UK NEWS

TDI Challenge 2018 – entries open

The MTA has launched the 2018 edition of its competition for design, technology and engineering students: the Technology Design and Innovation (TDI) Challenge sponsored by Close Brothers. Previous winners and participants have used the TDI as a springboard into the industry, with last year’s winner in the 17-19 age category, Halimah Ershad of Forest School in London, receiving an undergraduate scholarship to the Dyson School of Engineering.

TDI 2017, Mazak, 5th July 2017, MTA

The TDI Challenge 2018 has four categories, and is open to anyone in the UK who has created an impressive design, technology or engineering project within school: individual student aged 14-16 (GCSE/KS4/BTEC L2); individual student aged 17-19 (A-Level/BTEC L3); student group (three to six members) aged 14-16 (GCSE/KS4/BTEC L2); student group (three to six members) aged 17-19 (A-Level/BTEC L3). The competition is free to enter, and students can win prizes including an iPad, GoPro, UE Boom Speaker, drone plus many more. Closing date for entries
is 11 May.
For further information www.mta.org.uk/tdi

RARUK teams up with TM Robotics

RARUK Automation has teamed up with TM Robotics to offer Toshiba SCARA, Cartesian and six-axis robots. The systems complement the company’s established product programme, which has been focussed on collaborative and mobile transport robots, automation systems and feeding solutions.

TM Robotics’ managing director Nigel Smith is certain he has found the perfect sales partner. “RARUK Automation has an extensive sales force and, importantly, this is backed-up with an in-house team of automation and robotics engineers.”
For further information www.rarukautomation.co.uk

Upbeat National Manufacturing Barometer

The latest National Manufacturing Barometer, a quarterly survey conducted by SWMAS (part of Exelin Group) in partnership with Economic Growth Solutions (EGS), has generated an upbeat response from its invited 320 manufacturing industry leaders. An overwhelming majority of respondents (72%) said they anticipate an increase in sales in the next six months – the highest figure recorded for nearly three years.

Encouragingly, more than half (56%) of manufacturers included in the Barometer indicated that they aimed to deliver against their growth targets by investing in machinery and premises, a rise of 13% on the last report. However, 48% of respondents to the latest survey said they planned to recruit new staff, which is only 2% higher than the same time last year. This suggests that improving productivity through the existing workforce and facilities remains the key focus.
For further information www.swmas.co.uk/barometer

Students thrust magnesium into the spotlight

Students in Birmingham are being challenged to showcase the potential uses of magnesium within the aerospace sector as part of a competition being staged by Birmingham City University and the world’s largest producer of magnesium components, Meridian.

At 1.8 g/cm³, magnesium is the lightest of all structural materials, however, misconceptions surrounding the element’s properties have seen a historical aversion to designing products with this material when compared with less sustainable and heavier metals.
The competition being set by the partners aims to alter these perceptions with an interdisciplinary art installation designed by students that will be showcased to experts at the university, Meridian and the International Magnesium Association (MIA), which is also supporting the project. If the winning prototype inspires further investment, it is hoped a full-scale version will be crafted from magnesium and exhibited in a partner venue.
For further information www.bcu.ac.uk

Flexible automation for the masses

From its biggest ever stand at MACH 2018, Thame Workholding (Hall 6, Stand 170) will display a number of products receiving their UK exhibition premiere. For instance, RoboTrex is the first Lang automation equipment based on the small QuickPoint 52 system.

Suitable for retrofitting to the front or side of a machine tool, the RoboTrex can work with individual components up to 12 kg. Customers can choose from up to four specially designed workpiece trolleys that serve as vice storage systems. Furthermore, two new RoboTrex vices, with a jaw width of 46 and 77 mm, can be mounted vertically for optimal use of space when being picked-up by the robot.
Another MACH debutant on the Thame stand will be the Inoflex VL range. This weight-reduced series of self-centring four-jaw chucks is suitable for vertical turning centres, offering part-clamping capacity from 420 to 1200 mm. Compensating features permit the clamping of round, cubic and geometrically irregular workpieces when milling or turning.
While conventional chucks operate with all jaws moving in the same direction, either towards or away from the centre of the chuck, the Inoflex chuck operates with the jaws moving together or apart on two parallel axes. In addition, weight-reduction characteristics improve clamping forces at higher machining speeds while simultaneously reducing the stress and forces placed on the spindle when machining large workpieces.
Thame will also introduce its latest series of multi-face fixture systems for five-axis machining. This three-faced fixture facilitates the clamping of three individual components on a single device. According to the company, the fixture provides greater clearance and access to five-axis parts, especially when compared with standard four-face tombstone systems.
For further information www.thame-eng.com