UK NEWS

Nearly time for TDI Challenge

The MTA’s competition for schools, the Technology, Design and Innovation (TDI) Challenge, returns to Yamakazi Mazak’s European headquarters in Worcester, on 4 July for finals day.

TDI 2017, Mazak

TDI Challenge is aimed at GCSE and A-Level students; they submit their coursework projects and a panel of industry judges made up of MTA members decides the winners. Two age categories exist within the competition 14-16 and 17-19, with six finalists in each age group. There is also a group category within the 17-19 age group and three teams will be competing for that prize.
For further information www.mta.org.uk/tdi

Speakers named for manufacturing event

Notable industry leaders have been announced as part of an interesting line up for this year’s National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expo.

The event, which takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 26 June, promises a host of informative sessions, networking opportunities and debate from manufacturing leaders and academics. Among the topics set to be discussed include project management, supply chain optimisation, procurement, IT logistics, materials handling and robotics.
Some of the key speakers taking part this year include: Lesley Rudd, chief executive of the Sustainable Energy Association; Christopher Snelling, head of UK policy at the Freight Transport Association; Alan Harrison, group lean manager at IMI Plc, Tim Eaton, head of logistics and supply chain at Flogas; Rob Morton, supply chain operations director at The Quadrant; Ashley Naughton, head of supply chain consulting at ITG – Tata Consultancy Services; and Emma Hancock of Network Rail UK.
For further information
www.manufacturingevent.co.uk/register/

Export performance recognised

Published earlier this month, the ninth annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table listed machine tool sales company NCMT in 134th place.

The table ranks 200 mid-market private companies (unquoted and not subsidiaries) in Britain with the fastest growing international sales. NCMT hit export sales of £14m in the last financial year, up from £10.7m the previous year, representing a 30% increase. In a new development, the company is now looking to diversify into manufacturing precision gears in small to medium quantities, for which it has written proprietary software.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

New flow line at Heller UK

More than £2m has been spent upgrading the Heller Machine Tools manufacturing plant and headquarters at Redditch, UK.

The administrative and applications engineering departments have benefitted from a comprehensive makeover, while a new customer area for machine demonstrations has been added. Most notable of all, production output of horizontal machining centres has risen by 30%.
As part of the latest initiatives, activities in Redditch have expanded into the assembly of five-axis machines (in addition to four-axis models) for world markets. As part of the expansion, Heller installed an 11-station Strothmann flow line and new logistics system for the manufacture of horizontal machining centres. At every stage of the manufacturing process, work carried out on the machines is documented, providing full traceability as required in order to comply with the factory’s ISO9001 accreditation.
For further information www.heller.biz

First gear grinder of its type in UK

Precision Technologies International Ltd has recently installed a Klingelnberg Höfler Viper 500K universal gear grinding machine at its Tamworth headquarters; the first machine of its type in the UK.

Technical sales director at Precision Technologies Colin Palin says: “In order to expand our capacity, meet both current and anticipated demand, and further increase our in-house capabilities, we recently investigated the available high-end, external/internal gear and spline grinding machines. Having judged several suitable machines against our demanding wish list, we came to the conclusion that the Klingelnberg Höfler Viper 500K met and in many ways exceeded our expectations.
“For instance, thanks to the logical operating system, our staff quickly became skilled in the machine’s use,” he continues. “The Viper 500K is now producing the required high quantities of ground gears with complex geometries for use in automotive and motorsport applications, as well as other equally challenging areas.”
Klingelnberg Höfler’s Viper 500K gear grinding machine, as purchased by Precision Technologies, is designed to accommodate component diameters of up to 500 mm. Multiple-wheel technology is featured, making the machine suitable for the production of small to medium-sized batches.
The configuration of the machine allows users to change the grinding technology by quickly swapping-out the grinding wheel, the grinding wheel flank and the dressing wheel. An optional internal gear grinding arm allows re-tooling and conversion from external to internal gearing work.
According to Palin, “the help of Mark Maurice, the owner of UK Klingelnberg Höfler agent Micronz, was invaluable when specifying the machine and ensuring trouble-free installation and operator training”.
For further information www.micronz.co.uk