Going for growth

Promising to be the busiest yet, and with around 800 exhibitors gathering in the show’s new home, Southern Manufacturing & Electronics and the co-located AutoAero show return to Farnborough from February 5-7, 2019.

Now open for business, Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre has quickly become an important showcase for aerospace manufacturing. With approximately 22% of the UK’s 3,400 aerospace companies and significant levels of automotive, medical technology, marine and various other hi-tech manufacturing activities in the vicinity, its location could hardly be more appropriate.

For machinery manufacturers, it’s an opportunity to showcase their newest offerings to buyers from both the major aerospace manufacturers and the myriad of smaller suppliers in the downstream supply chain. This year, Southern Manufacturing welcomes the return of several firms who haven’t been seen for some years. Citizen Machinery UK will exhibit for the first time since 2007, joined by many other significant former exhibitors, including Mitutoyo (UK), Filtermist International and Hainbuch.

Additive and subtractive 5-axis CNC machine tools and 3D printers can be seen working in harmony on the Matsuura Machinery stand to demonstrate the production strategies now available to UK manufacturers. This show will mark the first appearance of its MX-850, using fixtures and workholding printed on the company’s HP Multi-Jet Fusion 580 colour 3D printer.

Meanwhile, Mills CNC will showcase the Doosan DVF 5000 simultaneous 5-axis machine by machining a complex, high-precision aerospace component, live at the show. The compact, rigidly-built machine provides simultaneous 5-axis machining capability.

Hurco launches the latest software update for its Max5 CNC, a new Solid Model Import option to enhance the existing conversational routines in the control. Working exhibits include the compact Hurco VM5i machining centre and the Max5 control-equipped Hurco TM10i 2-axis CNC lathe.

Whitehouse Machine Tools showcases the Brother Speedio M140X1 5-axis, 30-taper mill-turn centre. Along with Brother, the firm is the sole agent for many other leading brands, including Germany’s Wele and Axa, Akari from Taiwan and CNC turning centres from Italy’s Spinner and Biglia.

A major development for 2019 has been the forging of closer ties with several of the most influential industry bodies for aerospace manufacturing, including the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, the Confederation of British Metalforming, the Gauge and Toolmakers Association, The British Gear Association, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and Composites UK. The fruits of these collaborations can most clearly be seen in the expanded and revised free technical seminar programme that has become an extremely popular feature of the show.

Running in two lecture theatres on all three days of the exhibition, the 2019 programme features a notable line-up of speakers and subject areas that will be of great interest to those involved in aerospace manufacture. Richard Collins of IDTechEx takes a look at the state of play with additive manufacturing in aerospace and defence, together with some predictions for the future. There’s further discussion of additive manufacturing and large-scale 3D printing in aerospace in sessions with Noir Eid of the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and David Speight from Scaled. The benefits of incremental sheet forming (ISF) processes are explained by Roger Onions, business development director of the GTMA. Stewart Williams, professor of Welding Science and Engineering at Cranfield University will discuss the large-scale additive manufacture of engineering components using Wire + Arc Additive Manufacture (WAAM) – a technique that is currently arousing great interest in many sectors of industry.

Business topics under review include Practical Problem Solving with Steve McCarthy of Hansei Technology discussing how best to approach problems and issues, turning them into opportunities for improvement. Steven Barr of Edge Digital looks at digital readiness tools and Industry 4.0 - how to maximise value from the right digital technologies for your business. With Brexit looming large on the horizon, Dr Chris Robertson of RINA Consulting discusses what’s next in trade relations and product regulation.

UK manufacturing’s backbone

The wealth of suppliers exhibiting will play a pivotal role in the supply chains to the key industrial sectors that form the backbone of the UK’s manufacturing strength.

Yamazaki Mazak will exhibit its INTEGREX i-400S Multi-Tasking machining centre during the event. The i-400S features a large 1,500mm machining bed, a 30kW 3,300rpm main spindle, supported by a powerful 26kW 4,000rpm second spindle, which combine to deliver high-speed, high-accuracy machining of medium to large workpieces up to Ø658mm and 1,519mm in length.

Elsewhere, Hurco will showcase its compact Hurco VM5i machining centre with a working volume of 457 x 356 x 356mm. Capable of fitting into a space less than two metres wide and able to enter a doorway two 2m high, the machine will impress visitors by its ability to offer true machining centre performance. Steel cutting demonstrations will take place throughout show.

Meanwhile, The Wallwork Group says it is starting 2019 with increased capacity coming online. From its Manchester, Birmingham, Cambridge and Newcastle locations, Wallwork provides a rapid service to customers in all corners of the UK. Increased operating capacity includes a large capacity Seco vacuum furnace (pictured) and Rübig Plasma Nitride furnace in Cambridge. A new 1,200kg payload furnace for processing aluminium is coming on stream in Birmingham and this will be followed closely by a new sealed quench furnace due to be in operation early 2019.

Moving on, KASTO’s smallest model in the range of eight KASTOwin automatic bandsaws will be exhibited on its stand at the show. The saws are suitable for processing a variety of materials in stockholding and manufacturing across diverse industry sectors. Incorporating many innovative features that boost productivity, the KASTOwin 3.3 on show has a maximum cutting capacity of 330mm, which rises to over 1m for the largest model. The machines are ideal for mass production sawing of solid material, tube and profile. In addition to five standard models, there are three further variants: one specifically for processing additively manufactured parts; an upstroking machine intended for efficient cutting of tube; and a saw designed for optimal use with carbide blades.

Finally, Broanmain Plastics will unveil a diverse range of mass-produced aviation components, all moulded at the company’s new manufacturing facility. Among them, hinges for aircraft galleys, parts and housings for a fighter pilots’ training simulator, impellers for fighter and surveillance drones, fuel delivery components for a civilian passenger plane, plus a sensor housing fitted to an aerospace engine. Broanmain currently manufactures a number of high-quality, dimensionally stable polymer housings, components and rotating parts for the aviation and defence sector. Its extensive high-volume, purpose-built moulding facility, comprising a fleet of precision injection moulding machines and a dedicated in-house tooling maintenance and assembly workshop, has the capacity to produce in excess of 200,000 components a week.

www.industrysouth.co.uk