JANUARY 2019 ROUND-UP
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The University of Nottingham has
opened a new £24m research facility.
The Advanced Manufacturing Building is one of the
largest manufacturing research institutions in the UK.
“The Institute is helping to shape the manufacturing
research agenda nationally and internationally, and is
supplying the technology and specialist skills to support key industrial
sectors and encourage the growth of emerging industries.”
Professor Svetan Ratchev, director, Institute for Advanced Manufacturing
Pic of the month
Rolls-Royce has celebrated the delivery of the 2,000th Trent 700 engine, manufactured
at its factory in Derby. The Trent 700, the original member of the now seven-strong
Trent engine family, has become the market leader and engine of customer choice for
the Airbus A330 aircraft.
In 2018, Rolls-Royce celebrated the Trent 700 completing its 50 millionth flying
hour, the equivalent to flying around the world more than one million times. The
company’s best-selling engine, the Trent 700 has played a significant role in transforming
Rolls-Royce into a global powerhouse. It has helped to increase the company’s
widebody market share from 13% in 1995 – when the engine was first introduced –
to more than 50% by the early 2020s. The milestone comes as the Trent family story
continues with the entry into service of the Airbus A330neo, which is powered by the
seventh and most recent Trent family member, the Trent 7000.
Commenting on the news, Dominic Horwood, chief customer officer for Civil
Aerospace at Rolls-Royce said: “The Trent 700 is an iconic engine, the first of a Trent
family that will power aircraft for decades to come. I want to thank every customer who
has chosen Trent as we celebrate this milestone.”
GKN launches new
technology centre
GKN Aerospace is to
build a new Global
Technology Centre
(GTC) in Bristol, backed
by a £17m commitment
from GKN Aerospace
and a further £15m from
the UK government,
through the Aerospace
Technology Institute.
The 10,000m2 facility,
which is expected
to open in 2020, will
employ 300 engineers
and includes space for
collaborative research
with universities, the
network of Catapult sites
and GKN Aerospace’s
UK supply chain.
The centre will focus
on state-of-the-art
additive manufacturing,
advanced composites,
assembly and Industry
4.0 processes to enable
the high-rate production
of aircraft structures. It
will also serve as a base
for GKN ’s technology
partnership in the Airbus
‘Wing of Tomorrow’
technology programme
as well as new additive
manufacturing
programmes.
Rolls-Royce