Qimtek

PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) has become one of the first companies in the UK to be ‘virtually’ re-certified to ISO9001:2015 without a site visit.

The strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialist, which works with 20 of the world’s leading machinery builders, completed its three-year re-certification audit without a BSI assessor physically being on site.

Small to Medium-sized (SME) manufacturers across England have been given a £6.5m funding boost to help them recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and address key barriers to growth.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme, which is funded by ERDF and delivered by Oxford Innovation Services, has been extended until December 2022 and will give a further 2800 companies access to industry experts and grants to tackle immediate business issues and support improvement plans.

Elesa are market leaders in the manufacturing of standard components, designing many high performing and specialist products for specific industries. Process Control falls into one of these many categories, where high grade control elements are vital for the reliable operation of processing plants. Typically, Elesa offer their stainless steel handwheels, visual flow indicators, rugged latch clamps and many other components vital to this industry sector.

The Swiss high precision manufacturing trade show, EPHJ, is back on track and will now take place from 15 to 18 September this year. The organisers say that it is essential that we now begin to prepare for the future.

The show was originally due to take place in June but has been postponed due to Covid-19. It is the largest annual trade fair for the watchmaking, jewellery, and micro- and medical technologies sectors in Switzerland and is held at Palexpo in Geneva.

EMKA offer effective ex-stock gasket solutions for glazing of inspection panels on equipment and windows on vehicles.

Based on traditional well proven designs, these EPDM glazing profiles come in an “H” section clamping style with separate locking strip to ensure a secure fixing of glass/acrylic/polycarbonate/aluminium, or similar panels of up to 6mm thickness in up to 2.5mm doors.

FDB compression latches from sales partner DIRAK often find their application in what may be considered “special” niche situations such as rail or road vehicles, food processing plant and similar, where they provide security and rugged operation.

Compression latches are by design especially vibration resistant to nuisance opening and so are applicable to closing of doors and drawers where a rough ride is expected, or where security from vibration is a paramount consideration, as in many road or rail applications.

Ultimately, one can never know completely how a fastener will function in-situ until you try it which is why accelerated ageing trials and extended excess load tests are frequently performed to ascertain a realistic safety margin. Guidelines from hard-won experience can normally be accessed, but sometimes an unusual situation needs to be evaluated or perhaps a replacement of the exact same type is simply not available and a suitable replacement is required. It is easy and tempting to over-specify, but Challenge Europe can help.

Manufacturers are being warned to tread carefully if changing their supply base, as in some cases their products could be more vulnerable to copiers – writes Alex Harvey of  Withers & Rogers.

Depending on the circumstances, they should consider taking steps to minimise their exposure.

Barnshaws Polska has supplied over 2100 tonnes of rolled steel plates to support the construction of a crude oil storage tank in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic.

The new tank is part of a large central crude oil tank farm, which holds emergency reserves of oil and provides interim storage before the refining process.

Protolabs has launched a big block rapid CNC machining service to turn around aluminium parts in 24 hours as the manufacturing sector looks to reshoring to get supply chains moving.

Daniel Evans, Manufacturing Engineer at Protolabs said demand for rapid CNC machining capability for aluminium 6082 was rising with companies looking to develop their own products and needing prototypes to prove the parts quickly. 

The Engineering Capacity July Special Edition is out now
In this Special Issue, produced in association with SteelScout,  we look at how digitalisation, supply chain issues and reshoring will change the way we work in the wake of COVID-19.

CLICK HERE TO READ IT NOW

Polamar Precision has cut lead times and increased throughput on aerospace engine components with an in-house selective plating process.

US-based Polamer Precision is a global aerospace manufacturing company which specializes in complex components for demanding applications. Having worked with SIFCO ASC on a plating application for an engine component for many years, the company harnessed the expertise of SIFCO ASC’s engineers to bring the process in-house. The move helps Polamer to increase throughput, save costs and ensure complete ownership of the quality management process.