Monday 7 July 08 - 06:20
 

Industry News

  • Rise in Steel Prices Prompts Call to Action

    01 May 2004

    Accelerate, the automotive supply chain initiative for the West Midlands, is calling for the region's suppliers to work together to combat the escalating cost of steel. 

  • Environmentally Aware Manufacturing Could Stem Slump in Production

    01 May 2004

    "Environmentally aware manufacturing is the one remaining thing that can stem the quarter century long slump in volume manufacturing in the UK and Europe", an international conference at the University of Warwick was told last month. The speaker, Professor Sir Kumar Bhattacharyya is head of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick. 

  • Get Support To Benefit from EU Enlargement

    01 May 2004

    From 1st May 2004, the EU became the world's largest single market with 25 states in total, representing some 455m people (75m additional from the 10 new Accession countries). To combat the increased competitive pressures, and to take advantage of new opportunities, UK businesses could benefit from the support offered by the government's UK Trade & Investment (previously known as 'Trade Partners'), says Mark Eaton Director of the MAS (South East & London), for EEF South. 

  • Rolls-Royce Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation

    01 May 2004

    Tuesday 4 May 1904 marked the first meeting of Henry Royce and the Hon Charles Rolls. Two years after that Rolls-Royce Ltd was formed, and a year later the motoring press hailed the latest model, the Silver Ghost, "the best car in the world". Throughout 2004, Rolls-Royce plc plans to celebrate its centenary with a series of special events planned in the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, North America and the Far East. 

Joining, Fabrication & Assembly

  • Polished Bronze Plated Shelf Provides New Home For the Arniston Stones

    01 May 2004

    R.Wilson & Co Ltd (Zachrome), Derbyshire, one of the largest bronze electroplating specialists in the UK, completed an extraordinary job this month for the Scottish Parliament. The new parliament building at Holyrood required a prestigious bracket to display pieces of stone from the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament building. 

  • Unique Laser Peening Facility is First in Europe

    01 May 2004

    Metal Improvement Company (MIC) has opened its first European-based laser peening production facility in Earby, Lancashire. The state-of-the-art production facility is only the second of its kind in the world to offer this unique technology for use on turbine engine components for commercial aircraft. 

  • Finishing Specialist Fixes a new Feather in its Cap

    01 May 2004

    Aerospace and industrial finishing specialist Ashton & Moore Ltd, has recently achieved the prestigious Nadcap accreditation for chemical processing, and was one of the first in the UK to do so. Ashton & Moore has already held Nadcap approval for its non-destructive testing services, for three years, and the latest audit report was so good as to warrant an 18 month period before the next audit. 

  • Hi-Tech Beam Welding Boosts Joining Services

    01 May 2004

    The purchase of two leading edge beam-welding machines has helped Creative Instrumentation to increase its capacity for contract vacuum join welding. The company is one of Europe's leading specialists in fine-tolerance joining technology and has been providing sub-contract joining and welding services for over 30 years. 

  • Software Upgraded to Prepare for Nadcap Audit

    01 May 2004

    Brenda Grove, managing director of Stainless Plating Ltd, Sheffield is currently awaiting the results of the first Nadcap audit of her metal finishing facility. The company has been running Metfin software, from Sumari Business Systems, since 1995 to route batches to more than 170 vats, but needed to upgrade to the latest Windows version to prepare for the audit. 

  • Coating Business Joins Metal Improvement Group

    01 May 2004

    E/M Coating Services has been acquired by the Metal Improvement Company (MIC). The state-of-the-art facility in Evesham will work closely with MIC's five other facilities in the UK to provide a full range of metal surface treatment technologies for protection of critical metal components against fatigue, fretting, corrosion and wear. 

  • Awards Won For Forming, Fabrication and Assembly

    01 May 2004

    Cambridgeshire-based Shearline Engineering won the top award in the Best Subcontractor (Assembly and Finishing) category at the Metalworking Production Awards at Subcon last month. Shearline also received a 'Highly commended' award in the Forming and Fabrication category. 

  • Vintage Steam Lorry 's Boiler Needed Special Skills to Make New Jacket

    01 May 2004

    Deepdale Engineering in Dudley has gained a reputation in the restoration business for their quality and skill which has seen them work on projects from tall ships to steam locomotives. The company recently came to the rescue during the televised restoration of a 1931 Sentinel Steam Lorry. 

