The University of Sheffield’s AMRC have collaborated with Airbus on a project to automate the delivery of tooling supplies at Airbus’ Broughton factory. Airbus has said they could develop robots that would be able to autonomously shift entire aircraft wing assemblies at its North Wales factory.

The comments follow the announcement that the aircraft-manufacturing giant has successfully trialled autonomous mobile robots at their Broughton site. The company now say the technology could be expanded to ship entire aircraft wing assemblies as the advantages of using autonomous robotic vehicles become evident on the factory floor. Airbus trialled the technology as part of a collaborative research project involving engineers from the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). In a statement, Sheffield’s AMRC said the project hoped to automate component handling, as well as to “eliminate non-value-added operations and give significant benefits to Airbus in terms of capacity and rate ramp-up.”

The autonomous robots have a payload of 200kg and top speed of 4km/h. They are designed to move small items such as drilling tools in a storage rack designed and validated for use using augmented reality technologies at the AMRC’s Factory 2050. Factory 2050 is the UK’s first state of the art factory dedicated entirely to conducting collaborative research into reconfigurable digitally assisted assembly, component manufacturing and machining technologies.

The robots are equipped with in-built laser scanners that help robots to navigate their environment without human assistance, along with flashing lamps and beacons to specify status and intended direction to those in the vicinity. The successful trial has motivated Airbus to consider scaling up the technology to transport entire aircraft wing assemblies.

The University of Sheffield researchers are also working with AMRC to establish a business case for future deployments of AMRs across the Airbus shop floor.

They are doing this by making additional alterations to the AMRs, such as adding cameras to observe the number of tools delivered per shift and industrial laser scanners mounted vertically. These laser scanners can detect overhanging obstacles and enclose the robot in a protective field, which will alert operators to any errors; disabling the robots safely if there are any problems.

Dr Lloyd Tinkler, the ARMC Senior Project Engineer says that expanding the use of AMRs at the Broughton factory will save Airbus time and money, and augment productivity:

“Supervised trials of the robots have already taken place and estimated that utilising them could save the whole time equivalent of one operator per shift in the current use case at Airbus, freeing time for the operators to work on highly-skilled tasks, ultimately improving shop floor productivity.” The Broughton factory is home to more than 6,000 Airbus employees and has manufactured aircraft since 1939.

It has produced aviation classics such as the Vickers Wellington, Avro Lancaster, and De Havilland’s Comet and Mosquito aircraft.

In total, Airbus UK employs 14,000 people. According to Oxford Economics, the company contributed £7.8 billion to the UK economy and supported 117,000 jobs in 2015

The government has announced a multi-million-pound Aerospace Sector Deal that builds on the UK’s excellence and heritage in aerospace, aims to transform the future of flight, through electrification and autonomy, and commits to increasing gender equality in the sector. The defence and aerospace industry recorded a £10bn increase in deals over the last 12 months, with the total deals valued at £31bn.

The industry has achieved annual revenue growth of 7% over the last five years, account for 7% of UK exports and employ 338,000 people, according to trade organisation, the ADS Group. It will also be spent on developing autonomous air vehicles and better airspace management. The programme will receive £125m funding from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund with the other half being match funding by the aerospace industry.

Aerospace giant GKN will also receive £15m in government funding for a new Global Technology Centre. The centre will be dedicated to a variety of processes, including additive manufacturing (AM), advanced composites, assembly and industry 4.0 processes. Like the Future Flight Challenge, it will be joint-funded by government and industry and centre on R&D projects. Supporting SMEs in the UK aerospace supply chain to boost their competitiveness through a new productivity improvement programme.

Finally, the Aerospace Sector Deal commits the industry to increase diversity and inclusion by embedding the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter. Earlier in the year, 50 companies in the aerospace and aviation sector signed up to the Charter to work towards gender equality in the industry. Virgin Atlantic, BAE Systems, and Bombardier were just some of the signatories.

The ADS Group said that the sector deal shows the strength of the industry, while programmes like the Future Flight Challenge are a major opportunity for the industry to become more innovative and eco-friendly.

