UK NEWS

Subcontractor takes control with XYZ bed mill

Manufacturing parts used in everything from bakeries and canning lines to subsea submersibles, betting shops and poodle parlours, Leeds-based Industrial Plastics Supplies makes products that are used in the unlikeliest of places and is now aided in its production with the acquisition of a new XYZ RMX 4000 bed mill.

“The need to invest in a CNC milling machine came after we looked at our costings and lead times,” reveals managing director Chris Luty. “Although we had two routers, there was a limitation on thickness of cut, which often left us with no choice but to outsource. Having done the sums, we decided to purchase a machine that could do thicker work in-house.”

Following a recommendation, Industrial Plastics Supplies contacted XYZ.

“XYZ came in to see us straight away, taking the time to look at our work and even provide some cycle time estimations using XYZ bed mills,” says Luty. “After a subsequent visit to the XYZ showroom in Huddersfield we decided to go for the RMX 4000. Delivering 5.75 kW to the ISO40 spindle through a two-speed head ensures the cutting capability is vastly superior to our routing machines.”

He adds: “The machine, moving at 10 m/min rapid traverse, has reduced our non-cutting times tremendously, while the defaults feature in the ProtoTRAK control allows us to set up the machine exactly the way we want to work. It fills in some of the prompts automatically during conversational programming and helps minimise any mistakes as we go. But still one of the greatest things on the ProtoTRAK control is the TRAKing feature. The ability to wind the handles, which in turn run the program, is so confidence inspiring.”

More information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Rapid Fusion unveils ‘Medusa’ breakthrough

A breakthrough in large-format hybrid 3D printing has been successfully unveiled by Rapid Fusion. The Exeter-based company attracted more than 100 industry specialists, potential customers and funding partners for the launch and demo of Medusa at its R&D centre. Delegates saw the machine, which boasts a 1.2 m3 volume build and motion speeds of 1200 mm/sec, print a complex mould in under 5 hours. Bosses have already received significant interest from tier-one manufacturers and several primes for the £500,000 machine and are predicting a potential £5m revenue return in the first year.

More information www.rapidfusion.co.uk

Consolidation at IndySoft

IndySoft, a global specialist in calibration and asset management software, has acquired its UK distributor, IndySoft Europe Ltd, effective 1 April 2025. The acquisition marks a major milestone in the two-decade relationship between the companies and reflects IndySoft’s ongoing commitment to international expansion and deeper support for its global customer base. Existing customers will experience a seamless transition and continue to work with the same dedicated team, now operating as an integrated part of the IndySoft global organisation.

More information www.indysoft.com

Goodfellow Announces Two More Acquisitions

A UK supplier of advanced materials and metals has completed two landmark acquisitions in a matter of weeks, helping the company deliver a more “comprehensive material offer” for its growing customer base. Goodfellow has purchased UK-based Bureau of Analysed Samples (BAS) and Suisse Technology Partners (STP) in Switzerland in two deals that will give it access to state-of-the-art laboratories and testing facilities, as well as a certified reference materials capability. They follow the acquisition last year of Potomac Photonics in the US, supporting the firm’s target of achieving over £50m in revenue within two years.

More information www.goodfellow.com

World’s largest RTM press system revealed

Langzauner, a pioneer in advanced hydraulic press systems, has achieved a breakthrough in aerospace manufacturing technology through its collaboration with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). AMRC’s Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) is a major boost to aerospace R&D in the UK, providing a new innovation facility that will initially house Boeing’s research project to de-risk and develop high-rate sustainable structures.

At the heart of this innovation is Langzauner’s newly developed resin transfer moulding (RTM) press system, said to be the largest-of-its-kind globally for integral aero-structural parts. Using this state-of-the-art press system, the project aims to reduce large component process times by a factor of 10 – from approximately 40 hours to just four hours – while maintaining high quality standards.

Darren Wells, senior technical fellow for large composite structures at the University of Sheffield AMRC, says “When we created the specification for such a groundbreaking piece of equipment, we knew we’d set the bar very high in what was achievable. Langzauner’s solution not only meets all of our targets but exceeds in many of them meaning this press will be at the forefront of high-rate composite manufacturing research for years to come.”

The press system features a 10,500 x 3500 mm platen size and delivers high precision with adjustable pressing force up to 2400 T.

The system also offers: press force regulation accuracy of 0.1%; a sliding table system accommodating 180 T mould mass; plate parallelism control within hundredths of a millimetre; individual cylinder control with active parallelism management; and gap injection functionality with two-axis rotation capability. The system is fully integrated with IIoT capabilities, enabling data collection for artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in factory-scale process optimisation.

More information www.amrc.co.uk