Close Brothers Asset Finance has appointed machine broker specialist Neil Ainge as its regional manager of the finance for industry team, part of the manufacturing division.

His recruitment is part of the firm’s continued strategy of strengthening sales teams with sector specialists. Ainge has over 30 years’ experience in financial services, with the past 12 years spent at an asset finance and insurance brokerage, where he specialised in the sale of machine tools. He says: “I’ll be offering customers a guided approach to ensure they purchase an asset that is a sound investment and works for their business.”
For further information www.closeassetfinance.co.uk

The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) has launched the 2020 edition of the Technology, Design and Innovation (TDI) challenge.

This flagship competition for schools, which has been running for 17 years, will return this year with a twist. Due to coronavirus, a new format for TDI 2020 is being launched online. Students will enter by submitting a 2-minute video setting out why and how the innovation will benefit its users. Once the video is completed, all the student must do is share it on social media using the hashtag #tdichallenge2020.
For further information www.thetdichallenge.co.uk

When Huntingdon-based Cutting Edge Precision Engineering was asked to produce large quantities of components to support ventilator and respiratory systems for one existing and one new customer, it was faced with the challenge of sourcing tooling.

To meet that demand it turned to Ceratizit UK & Ireland, which could guarantee the delivery, technical support and pricing to make the job work. On this project alone Cutting Edge Precision committed five vertical machining centres, all of which required a range of Ceratizit cutting tools, including end mills, drills, forming taps, thread mills and drill-reamers for holes down to 5.02 mm diameter. A selection of work-holding solutions was also supplied.
For further information www.ceratizit.com

Online retailer Zoro supplies businesses across all industries with tools and equipment from a range of more than 310,000 products.

Over recent weeks the company has seen a huge surge in demand, with Zoro staff working non-stop to keep UK industry moving. However, although the company is working at full capacity to fulfil orders, customers are being advised to expect a slightly longer delivery time due to the unprecedented demand.
Chris Matenaers, marketing director at Zoro says: “Compared with the same period last year we’ve seen demand across some products more than double. Our teams are working longer than usual hours to get much-needed supplies out of the door, keeping UK industry workforces safe.”
For further information www.zoro.co.uk

US-manufactured Chick System 5 work-holding equipment, supplied in the UK through sole agent 1st Machine Tool Accessories, is helping to increase productivity and efficiency in the machine shop of Axminster Tools & Machinery, located in Devon. The company is an online and high street retailer of tools and machinery that it imports from global suppliers. However, Axminster chooses to manufacture some machine accessories, including the Clubman SK80 woodturning chuck, in-house to ensure quality.

Historically, standard wind-up vices were used to fixture components for machining on CNC mills and machining centres, but as production levels rose they became too inefficient. Then, a new job came along that required particularly accurate clamping of multiple small parts, namely steel jaws for chucks.
To provide a solution, 1st MTA proposed its Chick Qwik-Lok system, which significantly reduces set-up times as the jaws secure components quickly and to high repeatability for milling and drilling. One large part can be clamped between two jaws, but to allow more parts to be loaded at a time, a pair of components, or multiples, are held in two stations. Aluminium jaws machined with the profile of the parts to be held ensure they are retained firmly during machining.
Once Axminster Tools & Machinery adopted this procedure, clamping several steel mounting jaws in each Qwik-Lok station, productivity was increased. The machine operator is able to change over up to six Qwik-Loks on a VMC table in half an hour, four times faster than when previously using the bespoke steel fixture plate. Moreover, the latter had the drawback of potentially causing damage to the cutter in the event of a programming error, whereas this is not the case with aluminium jaws.
For further information www.1mta.com