Clark Prize

Olivia Rodrigues of Donhead Preparatory School, Wimbledon, and Famida Noor Mahomed of London Design & Engineering UTC, Royal Docks, have received the 2026 David Clark Prize from the ERA Foundation for their work connecting students with engineering. Michael Howey of UTC Warrington received a highly commended distinction. Each winner received a £3000 personal award and £12,000 for their school over three years to support engineering and STEM initiatives. Established in 2016, the prize is organised by the ERA Foundation and named for its former executive secretary, Dr David Clark, who passed away in 2025. 

More information www.erafoundation.org 

Engineer Retires After 50 Years on The Shop Floor

An engineer is hanging up his micrometre after spending more than five decades on the shop floor. Gerry Dunne, who started his working career as an apprentice toolmaker with Brandauer in Birmingham in 1976, will retire as operations director of Pre-Met in Redditch at the end of this month. Dunne has spent the past seven years supporting the growth of the metal stampings and pressing specialist. 

The industry veteran has used his hand-on leadership style to champion lean manufacturing and just-in-time processes, helping the firm achieve more than £3m of new orders across automotive, rail and, more recently, defence. “It’s been a fantastic 50 years,” he says. “I’ve made so many lifelong friends and been involved in manufacturing businesses that make products we use in everyday life.” 

More information www.metalpressingsandstampings.co.uk 

HBK Opens eRgistration for Online Technology Days

Test and measurement expert, Hottinger Brüel & Kjær (HBK) has named the dates for its annual durability and reliability technology days. Now in its seventh year, the free virtual series will take place on  3, 10 and 17 November 2026, bringing together HBK experts and industry specialists for six 90-minute technical seminars (in English). This year’s programme spans the engineering lifecycle - from understanding and monitoring the behaviour of physical structures, to analysing vibration and shock, predicting reliability, and exploring the growing role of AI in engineering workflows.   
More information www.tinyurl.com/mr2xhwdy 

London’s Largest Factory Since World War II Opens

Isembard is opening its new global headquarters and factory in Southwark, London, the largest factory to open in the capital since World War II. The announcement comes as the company expects to raise significant additional funding to support its ambitious expansion plans on a global scale, having grown revenue by 10 times year-over-year in the past 12 months. Isembard expects headcount at Southwark to grow to 200 by the end of 2027. 

The Southwark site spans 160,000 sq ft and will serve as Isembard’s global head office alongside a working CNC machining facility, producing components for aerospace, defence and robotics customers, including Anduril, Babcock and Tekever. Located just a few minutes from Westminster and the city. The factory houses an array of three- and five-axis milling machines, turn-mills, and wire EDM machines, alongside a climate-controlled metrology lab.  

More information www.isembard.com 

Vision Engineering Unveils Autofocus Digital Inspection Microscope 

Vision Engineering, a UK-based designer and manufacturer of magnification and inspection systems, has launched PicoZoom, a digital inspection microscope combining motorised zoom, one-click autofocus, focus stacking, measurement and reporting in a single workflow. 

Designed for component inspection, PicoZoom gives manufacturing and quality control teams access to automated imaging, measurement and reporting without the cost or complexity of higher-end digital inspection platforms. 

One-click autofocus and a motorised 0.7x to 4.5x optical zoom (18.9x to 121.8x system magnification) allow operators to move between parts, surfaces and magnification levels without changing lenses or manually refocusing. Quadrant-controlled LED lighting provides directional illumination and automatic exposure to highlight edges, marks and surface detail. 

For parts with varying depths, such as stepped surfaces and threaded components, PicoZoom’s focus stacking combines images captured at different focal planes into a single sharp composite, extending depth of field without manual refocusing. 

Built-in dimensioning and annotation tools enable operators to capture measurements and images and compile formatted reports without leaving the system, supporting quality documentation and traceability. 

“Manufacturers today face increasing pressure not only to carry out inspections consistently, but also to demonstrate and document the results,” says Sam Crossley, managing director of Vision Engineering. “PicoZoom combines imaging, illumination and reporting in a single, easy-to-use system that can be deployed quickly and adopted with minimal training.” 

PicoZoom connects via HDMI, USB 3.0 and LAN and uses a 2 MP CMOS sensor delivering 1080p resolution at 60 fps. Its compact 320 x 308.6 mm footprint suits production, quality control, incoming goods inspection and defect analysis applications across sectors including aerospace, motorsport, automotive and medical. 

More information www.visioneng.com