The in-house fabrication department of ECS Engineering Services has recently completed the manufacture of 49 steel duct cradles destined for the main reactor building at a UK nuclear power plant.

All of the structures were delivered within six months. The duct cradles ranged in size from 1400 to 1800 mm wide. A channel framed structure was mated with plate-work supports to increase strength. This design ensured that the cradles could easily accommodate the sizable stainless-steel ducts which would be installed on top of them at the facility.
For further information www.ecsengineeringservices.com

Welding technology specialist K-TIG has joined the Nuclear AMRC as a tier-two member to develop high-performance fabrication techniques for waste containers and other nuclear applications.

K-TIG has developed a patented keyhole welding technology which can produce welds 10-100 times quicker than conventional tungsten gas arc welding, joining metals up to 16 mm thick in a single pass. The technology is already in operation at some of the world’s largest fabrication businesses, and is also accessible to small and medium-sized manufacturers.
For further information www.namrc.co.uk

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) has expanded its additive manufacturing portfolio by investing in an FDM-based Fortus 450mc 3D printer.

According to the MTC, the addition strengthens its capability to meet more demanding production applications for UK manufacturers and develop innovative solutions geared towards driving increased productivity and profitability.
After announcing an official partnership with Stratasys in 2017, the MTC has been utilising the latest 3D printing technology to support customers’ manufacturing needs and objectives, which include engineering tooling and complex end-use parts. The Fortus 450mc installation complements the MTC’s existing stable of Stratasys PolyJet solutions, which comprises full-colour,
multi-material J-Series 3D printing technology, as well as a large-scale Objet1000.
For further information www.stratasys.com

Expert electrification company, Equipmake, has opened a factory in Snetterton, Norfolk that will design and manufacture its fully integrated electric bus chassis for an increasingly international customer base.

Guest of honour Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade, cut the ribbon and officially opened the new facility. Home to Equipmake’s 52-strong workforce, the factory will primarily design and build the EBus electric bus chassis, a fully integrated cost-effective electric chassis that allows bus coachbuilders with no electric vehicle knowledge to become electric bus manufacturers.
For further information https://equipmake.co.uk/

Three CNC control/HMI configurations are now being offered by Holroyd with its helical rotor production centres.

Until now, Holroyd has provided its own, in-house-developed CNC and HMI systems. However, to provide customers with greater levels of choice when specifying their rotor milling centres, the company now also offers both Siemens and Fanuc controllers as standard-fit alternatives to its own CNC.
The proprietary CNC system from Holroyd is partnered with Bosch motors and Bosch Rexroth digital drive systems, while both the Fanuc and Siemens controllers have been engineered as ‘complete systems’, and are supplied with their respective drives and motors. The controls have also been developed alongside a proprietary Holroyd HMI that has been designed to replicate the functionality and simplicity of programming with which users of Holroyd CNCs will be familiar.
Holroyd’s Siemens CNC/HMI option benefits from a large 300 x 525 mm screen and incorporates a user manual as well as all maintenance drawings relevant to the machine in question. Other features include a ‘soft button’ panel that can be ‘swiped’ to reveal further programming options or additional machine information.
Also available are optional CCTV cameras that can be specified to assist operators during machine set-up, while newly developed ASUB cycles allow users to select set-up routines that can then be activated through the handheld unit. Twin helical vacuum or hydraulic pump screws can be easily manufactured thanks to auto-positioning of the helical paths. In addition, the newly introduced flow guide style programming allows the operation to start, stop and even omit sections of the program while the machine is in cycle.
For further information www.holroyd.com