Machine Building

Inverter drives used in new action movie 'All You Need Is Kill'

Invertek Optidrive P2 drives have been used by the special effects team during filming of the new movie 'All You Need Is Kill', starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

14th July 2013

Rapid, reproducible automated testing of tennis balls

World-class tennis players rely on the tennis balls to be of championship quality. To ensure uniformity and consistency in performance during tennis tournaments, ball manufacturers are required to submit samples of their products to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for testing and approval.

12th July 2013

Vibration monitoring equipment for marine machinery

Considering the cost of putting to sea, it is well worth investing in vibration monitoring equipment that can help engineers to protect and maximise the performance of marine machinery. Here, Chris Hansford, Managing Director of Hansford Sensors, discusses the challenges facing engineers and offers advice on how to successfully install and use vibration sensing equipment on marine vessels.

11th July 2013

Porsche Cup Scrutineer uses rapid CNC-machining service Firstcut

Based in Germany, Robert Magin is a full-time, professional, motor racing scrutineer. His responsibility is primarily for the Porsche Cup races around the world, ensuring fairness by making sure all teams and their cars adhere to the same technical specification, conditions and rules.

11th July 2013

Compressor technology saves automotive supplier 70,000kWh pa

At Alutec in Germany, sustainability, the environment and energy efficiency are used as benchmarks for (almost) everything. The same applies to its supply of compressed air, which the company obtains through an Atlas Copco contracting agreement. In 2012, the entire compressor station was replaced by latest generation machinery, saving the company at least 70,000kWh of electricity every year. Alutec uses the waste heat from the energy efficient compressor for cleaning parts and for heating.

11th July 2013

Water purification system supports renal dialysis at home

Parker Hannifin has secured important new business with Purite Water Purification Systems. Parker solenoid valves and Liquiffit fittings have been specified on Purite's new Centurion 1500 that provides a compact, high-quality water purification system that can allow renal patients to safely undergo haemodialysis in their own homes rather than at specialist medical facilities.

9th July 2013

Lights out "˜Machine Team' help keep sub-contractor on top

A thriving North East manufacturer employing "˜lights out' machine-shop automation has been awarded for its successful diversification into the competitive aerospace sub-contract engineering sector. Consistent investment in advanced machine tool automation, including robotics, has helped ALM Products to build a new sub-contract engineering service into a healthy 40 per cent of turnover.

9th July 2013

Robot-controlled acoustic holography in hearing aid development

Hearing aid manufacturers are constantly striving to improve speech intelligibility and comfortable listening, with researchers investigating computer-aided technology to design better hearing aids by improving sound transmission, reducing noise interference and feedback.

9th July 2013

AdduXi achieves quality standards with Keyence's IV Series

The cost-effective IV Series vision sensor allows AdduXi to carry out more inspections on its production lines with ease.

8th July 2013

FIT cuts kitchen ventilation costs with Vacon drives

Vacon AC variable speed drives are helping Food Industry Technical Limited (FIT), a specialist in energy management for commercial kitchens, to provide its customers with energy savings of up to 50 per cent on kitchen ventilation and extract systems. The Vacon drives are incorporated in FIT's Cheetah range of modular air management systems, which have been adopted by many companies involved with food preparation, including Tesco, Sainsburys, Claridges, Center Parcs, Hilton and ASDA.

5th July 2013