Businesses from the British aerospace industry are urging MPs to approve the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK government and the EU. Aerospace, defence, security and space trade association (ADS) and member companies including Airbus and Rolls-Royce have invited MPs to meet them in Parliament, to discuss industry’s support for the Withdrawal Agreement.

With Brexit approaching, the aerospace industry is looking to politicians to deliver certainty over arrangements after the UK leaves the EU in March.

What is the Withdrawal Agreement?

The Withdrawal Agreement would confirm a longer transition period for businesses, and enable the government time to develop and agree a comprehensive deal over Britain’s future relationship with the EU that will take effect once the transition period ends.

The advice comes after more companies ramp up their ‘No-Deal’ Brexit preparation; businesses have increased stockpiling of goods and slowed investment. ADS chief executive, Paul Everitt said in a statement, “With very little time now remaining before the UK leaves the EU, continued uncertainty is damaging to business investment and is forcing companies to implement costly contingency plans.

He said that is in the “best interests” of the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space industries for a Withdrawal Agreement. “Further delay increases the risk of a no deal Brexit. This would be the worst possible outcome and would bring significant disruption to industry in the UK and Europe, damaging jobs and growth.”

Everitt concluded: “We hope MPs now take the earliest opportunity to approve the Withdrawal Agreement, confirming a transition period and allowing talks on our future relationship with the EU to progress.”

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There is something unmistakably Aston Martin about the new Vantage. It retains the British marque’s characteristic blend of aggression and sophistication – like a cage fighter squeezed into a Savile Row suit. However, it is in other respects quite different to cars that have gone before it and the rest of the current range.  The previous Aston Martin line-up felt a bit like a set of Russian dolls but now there is a concerted effort now to give each new model its own unique character. For the Vantage, it is intended to be the most driver-focused car in the range, the one delivering the purest sense of connection and involvement.

There remains an amount of commonality in the manufacturing process. Under the steel skin, there is a bonded extruded aluminium structure loosely based on that of the DB11. The front section of the chassis, as far back as the windscreen, is structurally identical although tuneable components, such as suspension bushes and engine mounts, are unique to the Vantage. From that point rearwards, virtually everything is bespoke. Aston Martin states circa 70% of the structure is new.

The new Vantage also marks a significant departure from the old model. The previous chassis used many straight extrusions, while the new platform relies heavily on castings that can be shaped to maximise available space. That is good news for passengers and their luggage, as at 350 litres, the boot is now larger than that of a Ford Focus also giving engineers room to accommodate things like larger wheels and a bigger fuel tank.

The new Vantage should consume less super unleaded fuel than its predecessor. Gone is the old 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V8, replaced by a 4-litre twin turbocharged unit sourced from Daimler, delivering 503bhp at 6,000rpm and with 685Nm of torque from just 2,000rpm. The power is also delivered in one vast sweep, right up to the 7,000rpm red line, with pin sharp responses and a total absence of turbo lag.

Fuel efficiency targets mean that Aston Martin has finally caved in and adopted electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) in place of the old hydraulic system.  As with most EPAS systems, however, the one area where it struggles is feeling.

When it comes to point-to-point pace, the new car deals a crushing blow to its predecessor. Even on cold, damp B-roads, the bespoke tyres do a remarkable job of handling the V8’s mammoth torque. It helps that the new structure is around 20% stiffer than the old one, while the rear sub frame is now mounted direct to the chassis (without the deformable bushes used in the DB11).

Road test reports so far from motoring journalists suggest, it is hard to find fault with the new Vantage. It is a capable and entertaining sports car. In addition, while it is unashamedly driver-focused there is still enough comfort and refinement for longer trips. More importantly, cars like the Vantage and the DB11 show Aston Martin is making good on promises to strengthen the core GT and sports car models, as well as forging on with its ambitious plans to tackle new sectors. If this car is anything to go by, the future at Aston Martin looks very bright indeed.

Honda UK has said it will shut down its Swindon factory for six days in April as part of its preparations for any disruption caused post-Brexit. The Japanese-owned car giant said the move was to ensure it could adjust to “all possible outcomes caused by logistics and border issues”.

