UK NEWS

Biggest ever Design & Make Challenge

The UK’s biggest independent STEM event crowned four winners last week in a competition that attracted more than 80 pupils keen to get an insight into engineering. Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Great Wyrley Academy, John Taylor High School and Lawrence Sheriff High School took the prizes at the Design & Make Challenge 2023, the largest ever staged by the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN).The Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students split up into teams of four to design, test and build an aircraft using just a box of simple materials and a selection of hand tools.
For further information www.man-group.co.uk

Tomorrow’s Engineers Week

Following a successful first decade, the popular Tomorrow’s Engineers Week will return this November, taking place from 6 to 10 November 2023.Now entering its 11th year, the annual celebration is an opportunity to inspire young people with modern engineering and technology, and showcase the benefits of a career in the sector.Tomorrow’s Engineers Week sees schools, employers, professional engineering institutions and individuals working in engineering and technology come together to bring engineering careers to life for young people.
For further information www.teweek.org.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

Vision Engineering invests in new Biglia lathe

Vision Engineering, a specialist in microscopy, digital 3D visualisation and metrology solutions, has bought a third fixed-head lathe, an Italian-built Biglia B620YS, for its production facility in Send, near Woking. Supplied by UK and Ireland sales agent Whitehouse Machine Tools, the machine is turning a range of aluminium components for the top-quality objectives in Vision Engineering’s third generation of Mantis eyepiece-less 3D inspection microscopes, launched at the beginning of June 2023.

The company based its choice of turning centre on a set of specific requirements. There is no milling content in any of the cycles, so only turning tools are required and a single tool turret was therefore sufficient. Excellent turned surface finish is essential so that no marks are visible after component anodising, as good cosmetic appearance is important for customer acceptance.

Dimensional accuracy is also key to ensure perfect perpendicularity for precise lens placement and to facilitate cleanroom assembly, bearing in mind that anodising deposits a layer of variable thickness that uses up some of the drawing tolerance. Additionally, Vision Engineering neededa short lead timeso it could ship Mantis 3rd Gen stereo microscopes to its worldwide distributors in time for launch, as well as to maintain production momentum in the immediate aftermath.

Machine shop manager Scott Blackwell says: “The Biglia lathe was available ex-stock from the Whitehouse showroom. This was an advantage due to the large production volumes required across the range of aluminium objectives for our latest microscopes. The Biglia installation has turned out well. It’s a real workhorse; the turned parts it produces are impeccable and the unmanned running has proved to be very consistent.”
For further information www.wmtcnc.com

More Insight from Mills CNC

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has published a new ‘Summer Edition’ of Insight, the company’s customer-facing magazine.Available in digital format and accessed from the company’s website, this latest edition contains a retrospective overview of Mills’ business performance over the past six months, focusing on how it is addressing rising demand for machine tools and automation systems against a backdrop of macro-economic challenges and supply-side issues in Q1 and Q2.

Says CEO Tony Dale:“2023 is proving to be a great year for Mills CNC, possibly the best in our 49-year history, with machine tool and automation system sales hitting record levels.In this edition of Insight there are in-depth features on a number of customers who, through their progressive investment programmes and loyalty to Mills CNC, are helping make this a reality.”
For further information www.bit.ly/3O5PRjf