Although the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown saw the market for subcontracting fall by an unprecedented 56% in the second quarter of 2020, the latest Qimtek Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) indicates that June showed signs of recovery.

The CMI for Q2 2020 stood at 49, compared with 112 in Q1 2020. The baseline figure of 100 represents the average value of the subcontract manufacturing market between 2014 and 2018.
Commenting on the figures, Qimtek owner Karl Wigart says: “While business was obviously down during the months of April and May, when both machining and fabrication were hit hard, things started to pick up in June. We anticipate a continuing improvement in the third quarter as buyers have told us they are looking at new projects, carrying out complete reviews of their preferred suppliers, and reshoring manufacturing. All in all, the outlook appears to be positive for those UK subcontractors that are in a position to take advantage.”
For further information www.qimtek.co.uk

TK Fabrications of Harlow, a family-run engineering company specialising in the machining and fabrication of low-to-medium volume batch work, is reaping the benefits of its investment in PSL Datatrack production control software.

The company’s previous Excel-based system for quotations was not integrated into the rest of its order processing system, while the manual inputting of customer data was too time-consuming. PSL Datatrack’s modularity has meant that TK only needed to invest in the modules required at the outset.
For further information www.psldatatrack.com

Protecting frontline workers against the threat of COVID-19 has been the catalyst for nine manufacturers and an engineering design agency to come together and launch a new product.

The Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN) has invested more than £30,000 in the design and manufacture of the reusable manKIND Visor. Backed by expertise from the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the collective took just six weeks from initial concept and prototyping to create a bespoke tool at Barkley Plastics that is able to produce 500,000 units every year.
For further information www.mankindvisor.co.uk

BAE Systems has added a fourth Stratasys F900 3D printer to its manufacturing site in Salmesbury.

Alongside the existing three machines, the latest F900 will run around the clock as an integral part of BAE’s transformative ‘Factory of the Future’ initiative, a cutting-edge facility in Lancashire which brings together the latest advances in technology and manufacturing to work seamlessly with human operators in a first-of-its-kind, fully connected way.
Today, Stratasys industrial-grade FDM additive manufacturing is used across aircraft ground equipment operations for a wide range of applications spanning space models and design verification prototypes, manufacturing tools such as jigs and fixtures, and end-use parts. According to BAE Systems, the use of additive manufacturing across these applications is making production more flexible, faster and helping to reduce costs.
For further information www.stratasys.com

“Welcome to Hexagon production software products.” Those will be the first words delegates hear when they visit Hexagon’s virtual stand at the forthcoming Backing Britain 2020 exhibition.

While many trade fairs have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, this project, run by the ‘Made In Group’, aims to replicate a traditional trade show entirely online, using technology to enhance and improve value for exhibitors and visitors. The show, running virtually on 17-28 August, will consist of around 150 exhibitors, each with their own online stand.
For further information https://is.gd/kuvaku