The firm said it would help in recovering lost production if shipments of parts were held up at borders. Honda employs about 3,400 people at its Swindon plant. In a statement, the company said: “We are planning six non-production days in April 2019. This is to facilitate production recovery activity following any delays at borders on parts.

“These contingency provisions have been put in place to best mitigate the risk of disruption to production operations at the Swindon factory.” Meanwhile, Japanese car giant Toyota said it had “no contingency for no deal”.

A Toyota spokesperson said: “We need a deal. We will have peak production in March because we have a new model, the Corolla. “There is no planned production stop. No deal is not an option for us. We operate lean manufacturing and hold hours of inventory at the plant.”

The spokesperson added that the firm could “increase this by hours or perhaps a few days but there is no contingency that can offset no deal and production lines would start or stop”. Last year, the senior vice-president of Honda Europe warned that if the UK left the EU without a deal, it would cost his company tens of millions of pounds.

Ian Howells said that quitting the bloc without an agreement would affect the carmaker’s competitiveness in Europe.

He said the Japanese firm was preparing for a no-deal outcome, but had not discussed relocating its Swindon plant. The firm builds its Civic model in the UK for the global market.

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New data has shown that those who can help businesses capitalise on technological advances – such as digital technologies and automation – are seeing wages rise well above the national average. Engineering salaries are being driven up by the increasing demand for candidates with digital skills to capitalise on emerging technologies, as well as the nationwide shortage of engineering talent more broadly.

That is according to new data from the 2019 Reed Engineering Salary Guides, which analysed more than 10 million jobs posted since 2015.

While the analysis found some roles had witnessed a fall in advertised salaries, those who can help businesses capitalise on technological advances are seeing salaries increase. Those with traditional skillsets such as CNC programming and electronics engineer saw the largest increases, with salaries rising by 3.5% and 2.9% respectively across 2018.

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The University of Nottingham has opened a £24m Advanced Manufacturing Building (AMB), which it hopes, will keep UK manufacturing competitive for future generations. Opened by Siemens UK CEO, Juergen Maier, the AMB will be used to support teaching and research activities across the Faculty of Engineering and wider University of Nottingham.

Maier said the University of Nottingham’s AMB “will help place the region and indeed the country at the cutting edge of digital manufacturing.”

Three main research groups belonging to the faculty; Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM), Composites Research Group and the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (IfAM) will use it.

The total facility is 96,000sqft in size and consists of lab and office space, teaching space and a specialist clean room facility. Professor Svetan Ratchev, director of IfAM, said the AMB will help to support and encourage the growth of emerging industries and prepare manufacturers for the challenges that are taking place:

“Skills challenges remain a key issue for many manufacturing businesses in the UK, due to factors such as the fast pace of technology development, an ageing workforce and a shortage of graduates with relevant multidisciplinary skills and experience.

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.” IfAM is helping many of Britain’s leading manufacturers such as GSK, BAE Systems and JLR to deliver excellent research and transfer the knowledge created into high-impact industrial technologies.

Currently, the centre is working on a new range of robot ‘mechanics’ that will transform Rolls Royce’s jet engine maintenance and will hopefully cut delays for airline passengers, and therefore, save money.

IfAM manufacture high value products by providing next-generation technologies to improve productivity by taking the latest research in 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and collaborative robotics among others.

They have worked in a variety of sectors including the aerospace, automotive, medical, and process engineering sectors. Among the products they have helped to formulate include customised future aircraft and cars, to artisan or allergen-free lines for big name food brands.

IfAM also say they are “supporting local growth by helping business of all sizes to be at the forefront of technological and business innovation.” They say that many SMEs have trouble in sufficiently utilising new technologies.

As a result, they have collaborated with the Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project “Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring” to explore how SMEs can benefit from smart technologies and low cost data analytics.

