UK NEWS

XYZ ends 2017 on a high

XYZ Machine Tools closed out 2017 by posting an increase in order intake for the eight months from May to December.

The company’s UK order book grew by more than 23% in this period, while orders from the rest of Europe rose by 19%. XYZ managing director Nigel Atherton says: “2017 ended very strongly for XYZ and, with the new machine developments already announced, along with several other introductions that will be unveiled at MACH, we are looking forward to 2018 continuing the positive trend.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Entering the AM sector

Known for selling turnkey metal-cutting systems to UK and Irish manufacturing industry based on German machine-tool agency ranges, Geo Kingsbury has announced that with immediate effect it is also offering additive-manufacturing solutions.

The move follows the company’s appointment as exclusive distributor within the same market for AddUp Global Additive Solutions, which is owned jointly by Michelin and the Fives industrial engineering group. As a result, Geo Kingsbury has created a new Additive Manufacturing Division at its offices in the Midlands, headed by Richard Hughes.
For further information www.geokingsbury.com

Brandauer passes 1.5bn components

An independent stamping and presswork specialist is proving that the ‘best things in manufacturing come in small packages’.

Brandauer, which employs over 60 people at its factory in Birmingham, produced more than 1.5 billion components last year that were accurate to a tolerance of 20 µm – the best performance in its 156-year history. The firm has invested heavily in high-speed press technology, a wire EDM cell and the skills of its workforce to help it grow the number of small and technical parts it produces by over 10%; equating to more than £1m in sales.
For further information www.brandauer.co.uk

Record UK sales for Blum

Metrology specialist Blum-Novotest has seen sales pass the £500,000 mark for the first time since the UK subsidiary was launched in 2000. The target this year is for another 20% growth, with the company set to build on the early success of its Digilog touch-probe systems by launching LC50 – Blum’s latest laser-control technology. The company says that the system will deliver up to a 60% reduction in the time taken to check and measure parts on a CNC machine tool.

“We’re finding that a lot of our customers are increasingly looking to source measurement solutions that are quick, can perform on complex components and, importantly, can be fitted to a machine tool for real-time data and the best possible accuracy,” explains David Mold, managing director of Blum-Novotest Ltd. “This is exactly what we do with our range of products that start from a simple tool-setting probe and go right through to workpiece probes, roughness and bore gauges,
and the new Digilog touch probes.”
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

Alpha remains on track to double turnover

Alpha Manufacturing, one of the UK’s largest precision sheet metal fabricators, has acquired a TruBend Cell 7000 high-speed robotic bending cell from Trumpf. The investment helps keep the company on track to achieve its ‘2020 Vision’ – a five-year plan to double turnover by 2020.

“We have for some time admired the TruBend Cell 7000 from afar, but had resisted as all of our existing bending machines [press brakes] are from another supplier,” explains operations director Paul Clews. “However, with press brake skills becoming increasingly hard to source, we knew it made sense to look closely at more automated solutions. At first we considered press brakes with automatic tool changers, but these did not compare with the TruBend Cell 7000. In my opinion, there is nothing else like it on the market.”
Clews and his team performed due diligence on the TruBend Cell 7000 and found the company would have no problem filling three shifts, 24-7, so the purchase decision was made. The machine is now hard at work bending a multitude of different parts.
“In comparison with a standard press brake, we are achieving 30-40% more efficiency,” says Clews. “However, it’s also about the skill set available on the machine. We now have complete peace-of-mind that no parts will be bent incorrectly. Such has been its impact that in 12 months we may look at taking another. Machines like the TruBend Cell form part of our long-term vision to deskill and automate.”
For further information www.trumpf.com