Innovation in Metal
There are lots of innovation taking place in the UK Metals sector, with companies striving to make operations greener, products lighter and applications more complex.
Below is a selection of ‘innovations’ that are making a huge difference on a daily basis.
DigiTool can extend the life of manufacturing parts by 120%
A £1.2 million Innovate UK project has identified a solution to remanufacture dies using additive manufacturing and machining.
The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) collaborated with six other partners to develop a new DigiTool framework that can be retrofitted to a legacy machine tool to save entry costs.
One industrial partner has already extended the life of a die by 120%, allowing it to make more than double its standard output of complex parts before needing to invest in a new one.
Next Generation of Stainless Steels
N’GENIUS Materials Technology specialises in the invention of next-generation stainless steels.
Patented in more than 30 countries globally, the series is a complete ‘family’ of high-performance, high strength austenitic stainless steels that will revolutionise how materials are specified.
N’GENIUS grades, which can be manufactured in both wrought and cast product forms, possess all the benefits of conventional austenitic stainless steels including excellent ductility and toughness at ambient, sub-zero and cryogenic temperatures, but with vastly superior strength and corrosion resistance.
This combination of mechanical properties allows products to be made with reduced wall thicknesses, using less material and offering the potential to make products lighter and smaller. Meanwhile, the vastly improved corrosion resistance enables products to last longer, reducing maintenance costs and allowing facilities to be designed for a longer service life.
As well as being a sustainable material choice, the N’GENIUS Series is well suited to applications in various clean energy industries including nuclear, hydrogen, wind, tidal and solar energy.
1 billion milestone
Hadley Group’s internationally patented UltraSTEEL® process is now helping to produce 1 billion metres of material every year.
The cold rollforming technology, which can be included as a part of a fully automated line, enables you to improve product efficiency, save weight and reduce the use of raw materials.
By passing metal sheets through a pair of textured rollers, the roll-formed metal gains a uniform dimpled effect.
This dimpled effect improves the strength of finished metal parts — helping customers use less metal and reducing impact on the environment.
- The result of more than 35 years’ R&D investment
- Up to 20% more strength, up to 20% less raw material
- Over 100,000 tonnes produced each year
- Manufactured on over 300 rolling machines worldwide
Sheffield Forgemasters seeks planning for new facility
Engineering specialist, Sheffield Forgemasters, has submitted a pre-planning application for a landmark 30,000 m2 machining facility on brownfield land in Sheffield’s Meadowhall district.
Located on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, the new facility will form one of the world’s most advanced large machining facilities, to support the Ministry of Defence-owned company’s manufacture for the UK defence programme.
With work on the site planned to start in Q4 2024, the building will cover a space equal to 12 olympic-sized swimming pools and will contain 17 new machines, including some of the largest and most advanced five-axis Vertical Turning Lathes ever produced.
Sylatech’s aluminium thumb for children takes Component of the Year title
A specialist in lost wax metal casting has seen its transformational prosthetic aluminium thumb for children win ‘Component of the Year’ at the UK Cast Metals Industry Awards.
Kirkbymoorside-based Sylatech beat off the challenge of other finalists to secure the major title, impressing judges with the way it has helped bring a product to market that will help young people who have lost a hand due to injury, congenital conditions or for other medical reasons.
Designed by prosthetic hand designer Ted Varley, the thumb required a high level of detail and an as-cast surface finish with no machining.
With wall thicknesses down to 2mm for some cast elements and 1mm diameter cast-in holes, Sylatech used 3D wax printing to optimise the design flexibility.
Samples were provided to the client within three weeks of the order being placed, with significant cost savings also achieved.