They also recently introduced the Digital Manufacturing Training System for SMEs (Digit-T) – an EU-funded bespoke online training programme tailored to help SMEs better understand digital manufacturing and apply the new technologies in their own companies. Professor Ratchev says helping starts-ups in the East Midlands is another major objective of the centre. They will do this he notes, “by providing the technical support, training and expertise for commercialising the latest research results of the Institute.”

Earlier this year, Sajeeda Rose, the senior manager for growth deals and capital programmes, spoke about how the AMB will benefit the University of Nottingham, its students, teachers and advanced research on state of the art technology.

The post Manufacturing News, December 2018 appeared first on Reshoring UK.

Ilmor Engineering has applied motorsport technologies to make a diesel aerospace engine meet green clean requirements. The Northampton-based company improved the power density of a General Aviation diesel engine by applying technologies and design solutions honed in motor sport to successfully deliver an EU Clean Sky 2 (CS2) programme, funded by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation project aimed at reducing CO2, gas emissions and noise pollution.

Ilmor Engineering is world renowned for producing championship-winning engines for Formula 1 and IndyCar and has a growing aerospace capability, which includes the development of a UAV engine and a project for Boeing that earned Ilmor a Boeing Silver Supplier Award.

The competitively awarded programme had two interdependent aims.  The first and very demanding challenge was to improve power density on a certified engine by increasing power and reducing weight while also maintaining fuel efficiency.   The second was to identify and apply new design techniques and technologies; the project’s remit was not to create an airworthy, certifiable power plant.

Ilmor collaborated with SMA, the Piston Engine Division of Safran Aircraft Engines, which supplied the EASA certified SR305-230E engine, a 227hp, four-cylinder, four-stroke, horizontally opposed engine most commonly fitted to the Cessna 182.  Ilmor met the initial goal to reduce mass and increase cooling performance to permit the engine to operate at a higher power output for the duration of its life.  The overall mass of the engine was reduced by 2.6%, mostly by replacing the iron liners with a plasma bore coating.

The Ilmor team designed new components and redesigned existing components to meet the increased demand on the engine; and minimised the number of these components by 35%, thus improving machinability and serviceability.  The team also identified a possible further mass reduction of 1.6% is available through the use of a steel piston and redesigned con-rod.  Just less than 100 hours of test bench running in France proved the power increase and basic reliability, and at the same time highlighted elements that needed further refinement, many of them already predicted by the Ilmor team.

Ian Whiteside, Ilmor’s Chief Engineer – Advanced Projects, who led the CS2 programme, notes: “Increasing the power from a diesel engine is quite straightforward – you simply put more fuel in. But that generates much higher loads, so while increasing the power is easy, ensuring the engine stays together at that increased output is a challenge… and it was more of a challenge again because the requirement was to make it simultaneously lighter”.

Ilmor was able to introduce design solutions, technologies and materials used in Motorsport’s constant quest for high power output, lightweight and fuel efficiency.  Many are unfamiliar to the aerospace industry and the CS2 programme demonstrated they could contribute towards improving the performance and efficiency of the next generation of aero diesel engines.

Thermal processing specialist Bodycote has opened a new facility on Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) to support UK and European aerospace and power generation markets.

The Rotherham facility was officially opened by Andy Greasley, Executive Vice President of Rolls Royce’s Turbines Supply Chain Unit, in recognition of the enduring partnership between Bodycote and Rolls-Royce. Mr. Greasley commented: “Heat treatment and processing is a vital part of our supply chain and Rolls-Royce are delighted to be supported by Bodycote on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham. Close coupling of this capability to our own Rolls-Royce business is critical for our future success and our relationship with Bodycote is one that we truly value.”

Also speaking at the event, AMRC (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) CEO, Colin Sirett, said the new centre would bring a key capability to the Advanced Manufacturing Park: “We’ve got everything from aircraft parts through to carbon fibre chassis for supercars all being manufactured on this site; the one piece of the process that was missing was materials processing. We can cast, we can forge, we can assemble, we can machine, but the one key element that was missing is exactly what Bodycote brings to the park. So it’s great to welcome the Bodycote team here and we are looking forward to working with them for many years to come.”