  • 'Best Subcontractor' Awards Supply Partner

    01 May 2004

    Fife Fabrications (FiFAB) of Glenrothes, itself, a winner of major international awards, has awarded Wilson Tool International of Swindon as its 'Supply Partner of the Year'. A few months later, at the recent Metalworking and Production Awards 2004, FiFAB received Highly Commended awards for: Best Subcontractor Forming & Fabrication, Best Subcontractor Assembly & Finishing, and Best Partnership Development. 

  • Expansions Attract New and Diverse Customers

    01 May 2004

    Last month, fabrication and machining engineers A.Taylor and Son (Leeds) Ltd returned from a successful Subcon exhibition with enquiries from a number of high profile clients in various new technology sectors. Celebrating 140 years of service to the manufacturing industry this year, A.Taylor has self financed three major expansions in the last 10 years and continues to provide added value, high quality, medium to heavy fabrications, with supplementary machining, to a diverse and growing customer base. 

Precision Engineering

  • Medical Technology Day To Show Latest Advances

    01 May 2004

    On 23 June, the GTMA, supported by Advantage West Midlands, is holding a Medical Technology day, hosted by CERAM Technology, at its Research Centre at Stoke on Trent. 

  • Geared Up To Be Lean

    01 May 2004

    With support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service for the South East, Kent-based HV Wooding Ltd, producers of millions of precision engineered components and assemblies, has reviewed its company processes and introduced a number of 'Lean'manufacturing techniques to improve overall performance and customer satisfaction. 

  • Grinding Operations Will Be Most Advanced in UK

    01 May 2004

    On the second day of MACH 2004, Vincent Bootes, owner of PG Technology Ltd, signed a purchase order for two Studer S31CNC cylindrical grinding machines. The purchase is part of a £multi-million investment program that has seen PG evolve over the past two years into a consolidated manufacturing organisation offering contract manufacturing, advanced toolmaking, 5-axis CNC machining, CNC grinding services, and CNC grinding wheel profile dressing systems. 

  • Contractor Increases the Complexity of its CAM for Competitive Advantage

    01 May 2004

    Since January 1997 LMS Precision Engineering created its own CNC programmes for its vertical machining centres using SmartCAM software. However, last year, the purchase of a six pallet Matsuura HP405 horizontal machining centre demanded a more complex level of programming. LMS called in Bill Payter of Keynsham Engineering Services to create the programmes, again using SmartCAM. Later this year, SmartCAM version 12 will be released; the first update since the product became unavailable in 2001. 

  • Subcon Boosted Niche Specialist's New Status as Single Source Supplier

    01 May 2004

    Dunstable-based Hone-All Precision intended to use its presence at Subcon last month to raise awareness of its recent diversification from a niche drilling and honing job shop to a provider of fully machined components. The plan was evidently successful as Hone-All's cost of participating at the show has already been recouped. 

  • Heavy Shafts Machined to H8 Along 3.185m Length

    01 May 2004

    BIFTV, the Glenrothes based heavy precision machining company has succeeded in taking the production of large scale precision components to a new level of accuracy in the recent manufacture of large rotor shafts for hydroelectric power generation. 

Tooling & Machinery Services

  • Toolmaking Specialist Helps to Run Rings

    01 May 2004

    Pontypridd-based FSG manufactures complete sets of tooling for VTL Automotive Ltd on an ongoing basis, using the most advanced technology to provide the benefits in speed and accuracy that only a specialist and dedicated toolmaking company can provide. 

  • Automotive Production Line Finishes with Single Crystal Diamond Tooling

    01 May 2004

    Following 12 years of developing products for the automotive industry, Chase Diamond Tools recently designed and supplied single crystal diamond (SCD) tooling for a particular production line where a fine surface finish was required. "This shows that industry is waking up to the possibilities of SCD technology", says Martin Dickens of Chase Diamond Tools. 

  • Customised Carbide Indexable Insert Milling Cutters Make Their Mark

    01 May 2004

    Vargus Tooling UK has recently supplied specially developed indexable insert milling cutters to a manufacturer of components for steam turbine engines. The special grade of carbide that withstands high temperatures generated during the milling of high quality heat resistant steel, was developed by Innotool of Germany, whose products and production engineering support services are represented in the UK by Vargus Tooling UK. 

  • Machine Tool Company Contributes to College

    01 May 2004

    At the Faculty of Technology, Ffordd Ffriddoedd campus, Coleg Menai, North Wales, the 500 students signing up each year for engineering courses are trained on XYZ machine tools. The college's latest purchase is a Mini Mill 560. 

Stevens Rowsell is a specialist precision sheet metal engineering company in East Sussex