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News round-up Mazak’s Worcester factory upgrade
The Technical University of Munich
(TUM), Oerlikon, GE Additive and
Linde are collaborating to create an
additive manufacturing (AM) cluster
in Bavaria. https://is.gd/nonuhe
An alliance of six of Germany’s
Fraunhofer institutes is aiming to
speed up 3D printing with metal
powder by at least a factor of 10.
Results will be on show at Formnext
this month, to be held in in Frankfurt
am Main, 19-22 November.
https://is.gd/katiwe
Kennametal Inc has formed a
3D-printing materials and
production business unit. It is
already shipping 3D-printed
production parts to customers.
https://is.gd/igadez
Sandvik is opening a new plant for
titanium powder production that
will expand its offering for additive
manufacturing (AM) processes. The
facility will produce new titanium
powders – Osprey Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5
and Osprey Ti-6Al-4V Grade 23.
https://is.gd/canowu
The metal and resin part
producing Kraken additive
manufacturing (AM) machine that
has a maximum working area of 20
by 8 by 6 m got an airing at a nal
research project conference
recently, along with rst nalised
demonstrator parts.
https://is.gd/baniri
Liberty, part of the GFG Alliance of
industrial companies, has begun
construction of a powder metals
Yamazaki Mazak has made a series
of major investments at its UKbased
European manufacturing
plant in Worcester.
The multimillion-pound
investments include two new stateof
the-art manufacturing cells
making component parts for new
Mazak machines produced at the
Worcester facility. Each cell is
equipped with an Integrex i-Series
machine and RoboJob Tower
automation system.
Mazak’s Worcester facility is its
European headquarters and only
manufacturing site on the
continent, producing more than
1,000 machine tools every year,
80% exported to mainland Europe.
Speaking to the media at the
recent EMO Hanover 2019 trade
show, Takashi Yamazaki, president
of Yamazaki Mazak, also con rmed
that the Worcester facility would be
upgraded to iSMART Factory status,
the company’s highest level of
development facility in Teesside that
will produce materials for 3D
printing, starting March next year.
https://is.gd/ecewaf
The Manufacturing Technology
Centre’s new innovation and
knowledge hub for metal additive
manufacturing was recently
launched. The new hub aims to lead
research, development and
collaboration on metal additive
manufacturing, developing and
testing ideas for taking the
technology forward.
https://is.gd/ivanub
RoboJob Tower automation systems will feature. The 4.6 m
high tower system has twin-elevator storage trays, allowing
replenishment concurrent with running
Industry 4.0 connectivity, in line
with its other plants in Japan and
Kentucky in the United States.
Richard Smith, European Group
managing director, commented:
“Our Worcester facility has always
been at the forefront of
manufacturing innovation as we
strive to become even more
productive and ef cient. The new
Industrialists across the Shef eld
City Region are holding back on
investment in productivity-improving
technologies such as robotics and
automation because of poor access
to funding, skills and hands-on
‘demonstrators’, according to a new
report published by
researchers at the
University of
Shef eld in
collaboration
with the
Advanced
Manufacturing
Research
Centre (AMRC).
https://is.gd/
zunuci
Digital Catapult, the UK’s leading
advanced digital technology
innovation centre, and Ericsson,
one of the world’s leading providers
of information and communications
technology, will partner in a new
Industrial 5G Accelerator
investments are a clear illustration
of our dedication to manufacturing
excellence and continued
commitment to manufacturing in
Europe. The proposed upgrade to
iSMART Factory status will bring
further improvements and ensure
that the facility remains in the front
rank of Mazak’s global
manufacturing footprint.”
programme to demonstrate 5G’s
key role in industrial settings.
https://is.gd/ipimox
Filtermist International Ltd has
restructured its UK business
operations to ensure it delivers
single-source solutions, following
a number of acquisitions
over the past three
years. Its current eight
businesses will
become two:
Filtermist
International and
Filtermist Systems
(see also p34).
https://is.gd/oroyiz
Protolabs, which works with
thousands of product designers and
engineers across Europe every year
to produce custom prototypes and
low-volume production parts, is
building a bespoke 50,000 ft2
extension to its Hales eld facility.
It will house at least 50 additional
Rubix UK has completed the acquisition of Peter Campbell Sales Ltd,
a specialist supplier of metalcutting tools that offers bespoke
manufactured solutions across many sectors. Rubix is Europe’s largest
supplier of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products and
services. It resulted from the merger of IPH with Brammer in 2017,
following the acquisition of Brammer by Advent International. Brands
include: Biesheuvel Techniek, Brammer, Brammer Buck & Hickman, Matrix
Tooling Services, Giner, Julsa, Kistenpfennig, Minetti, Montalpina,
Novotech, Orexad, Robod, Syresa and Zitec. https://is.gd/acubij
8 November 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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