VIP delegates were also the first to hear about Bodycote’s plans for significant expansion of the new site, which includes the securing of extra units on the Advanced Manufacturing Park. Tom Gibbons, President of Bodycote’s Aerospace, and Defence & Energy division, commented: “Due to customer demand and interest since the announcement of this new plant in July, we are investing in further capacity and technology. The additional space we secured here at Rotherham is nearly three times the size of our existing unit. We are committed to ensuring we are able to meet our customers’ demand in the years ahead.”

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It is no secret that the electric and hybrid vehicle market is experiencing a high level of growth, particularly as consumers become more aware of global sustainability issues. Not only do electric vehicles help the environment, they are becoming more viable from a cost perspective. However, a common factor preventing consumers from purchasing fully electric vehicles (EVs) is ‘range anxiety’; barriers to entry include concerns about not being able to do long journeys, lengthy charging times and a lack of charging points and infrastructure.

To this end, automotive battery OEMs and manufacturers are pouring huge efforts into developing lithium-ion battery packs that can carry cars further and further, increasing the range to new heights. While range is important, thermal management of batteries is vital to the actual safety of the battery, vehicle and its occupants. This is due to the phenomenon of thermal runaway, a dangerous reaction that can occur in lithium-ion batteries.

What is Thermal Runaway?

Increasing the range of EVs can be done in multiple ways, from having larger battery packs with more modules and cells, to putting in higher energy density cells with higher capacity. However, all systems are susceptible to thermal runaway, some more so than others are.

Each cell in a lithium-ion battery contains a flammable liquid electrolyte. If the cell short-circuits, the electrolyte can combust and the pressure within the cell will rapidly increase until the cell vents the flammable electrolyte.

Temperatures at the ruptured cell can increase to above 1,000°C (1,832°F). Thermal runaway is the rapid and extreme rise in temperature and when it initiates the same reaction in adjacent cells, it is known as ‘thermal runaway propagation’.

When thermal runaway happens, it can produce smoke, fire and even explosions. Occupants need to have as much time as possible to escape the vehicle if it does occur. Since 2015, when the electric vehicle market really became mainstream, there have been many battery-related accidents that have been recorded.

Although thermal runaway is clearly life threatening, to date there is yet to be global regulation in place. Whereas China has implemented the GB/T 31485 standard, the UN has only proposed legislation. This leaves automotive manufacturers with the choice of whether they design their battery packs with systems designed to deal with thermal runaway incidents. It is up to their own risk assessment programmes to determine how likely thermal runaway is to occur.

Putting any protection in is likely to hinder the range capacity of the vehicle though – naturally, materials that are more protective equals less space for cells in a finite space.

Reaching, and going beyond, the middle ground, seemingly, there is no middle ground between the two. However, it does not need to be the case that battery manufacturers compromise safety for range, or vice versa.

Windsor-based Morgan Advanced Materials is a global material engineering company, which designs and manufactures a wide range of high specification products with extraordinary properties, across multiple sectors and geographies the business has been significantly researching and developing a range of thermal management protection materials and methods over many years.

These can provide more time for occupants to exit a vehicle, while the dissipation of heat lessens the chance of thermal runaway spreading uncontrollably.

It is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach though. Every battery design is different, and so the protection method must be unique. There are three levels of protection that engineers can design into their systems to significantly reduce the impact of thermal runaway in electric vehicles: cell-to-cell, module-to-module, and battery pack level.

The post Automotive News, December 2018 appeared first on Reshoring UK.

Which makes understanding the government’s recently released energy documents a key priority for all businesses – but particularly those operating within energy-intensive sectors such as chemical, food, basic metals (iron, aluminium, iron), rubber and plastics, and paper- most of which, incidentally, the UK is something of a world-leader in.

How will commodity costs be affected by the changes in the Budget?

Recently, we’ve seen rising gas and electricity prices, and it looks as though prices will remain high for the foreseeable future. Part of the reason for high prices is the cost of carbon. The Carbon Price Support (CPS) has been frozen for 2020-21, so it will stay at £18/teC02. However, we’ve seen the other main carbon tax for generators – the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) – increase significantly in the past year.

The Budget confirmed that in the event that the UK leaves the EU ETS when we leave the EU, the government will introduce a new Carbon Emissions Tax to ensure we meet our carbon reduction commitments under the Climate Change Act. This tax will initially be set at £16/teC02, which is similar to current EU ETS price for carbon. This means that the UK’s power generators will continue to pay both the CPS and the EU ETS or carbon emissions Tax, and these costs will be passed on to business customers.

For those manufacturers who are part of a Climate Change Agreement, securing them exemptions from much of the CCL, it will be more important than ever to meet carbon reduction targets to avoid penalties, or even being removed from the CCA scheme and forced to pay the run UCL.

Is there better news when it comes to non-commodity costs?

Many businesses will have noticed that non-commodity costs have been on a steady incline for some time, but so far, we’ve only seen gradual changes to the Climate Change Levy (CCL). However, this will increase significantly next April as ‘lost revenues’ caused by the closure of the Carbon Reduction Commitment will be replaced by large increases in CCL, particularly for gas. The Budget has also confirmed earlier policy announcements that CCL rates on gas will be increased at a far greater rate for the next few years and is expected to achieve parity with CCL on electricity by the mid-2020s.

CCL on gas is currently around a third of the rate for electricity. However, in 2019, the gas rate will rise to around 40% of the CCL tax compared with electricity. By 2021-22, this will be increased to 60% of the value of electricity. Fortunately, the rebalancing exercise is intended to be revenue-neutral to the Treasury, so while the CCL on gas will increase, the levy on electricity will fall.

The Budget has confirmed that the government will continue to invest in green business incentives, but there will be a few changes in how they do so. From April 2020, they will be scrapping the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme, which allows businesses to set 100% of the costs of certain energy and water efficiency technology against taxable profits. However, the government has pledged to introduce a new Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, to which they have committed £315m in funding. This fund will support energy-intensive companies to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon emissions.

The ECA scheme will be extended, however, for companies that invest in electric vehicle (EV) charge points up until 31 March 2023. There will also be a slight change to vehicle duty, which will now be based on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

This means that the fuel economy of vehicles will be determined by ‘real world’ tests, which is likely to reduce the tax benefits of hybrid vehicles and instead favour fully electric vehicles. The government will also issue a call for evidence on a new energy efficiency scheme for SMEs, and they are considering a new tax on waste incineration to encourage recycling.

The post Energy News, November 2018 appeared first on Reshoring UK.

Greg Clarke, the BEIS Secretary and one of the conference’s keynote speakers, said SiG’s cooperation with the aerospace sector showed that ‘when industry and government work together, you can crack problems that were insuperable.’

“Sharing in Growth continues to deliver exceptional results – securing contracts worth more than £3bn, boosting productivity, creating quality jobs and helping companies grow by five times the industry average. The UK Is a world leader in aerospace manufacturing and this programme is a fantastic example of our modern Industrial Strategy in action – bringing the Government and industry together to build on our excellent reputation and ensure we reap the rewards or future opportunities.”

According to SiG, companies that have participated in their programme have grown their productivity at five-times the national average. Since 2008, productivity has increased by only 0-2% per annum compared to 2% a year pre-crisis.

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A Scottish family firm and sharing in growth beneficiary Castle Precision Engineering has signed a contract valued at £80m with Rolls-Royce on a six-year programme. The new agreement will see Castle Precision Engineering supply Rolls-Royce with compressor cones, shafts, spacers, and turbine seal plates for the Trent family of aero engines.

Yan Tiefenbrun, managing director of Castle Precision, said: “To significantly grow our activity with Rolls-Royce, a giant in the global aerospace industry, is a privilege and a fantastic endorsement of the high-quality precision engineering work we deliver here in the UK.”

With the support of Sharing in Growth (SiG) & Scottish Enterprise, Castle Precision has embarked on a business change journey that has transformed the organisation’s approach to people and productivity and delivered leaner operations.

With the support of Sharing in Growth (SiG) & Scottish Enterprise, Castle Precision has embarked on a business change journey that has transformed the organisation’s approach to people and productivity and delivered leaner operations.

