64).

“SPE Offshore Europe is an important event for Mills CNC,” states John Morning, Mills CNC’s business manager for Scotland.“It gives us an opportunity to meet customers and prospects, understand their immediate and future machining requirements, and discuss ways in which our technologies can help them achieve their objectives.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

Nikken CEO becomes MTA acting president

Nikken CEO and president Tony Bowkett is the latest acting president of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). With more than 30 years of experience as managing director and founder of Nikken Kosakusho Europe, Bowkett is responsible for the success of the company’s activities, including multiple subsidiaries within the Nikken Europe Group thattogether operate in excess of 23 countries. He says: “During my presidency, I would like to make it my mission to engage with MTA members and represent their best interests on local, national and international platforms.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk

College hosts landmark Haas facility

West Nottinghamshire College (WNC) has become the UK’s first Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing, bringing a major investment in engineering facilities and training programmes for students, apprentices and employers.The link-up will see the college awarded £500,000 to develop its engineering facilities and employer-focused curriculum, aimed at growing the number of skilled manufacturers in the local area and beyond.

The money will fund improvements to the college’s Engineering Innovation Centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield, by remodelling the building to dedicate a larger area of its groundfloor to manufacturing, automation and robotics. WNC will also construct a new mezzanine floor containing classrooms overlooking the existing open-plan workshop space.In addition, the college will rebrand the building, which currently boasts six Haas CNC machines used by engineering students and apprentices, as the Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.
For further information www.wnc.ac.uk

Subcontractor takes-off with 18th Nakamura-Tome

West End Precision is now in possession of its 18th Nakamura-Tome turning centre from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). The Bideford-based subcontractor serves the automotive, aerospace and general subcontract manufacturing supply chain; all industries that have faced challenges in recent years – but business is certainly booming now. In 2022, the company took delivery of a Nakamura-Tome NTY3-150, a WT150II and it has just added to the plant list with a Nakamura WT150IIF, the third WT150 series machine in 18 months. With over 15 sliding head lathes, multi-spindle autos, centreless grinding and 18 Nakamura machines, West End Precision is no run-of-the-mill manufacturing business.

Alex Dziurzynski from West End Precision says: “We are predominantly a high-volume manufacturer and we’ll typically set the machine and run it for a long time. We do all the programming at the console; we don’t do any offline programming and the onus is that once the machine is set, it will keep running. This means we can have one operator running multiple machines and, as long as spindles are turning, we’re making money. The Nakamura machines give us that ability.”

The latest Nakamura-Tome is machining a family of aluminium 6026 components for a brake system manufacturer.

“We machine two different parts in batches of 10,000 to 20,000-off, with the WT150IIF producing around 6000 parts a week,” says Dziurzynski. “The 60mm diameter cast billets were previously machined on a gantry-loaded machine and the major saving has arrived from our ability to change to bar stock and bar-feed the parts on the Nakamura WT150IIF – slashing component loading times.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com