UK NEWS

Keeping vintage wheels turning

In order to meet demand for quick turnaround on low volume parts, and with the company’s original mill coming to the end of its life and now obsolete, Alstonefield-based Tractor Spare Parts Ltd placed an order for a two-axis XYZ SMX 2000 turret mill, specifying the optional DXF converter.

“For many of the parts we make I have to create new CAD files as drawings either never existed or the originals are long gone,” says co-owner Andrew Griffin. “The ability to then export the DXF file straight to the ProtoTrak control is a sizable advantage. The support available from XYZ is also a big plus. When the machine first arrived I struggled to get to grips with the DXF side of things, so XYZ sent an applications engineer to us here in the middle of the Peak District who spent time explaining the system. Everything fell into place and now it is second nature.”
Co-owner Joanna Griffin adds: “The tractor spares side of the business is all mail order via our website, but due to the nature of the parts we are producing and the age of the vehicles they are being fitted to, there may have been modifications along the way. Therefore, we tend to contact customers directly and discuss what they actually want. These conversations ensure that they get exactly the part they need and Andrew can tailor the manufacture of that component easily with the XYZ SMX mill. We are then confident to ship it halfway around the world in the knowledge that it will fit.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Heat treatment innovation on display

On Stand P52 at Advanced Engineering 2017 (NEC, 1-2 November), Wallwork Group will be showcasing its research and development capacity. From sites in Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge, the company provides a range of metal improvement services.

Heat treatments include solution, age or precipitation hardening and tempering, nitriding by gas or plasma and more. Coatings include TiN, CrN, CrALN, TiALN, DLC and multi-layer variants. The company is also a centre of excellence for vacuum brazing, producing complex component assemblies by joining same-metal or dissimilar metals.
For further information www.wallworkht.co.uk

Open Mind expands UK team

Open Mind Technologies, which last year posted record sales figures, has employed three new staff to help underpin the CAM software specialist’s growth levels. Karl Oram has joined after spending 25 years as a CADCAM specialist in Canada. Appointed as an application engineer, he will apply his experience to conducting demonstrations, on-site support and training for end users. In support, Joshua Harper and Cory Jamieson have also joined Open Mind, as application engineer and junior application engineer respectively.

Adrian Smith, managing director at Open Mind Technologies UK, says: “To underpin our continual growth, we have a strategy in place to employ more sales engineers and application engineers. It is the application engineers that will support new customers beyond the post-sales process with assistance for all technical queries. Our new recruits will enhance customer experience and service while supporting the sales engineers.”
For further information www.openmind-tech.com

Ford Engineering partners Gateshead College

Ford Engineering Group has chosen Gateshead College to deliver apprenticeships, workforce development programmes and traineeships as part of plans to upskill its existing staff and create engineering career opportunities for young people.

The first apprentices have already started, splitting their time between Ford Engineering’s sites across the region and the college’s Team Valley-based Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics – a £5.5m purpose built facility that has seen recent investment of more than £300,000 in machinery and tooling.
For further information www.gateshead.ac.uk

100+ attend Dugard open house

More than 100 people attended Dugard’s recent two-day open house at the company’s headquarters in Hove. Many came from subcontract firms specialising in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, medical and general engineering, although representatives from a several large OEMs were also in attendance. The company says that 11 orders for machines were placed at the event, with lots of strong leads collected.

Dugard vertical machining centres proved popular, including the company’s range of five-axis models. Indeed, two five-axis machines were officially unveiled at the event: the large-capacity Dugard X5-800 and the X5-320. A number of turning machines were also introduced, including the Dugard 52SY Swiss-type CNC lathe, Dugard i42U production CNC lathe and Samsung SL2500bSY CNC lathe with Siemens control.
For further information www.dugard.com