The introduction of manufacturing cells has led to major reductions in lead-time and improvements in productivity have underpinned the business’ ability to secure contracts of this scale in a globally competitive environment.

Yan noted: “SiG show you what good looks like and give you a framework for what an apt business model looks like. When you’re growing and you’re so focused on the daily grind, having that direction of where you’re going towards is really useful.”

Castle Precision employs 120 people and manufactures components for a variety of industries including aerospace, petrochemicals, defence, and the automotive sector. It was set up by Yan Tiefenbrun’s grandfather Jack Tiefenbrun, a refugee from Europe.

Its early success derived on the back of orders from the Singer Sewing Machine Company, which employed 10,000 people in Clyde side at its height.

In 2013, the company was selected for Sharing in Growth – a £110m training programme that was set up to enhance the skills and capability of British aerospace companies.

It provides an intensive, four-year capability development training schedule which is tailored to suit each company’s specific needs. It is supported by some of the most prominent aerospace companies, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Bombardier, GE, and Rolls-Royce, along with public bodies like the Regional Growth Fund.

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The economic development agency West Midlands Growth Company says Birmingham Airport Draft Master Plan will boost manufacturing in the region. West Midlands economic development agency has welcomed a £500m expansion plan by Birmingham Airport and says it will boost manufacturing in the region. The West Midlands has firmly established itself as the UK’s driver of growth, fostering centres of excellence in business and leading the country’s traditional sectors – such as manufacturing and engineering. The region lies on the cusp of a period of great economic growth, supported by major infrastructure projects such as HS2, that will help attract more people and investment than ever before. To realise this potential, we are committed to working with our partners at Birmingham Airport to showcase the region to the world.

The Draft Master Plan, which explores the airport’s expansion plans in the fifteen-year period to 2033, includes improving the airport’s public transport connections, enhancing airport security, and increasing the number of aircraft parking stands and ancillary facilities. The airport is aiming to have 18 million passengers a year by 2033, up from 13 million per year currently. Passenger numbers already rose by 43% in the five years to 2017.

The plan’s authors say the airport expansion proposals reflect the West Midlands’ burgeoning economic status: “Our ambition matches the region’s dynamism, which is attracting employers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, from high growth sectors including advanced manufacturing and engineering, life sciences and renewable energy.”

Many in the automotive sector welcomed the plans, including Jaguar Land Rover, whose Solihull factory is adjacent to the airport. Rolls Royce’s Director of Economic Development Paul Harris said transport infrastructure was paramount to the firm’s success:

“As a leading industrial technology company, connecting with our supply chain regionally and globally is critical to our success. We therefore welcome increased transport infrastructure investment in the Midlands that enables increased capacity, faster connections and improved journey reliability.”

Birmingham Airport is the seventh busiest airport in the UK, just behind Edinburgh airport, but far fewer than Heathrow and Gatwick, who handled 123 million passengers between them last year.

Though Birmingham airport’s full potential capacity is 30 million annual passengers, its flight numbers are limited by strict NATS guidelines on the airport’s runway capacity during the early morning departures peak throughout the summer.

Aston University’s David Bailey says expansion limits mean “at the moment, business executives and sales people often have to fly via London. Connecting Birmingham globally should help the local economy.”

Expansion at Birmingham Airport will strongly benefit Midlands manufacturers he said, because they “could do with more long-range flights direct to growth markets like China. That could boost both exports and inward investment.”

The West Midlands had a total of 305,000 manufacturing jobs as of March 2018, 10% of the region’s total workforce. The transport and metal sectors are the largest manufacturing sub-sectors in the region. The nearby Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull employs 9,000 staff and recently underwent a £1.5bn makeover and is large enough to cover 22 football pitches.

The post Aerospace News, November 2018 appeared first on Reshoring UK.

Talks come a week after Ford told staff working on the new Jaguar engine not to come to work for five days. Ford employs 1,850 people in Bridgend, though there have been concerns about the plant’s long-term future.

The car giant will stop producing engines for Jaguar Land Rover in 2020 and the Bridgend plant is looking for business in the globally competitive car industry to replace the work and secure the future of its staff.

The post Automotive News, November 2018 appeared first on Reshoring UK.

Covering areas such as sales and marketing, communications, digital, finance and purchasing, and of course, engineering and manufacturing departments. Out of the 83 new recruits, 40 apprentices will start training at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, bringing the current number of apprentices to nearly 140.

This latest intake of apprentices, graduates and undergraduates from Bentley, comes after a recent poll highlighted the views on manufacturing by the wider public. These held huge misconceptions about the pay and opportunities a career in manufacturing offers, and that while the public views manufacturing as critical to the future of the UK economy, less than 20% of parents would encourage their children to work in the sector. More positively though, almost three quarters of people (70%) agree that the UK cannot tackle future problems without a strong manufacturing sector, and 88% think it is important for the UK to have a strong industry.

Things are shifting though. Cars, buses, ships and planes are now becoming electric, autonomous and part of intelligent, connected operations. Present transport systems are no longer part of a forward thinking future, as we move toward a smarter, greener and autonomously led approach.

Connecting things together enables entire operations to be more effective, and as connectivity becomes increasingly important in all aspects of our lives; shopping, mobile phones, internet banking, it is also becoming synonymous with the future of transport. Autonomous cars have stolen the AV limelight for the past few years, and this buzz is set to continue, as even companies like electric appliance manufacturer Dyson, is investing and getting its foot in the autonomous car door, so to speak.

One of the biggest benefits of introducing any autonomous vehicle is improved safety, connected sensors should be able to scan surrounding environments and react accordingly, with of course no human error. However, there have been incidents where that has not happened.

There is a lot of work to be done; it needs to be proved that AVs are safer than their human counterparts are. However, autonomous vehicles could enable quicker reactions to changes in traffic or surrounding environment movements, in theory enabling a safer and seamless transport system. They can reduce risk, improve efficiency and decrease workload.

Coventry-based manufacturer Aurrigo even played the largest role in the world’s first ever multiconnected and autonomous vehicle demonstration earlier this week, showing how vehicles can apply autonomous technology as a complete solution.

The introduction of 5G is further propelling the case for autonomous vehicles. Earlier this month, researchers set a 5G communications speed record for AVs, this being nearly 40 times faster than current fixed line broadband speeds.  Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) managed to hit 2.867 gigabits per second in over-the-air transmissions.

This is quick enough, to send a high definition blockbuster film in less than 10 seconds. The fast wireless communications technology could allow autonomous vehicles to rapidly share large quantities of important data with each other and with traffic management systems.

There is a lot of research and development surrounding autonomous vehicles, intelligent systems and integrating 5G to be undertaken. However, the potential benefits AVs could offer to society are enormous, and the introduction of the technology into everyday life is looking to be inevitable.

Connected and autonomous systems could be the future of all transport systems, and why not. If it is safer, improves efficiency, reduces risk and decreases workload. Is more manufacturers look to invest and adapt their products and processes – whether that is cars, ship components or more general production.

As carmakers gathered earlier this month at the Paris Motor Show, the road ahead is cluttered. Slowing sales, the rising costs of meeting new regulations, trade risks and the need to invest in technology are putting their global operations under increasing strain. While some of the immediate challenges have in part evaporated, others loom larger.

 All of the major manufacturers will launch a variety of electric and hybrid cars in the coming years, in part to hit the EU’s CO2 rules in 2020, which require a fleet average of 95 grammes of CO2 per kilometre down from 130g/km in 2015. However, the 2030 requirements are far more stringent, requiring widespread sale of electric cars by manufacturers, threatening existing engine-based supply chains and past investments into technologies such as diesel now frowned upon by regulators.

The push is compounded by the spiralling decline for engines that run on diesel, a technology that was once embraced across Europe because it emits a fifth less CO2 than petrol. Even if carmakers have battery vehicles on the market, stepping up their output is challenging because the parts  in that go into them batteries containing lithium, cobalt and other rare materials are in high demand.

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