UK NEWS

Aberlink provides shop-floor accuracy

Pinxton-based Nasmyth Bulwell, which specialises in the manufacture of precision parts, kits, airframe assemblies and sub-assemblies for the global aerospace and allied industries, has installed an Xtreme CNC CMM from Aberlink.

“Having evaluated several shop-floor CMMs against our list of requirements, a demonstration of Aberlink’s Xtreme CNC CMM, together with Aberlink’s market reputation, convinced me that the Xtreme was the ideal machine for our needs,” says quality manager Jonathan Walsh. “The accuracy, CNC nature and speed of our new Aberlink CMM means that it is able to perform comprehensive inspection routines on manufactured components within the cycle time of the machine tool it is located next to. Now, rather than our skilled machine operators taking a first-off part to our busy inspection department and experiencing delays waiting for a CMM to complete its current task, they are able to quickly confirm component dimensions before commencing full production.
“In the cell, as a machined part is now fully inspected before the next component is produced, the speed of feedback achieved through in-cycle measurement allows adjustments to be made quickly when a feature is drifting from its nominal size,” he adds. “Our new inspection method has increased efficiency and further reduced our already low scrap rates.
“In addition to taking the strain off our busy inspection department, the efficiencies we have realised through the use of our new shop-floor CMM mean that we plan to purchase further Aberlink Xtreme models in the future.”
For further information www.aberlink.com

£2m orders at MACH

In its 50th anniversary year, Hurco took 34 machine tool orders valued at £2.5m during the recent MACH 2018 exhibition in Birmingham.

In total, 11 machines were demonstrated on the company’s stand, including five different five-axis machining centre configurations. Managing director David Waghorn says: “We are delighted with the level of orders, which was undoubtedly helped by having 30% more visitors to our stand compared with two years ago. This is particularly pleasing as the organiser reported a visitor increase to the show of only 5%.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Chris Smith retires from Heller

After a lifetime working in the machine tool industry, area sales manager Chris Smith has retired from Heller Machine Tools.

In the mid-60s, Smith entered a five-year technical apprenticeship at British Motor Corporation’s Austin plant in Longbridge. Subsequently a project engineer with Land Rover and then Rover, he started in machine tool sales at Kearney Trecker Marwin (KTM), Brighton, in 1984. In the late 80s and early 90s, Smith started selling agency lines of machine tools, first for a firm in the Midlands before heading up his own company in the southwest, AMS Technology. He joined Heller Machine Tools, a wholly owned subsidiary of the German machine tool builder in June 1994.
For further information www.heller.biz

Training boss warns about industry growth

A West Midlands training provider believes manufacturing’s recent growth could be hampered if the UK cannot get more people to take up vacant apprenticeship opportunities.

Gareth Jones, joint managing director at In-Comm Training, says his Aldridge-based academy has more than 100 positions – all attached to high value engineering jobs – that are available immediately, but there seems to be a reluctance to come forward and take advantage of them. He puts this down to engineering and manufacturing still suffering from negative perceptions in schools and a lack of understanding on the career opportunities an apprenticeship could offer.
“Companies are coming forward and saying they want to invest in apprentices; that challenge has been overcome to a certain degree,” explains Jones, who runs the business with his sister Bekki Phillips. “We now need to make sure that, as a country, we’ve got a pipeline of young people or more mature learners to fill them.”
For further information www.in-comm.co.uk

Tightening grip on UK market

Three years ago, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) made a strategic decision to become the UK agent for the Big Kaiser brand of tooling. Since signing the agreement, sales of Big Kaiser product lines have more than trebled in the UK. In fact, the UK has rapidly become the fifth largest European market for Big Kaiser.

Discussing the founding of the relationship with ITC and how the partnership has flourished over the past three years, Giampaolo Roccatello, Big Kaiser head of sales for southern Europe, says: “When we wanted to target growth in the UK, we spoke with numerous companies at MACH 2014. It was very important that we found a partner that would complement, rather than conflict, with our brand. We spoke with ITC and found they were very focused, passionate and technically competent, and this fitted our philosophy perfectly. We had an ambition to reach sales of £1m in the UK by 2020; this target will be reached well before this date.”
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk