Qimtek

Protolabs has added high-performance Inconel and Maraging Steel alloys to its direct metal laser sintering offering for rapid prototyping and functional end-use parts with complex geometries.

Inconel 718

As a nickel-based heat resistant alloy, Inconel 718 is high strength, corrosion resistant and can be used at temperatures between -252°C and 704°C. Its high-temperature strength is derived from its ability to create a thick, stable passivating oxide layer at high temperatures, protecting the material from further attack.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street praised A&M EDM’s dynamism and commitment as he commissioned equipment from a £750k investment.

This investment pushed the company to record sales of £6.1m in 2018, a 32 % increase on 2017, and covered CNC machinery and equipment.

This included a 5 Axis Hurco CNC machine, two spark eroders, Hitachi handheld analyser for alloy identification and Renishaw laser calibration to enable preventative maintenance of 22 CNC machining centres

Lee Spring’s new Centenary Catalogue issue 25 includes a full new section of DIN-Plus parts 2 and 1 compression springs. This extensive 525 series of new parts in end-closed passivated stainless steel wire, or end-squared and ground plated spring steel, provides manufacturers with a welcome resource for rapid delivery of standard parts, as well as a springboard for specification of custom units to suit those slightly different installations. DIN part 2 covers the Compression Instrument DIN (CID) standard, while DIN part 1 makes up the LCD – Lee Compression DIN standard series.

EMKA announce single and multi-factor authentication for linked front and back cabinet doors in data storage environments. Their “at the handle” db BioLock fingerprint authentication can be used on its own for biometric level security, or may be coupled with other components to incorporate keycard, RFID, smartcard and/or PIN inputs to provide seamless access control across a complete enterprise.

Read our preview of what some of the subcontracting companies at Southern Manufacturing will be featuring.

Precision casting and machining

Expromet Technologies Group (M180) combines the capabilities of precision casting and machining businesses to deliver engineering solutions to its global customers.

At the show it will be exhibiting the wide range of design, casting, finishing and machining solutions provided by its subsidiary companies, Investacast and Haworth Castings.

Launching into 2019 by financing a £200k machinery investment, in a period when the headlines are discussing challenging finances and a slowing of the UK’s economic growth, indicates WES’s success, as well as their commitment to their local workforce and UK manufacturing.

Ex-stock rivet nuts and rivet bushes from Challenge Europe are frequently ideal fixing solutions, by providing female threads in thin walled sections. Sheet materials are commonly difficult to integrate with more rugged bulky components, since provision of solid fixing in thin sheet is often a problem – however, it is a problem easily resolved with rivet nuts which compress onto the sheet, or by rivet bushes which are pressed into it.

Axiom Product Development has appointed three new staff to expand the skills and broaden the capabilities of the Chichester-based specialist machining and tooling business. The new staff come after an extremely successful six months for the business, with double-digit growth, expansion into new markets and a doubling of new customers.

Brose Limited, a leading mechatronics specialist to the automotive sector, has appointed a new Managing Director to build on its significant recent growth.

Steve Wilkins, an industry specialist with more than 30 years’ experience, has taken over at its two Coventry plants in Colliery Lane and Foleshill and has already expressed his desire to make the most of five years of continued investment in the UK.

Specialist materials supplier voestalpine High Performance Metals UK has boosted its machining capability for value added services with the addition of three new machine tools.

The company supplies specialty metals to the demanding sectors including, Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Power Generation, Automotive and Motorsport.

SPONSORED STORY: Mate is starting a punching revolution with its new Ultra® QCT™, a quick change, tool-less thick turret punching system for easier, faster setups.

Ultra QCT is simple and intuitive to setup, and fully compatible with Mate’s Ultra® family of guides and standard canisters. With its robust patent-pending design, Ultra QCT is the new standard in punch press tooling.

2018 was a good year for subcontractors with the market up 31% on 2017.

Despite uncertainty for the UK manufacturing industry as a whole, the latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) for 2018 was 227, which compares to a figure of 173 for the previous year.

Within those headline figures though there was a 7% downward trend through the year – although this eased off in the second half.

The CMI for the fourth quarter of 2018 stood at 222 – up 61% on the equivalent quarter in 2017 and fractionally down (0.45%) on the previous quarter of 2018.