More than half of UK manufacturers polled in July 2021 by Subcon (Birmingham NEC, 14-16 September) – the UK’s leading subcontract manufacturing supply chain show – have been impacted negatively by the pandemic: 43% quite negatively and 10% very negatively. On the flipside, 17% of the 81 respondents claimed no impact at all, and 23% actually profited from Covid-19, with 14% saying their business was impacted ‘quite positively’ and 9% ‘very positively’.

When asked how long they believe it will take for UK manufacturing to recover, 22% put their hands up to experiencing no losses, with 38% saying within 12 months, 26% within 3 years, 4% within 5 years and 3% stating never. A follow up question asked how respondents believe the pandemic has changed UK manufacturing over the last 18 months. Some 62% said it has increased the need to protect supply chains.

For further information
www.subconshow.co.uk

Five degree apprentices from Gloucestershire-based Renishaw secured second place for their entry in the UK’s ‘Engineers without Borders’ competition. As part of the ‘Engineers for People Design Challenge’, the apprentices had to create an engineering brief based on real-world problems that would improve the lives of the people living in two towns in northern Peru. The team – Ella Brisland, Marcus Evans, Charlie Lodge, Ezra Price and Oliver Tutton – are currently in year one of a five-year Level 6 apprenticeship at Renishaw.

Together, the team developed a solution for Lobitos and Piedritas, two towns that experience serious sanitation problems. The apprentices’ solution consisted of a combination of biodigesters and oxidation ponds that plumbs sewage through the system, creating a sanitary sewage facility and turning waste into usable by-products. The system breaks sewage into clear effluent that can be processed and used for drinking water and sludge which can be deployed as fertiliser, providing a healthier area to live.

For further information www.renishaw.com

The University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, is opening an office in Sheffield. The development will provide local forging and forming houses with easy access to support from the AFRC, which is located near Glasgow Airport in the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.

Supported by Sheffield City Council and operating out of an office on the Olympic Legacy Park, the AFRC’s new base will help South Yorkshire companies tap into the AFRC’s metallurgy capabilities, numerical and analytical process modelling tools, as well as some of the most advanced industry-scale forging and forming equipment in the world. The decision to open its first office outside of Scotland marks a crucial stage in the centre’s evolution as it continues to build strong relationships with the UK forging community.

For further information
https://is.gd/ezuhan

Leicester-based Taylor Hobson is a globally renowned, ultra-precision technology specialist operating at the highest levels of accuracy within the field of surface and form metrology. The company’s advanced grinding capabilities enable the manufacture of components with industry-leading surface finish, straightness and form standards. The latest addition to Taylor Hobson’s grinding department is an Okamoto 208 ACC-CHiQ double-column surface and profile grinding machine from DF Precision Machinery.

“In order to achieve the required stability and ultra-precision performance, we installed our new Okamoto grinder on a 0.8 m concrete foundation, with a further 14 piles that reach deep into the bedrock beneath the machine,” explains Mark Bent, chief manufacturing engineer at Taylor Hobson. “Our challenging flatness value target across the entire working surface of the new machine was to reach a sub 2 µm figure. Following the machine’s installation and precise adjustments by the installation engineers, we were delighted to achieve a flatness value of just 1.2 µm.”

He adds: “Our choice of machine, its solid foundations, the fine-tuning of its working surface and the skill of our staff, has resulted in our ability to achieve remarkable levels of grinding flatness. For example, we now grind our 600 mm long columns to a straightness value of 0.5 µm. In addition to the precision of the Okamoto ACC-CHiQ, the machine’s speed is enabling us to boost production efficiency.”

Used throughout the world in some of the most challenging grinding applications, Okamoto’s ACC-CHiQ series of double-column machines satisfy the demands for high-accuracy grinding while also providing the production speeds required by today’s manufacturers. As the accuracy of a double-column grinding machine depends largely on the precision of its cross-rail, Okamoto has developed a novel cross-rail mechanism that facilitates small mechanical adjustments following a machine’s installation.

For further information
www.dfpmach.com

‘Less is more’ does not necessarily apply at Werhand in Neuwied, as the company is organised in line with customer wishes. Master mechanic Jörg Hörter has nevertheless been successful at creating more with less. He has significantly reduced the number of tools used for everything from coarse grinding to polishing in order to save time and money.

Weld seam preparation and post-processing, and work on surfaces from coarse grinding to polishing, are the focal points of processes in the workshop.
“We grind a lot and underwent a complete realignment in that area five years ago,” states Hörter. “We simply used too many tools. As a result, our deployment, procurement and warehousing processes were complex and time-consuming.”

Together with the regional Pferd representative, the company streamlined its processes, moving from grinding wheels and flap discs to the Pferd CombiClick system.
“Back then, we usually began processing with the grinding wheel,” explains Hörter. “Next, we removed the grinding wheel from the angle grinder and clamped on a flap disc, before removing the flap disc and putting on a Velcro backing pad. And then we had two additional operations with fleece discs featuring different abrasive grains.”

He adds: “Today, we clamp the CombiClick backing pad to the angle grinder, use the CO ceramic oxide grain fibre disc in grit size 120, and then the Polivlies grinding disc – without having to remove the CombiClick backing pad. Job done.”

With the change, Hörter says the company is not only able to save on many tools, but save the time related to tool changeover.
“Even if a changeover only takes 20 seconds – in my workshop there are 15 people, eight of whom regularly work with the angle grinder. Changeover time quickly adds up over days, weeks, months and years.”

For further information
www.pferd.com