UK NEWS

3D printing apprenticeships from MTC

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is to launch the first apprenticeships in the UK dedicated to providing the skills needed for additive manufacturing.

MTC additive manufacturing apprenticeship programmes, which are set to launch in September, will provide a pipeline of technicians skilled in one of the fastest-growing advanced manufacturing technologies in industry. The MTC’s learning design manager Martin Dury says: “The manufacturing industry is crying out for this and we will be able to make it available in a format that allows people to learn while earning, funded by the apprenticeship levy.”
For further information www.the-mtc.org

10th edition of Advanced Engineering

The Advanced Engineering 2018 exhibition is celebrating its 10th birthday by being bigger and better than ever, according to show organisers Easyfairs.

New for this year is the Nuclear Engineering zone. Other zones include Aerospace Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals and Connected Manufacturing.
This year’s exhibition will build on the success of the 2017 show, where attendance increased by 15% on the year before. Visitors stayed on average just under three hours at the event. The 2018 exhibition takes place on 31 October and 1 November at the NEC, Birmingham.
For further information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Report reveals manufacturings true impact

Manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy and more than 7.4 million jobs depend on it, according to new research commissioned by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA).

The study by economics consultancy Oxford Economics shows that the sector is responsible for 23% of UK GDP, well over double the figure that is routinely quoted, and accounts for 5 million more jobs than often thought.
“This report clearly demonstrates that anyone who says that manufacturing doesn’t matter to the UK economy is badly mistaken,” explains James Selka, CEO of the MTA. “The figures that people often quote setting manufacturing alongside the service sector miss the point that a huge part of the service sector – from logistics, to research, to catering – serves manufacturing. For every £1m the manufacturing sector contributes to GDP itself, it creates another £1.5m elsewhere in the UK economy.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk

Muller celebrates IATF 16949 accreditation

A subcontract machining specialist has become one of the first manufacturers in the UK to secure a new automotive quality accreditation.

Muller Holdings, which employs 90 people at its headquarters in Cleobury Mortimer, has achieved the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) 16949 standard, which is now being used by the main automotive manufacturers and tier one suppliers when awarding new contracts.
The IATF standard, which is held by all of its four UK sites, as well as its factory in India, puts the firm in a position to not only retain existing automotive work, but explore additional contracts to produce parts for new model platforms in the UK and overseas. This approach is already paying off, with £300,000 of new orders recently secured with Wabco and THK Germany.
For further information www.muller-england.co.uk

ITC stands out at MACH

In the past two years Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) has expanded its facility, invested heavily in new technology and significantly increased its product offering with the addition of the full-line of Widia indexable insert tools and the Big Kaiser brand of tooling and tool-holding technology.

At MACH 2018, it was the internal investment programme and ITC product extensions that were prominently promoted by the company.
ITC drew the attention of show visitors to the new range of micro-tools that are manufactured on the company’s Rollomatic GrindSmart Nano 6. As the first machine of its type installed in the UK, the addition gives ITC the opportunity to manufacture cutting tools from 0.2 to 2.0 mm, with concentricity tolerances below 0.001 mm. The six-axis grinding centre with an integrated robot-loading facility has been working around-the-clock since it was installed.
The result of this new technology has seen ITC extend the diameter range of its most popular product lines. With many of the solid-carbide end mill lines previously available in diameters from 3 to 25 mm, the new GrindSmart Nano 6 has enabled ITC to extend current product lines with diameters starting from 1 mm.
ITC also offers a variety of diameter increments to suit the needs of the end user. The enhanced product ranges with micro dimensions incorporate two-, three- and four-flute solid-carbide end mills with a choice of diamond-, AlTiN- and Cupro-coated tools to support the machining of everything from aluminium through to steel, hardened steel, graphite, aluminium alloys and more.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk