DAWSON SHANAHAN reports it has further boosted its capabilities in cold forming by investing in a high-throughput Formax machine and says this takes the company’s investment in new machinery to £500,000 for the third year in a row and additional investments have been made in the company’s turning, milling and grinding capabilities, as well as in metrology and cleaning systems. The Formax FX54M is a four-die, high-speed cold former that will boost output while extending Dawson’s offering to customers.

With customer care at the centre of its business activity, RENOLD COUPLINGS says it recently conducted its annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. For each unique survey response collected, the company pledged to donate £5 to Make A Wish, a leading UK Children’s charity who exist for one reason - to grant magical wishes to enrich the lives of children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.

A custom-built, short wave infra-red oven from HERAEUS NOBLELIGHT is reported to be helping to facilitate the manual fitting of fuel pipe hoses to the Jaguar XJ at Jaguar Land Rover’s Castle Bromwich manufacturing site.

HENKEL says its adhesives continue to influence how products are designed and manufactured and none more so than its newly introduced range of LOCTITE Universal Structural Bonders. The company says what makes these products stand out from the crowd is their unique formulation and their many attributes are achieved through Henkel’s patented hybrid technology to achieve bond strength, speedy cure and durability – performance qualities that historically have not been available from a single product.

BOFA INTERNATIONAL says industrial laser operators can now benefit from the most powerful fume extraction system ever manufactured.

JACOB has announced the opening of a new 7,500 square metre hi-rise logistics centre in Porta Westfalica, Germany, to serve its markets in the UK, across Europe and the rest of the world.

HI-LINE INDUSTRIES, an established UK manufacturer of high-quality compressed air purification equipment, has launched its new HTD condensate drain into the UK market. Featuring an isolation valve for strainer cleaning to 250 micron, the latest-generation HTD offers a 100% ED rated solenoid coil and multi-voltage timer controller to ensure automatic compressed air system drainage.

WANNER says its new Hydra-Cell Metering Solutions model MT8 triplex metering pump is designed to handle a variety of processing liquids with very high accuracy at very low flow rates; delivering a smooth virtually pulse-less flow for a very homogeneous injection of liquids at process pressures from 0 to 245 bar.

Electrical engineering firm, LCA Controls, reports it has switched its control panel operations from manual production to laser-machining and the move is expected to transform its productivity and efficiency. LCA Controls says it has invested in a RITTAL Perforex LC 3015 3D laser machining centre – a system which will revolutionise construction of its stainless-steel panels by automating processes previously done by hand.

ESAB says the capabilities that make stainless steel so attractive — the ability to tailor its mechanical properties and resistance to corrosion and oxidation — also increase the complexity of selecting an appropriate filler metal. For any given base material combination, any one of several types of electrodes may be appropriate depending on cost issues, service conditions, desired mechanical properties and a host of welding-related issues.

ALBANY PUMPS, a leading manufacturer of positive displacement pumps in the UK, says it has made it simple and easy to specify and purchase the most appropriate pump for engineers building and maintaining fire-fighting installations. The company says it has extensive experience in supplying a range of foam concentrate gear pumps and has now created an easy to use brochure, clearly setting out each available pump by type, range and key capabilities.

CYGNUS says designed for the engineer who needs to take quick, accurate thickness measurements, the ‘Cygnus 4+’ is a highly reliable, extremely rugged and simple to use ultrasonic thickness gauge. The company says the unit is perfect for testing levels of wear and corrosion on industrial machinery, factory infrastructure, boiler tubes and pressure vessels.

INSPECTpro, the new portable measurement and evaluation instrument from Schatz, a KISTLER Group company, offers a convenient way to test torque and rotation angle on bolted joints. The company says this system provides graphic analyses of assembly processes to ensure that bolted joint assemblies meet optimum quality standards.

QUIREPACE reports it has designed and installed six central vacuum cleaning/bulk removal systems for one of the largest biomass projects in a UK power station conversion. The company says the systems were designed to cover the whole of the project's mechanical handling, storage and out-loading system, including rail reception, screen house, conveyor gantries, dome loading/out-loading, transfer towers and onward to processing silos.

ENDRESS+HAUSER says fast, precise, compact and certified, its Easytemp TMR31 and TMR35 temperature transmitters are entry-level instruments with a difference: they exceed expectations in terms of price and performance. The company says Easytemp has been developed to deliver high performance and reliability at a cost-effective price, starting from just £66 and with a quick-sensing measuring element the Easytemp transmitters deliver fast recognition of any process changes with a response time of under two seconds, one of the fastest on the market today, which offers huge improvements to the efficiency of any production or monitoring system.

COMPRESSED AIR CENTRE, a leading South East distributor of high quality compressed air products, has been acquired by private entrepreneurs Ben Richardson and Serge Santos.

Niall McQuitty, (pictured) architectural director at Stamford-based design firm ARCTICA, has announced he will be discussing best practice in hygienic factory design at a Food and Drink Federation conference entitled Hygiene by Design taking place at the FDF’s London premises on 16 November.

RITTAL has announced that users of its enclosure cooling technology are being offered free on-site inspection surveys to ensure that their production and process critical equipment is being adequately protected.

DAWSON SHANAHAN a leading precision engineering specialist and automotive components supplier has announced it has been unveiled as the newest member of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Gas Appliances Directive (GAD) is changing. From 21st April 2018 all products in the market will have to comply with the new Gas Appliance Regulation (GAR). Nick Winton (pictured), divisional manager for NORTEK GLOBAL HVAC UK explains more about the changes and the absence of any transition period:

HANSFORD SENSORS, a leading UK manufacturer of industrial accelerometers, reports it has launched the latest versions of its proven HS-100 and HS-150 Series vibration sensors and says the new sensors are over 10% smaller and lighter than existing versions, and offer even greater frequency response, with a significant improvement in resonant frequency.

BOGE says it has placed itself at the cutting edge of compressor manufacture by investing €2 million in creating a ‘smart factory’ at its German headquarters in Bielefeld. The company says the 2,000m² smart factory, which manufactures BOGE’s HST (high-speed turbo) oil-free compressor, monitors, controls and optimises manufacturing to maximise product quality and reliability, and ensure there are no faults during production.

Anti-corrosion and sealing specialist WINN & COALES INTERNATIONAL reports it held its biennial International Sales Conference in September and says the company, currently enjoying its 134th year of trading, is well known in the world of corrosion prevention for its high quality product brands including Denso, Premier, Protal, Archco, Steelcoat, Premier Shrink Sleeves and SeaShield.

BOWMAN INTERNATIONAL, a leading manufacturer and distributor of bearings and sintered components, reports it has introduced a range of high temperature, self-lubricated PEEK-lined steel or bronze backed wrapped bearings. Bowman says its new W/MP range is designed to combine the durability and anti-corrosive properties of Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), with the production and cost reduction benefits of conventional wrapped steel bearings and it delivers optimised performance in applications operating at up to 250OC, alongside low torque properties and impressive corrosion resistance.

ABB reports it has expanded its Quantis modular gear drive range to offer four and five stages of gear reduction for all three types of gear arrangements: in-line helical (ILH), offset parallel (MSM) and right angle helical bevel (RHB). The company says Quantis reducers and gearmotors can now be configured in ratios over 7500:1 with an output torque range up to 14,000 Nm, making the new output speed range 20 times greater than before.

SICK reports it has launched the DUS60 incremental encoder and DUV60 measuring wheel encoder with DIP switch programmability to provide users with a versatile and economical user-configurable motion control sensor.

The new Hydra-Cell MT8 seal-less triplex metering pump from WANNER is said to handle the low flow metering applications in oil & gas (on-shore and off-shore), water & wastewater treatment, polyurethane foam manufacture and chemical processing.

RITTAL says we live in a world of rapid change, driven by the growth of ‘smart technology’, automation components are becoming more compact, both for centralised and decentralised applications, while still delivering considerable computing power and sensors and actuators are also getting more ‘intelligent’.

HBM, a market leader in the field of test and measurement, has announced the date for its latest free webinar on ‘Checkweighing with Load Cells’, which will take place on October 5th 2017 at 9am (GMT). HBM says checkweighing is most commonly used to control completeness of products, assembles or kits and this process describes weighing a certain object against a preset target.

MICHELL INSTRUMENTS has announced the launch of the XZR250 oxygen analyser for monitoring combustion control in industrial boilers and says it was developed to meet customer demand for a cost-effective, easy to operate instrument with a probe designed to cope with the high temperatures in the flue. Effective combustion control has growing importance for operators as it not only helps increase fuel efficiency but also ensures compliance with legislation on allowable emissions.

RITTAL, a leading global provider of industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, reports it has developed a new busbar supporting system for air circuit-breakers. The system has been developed to enable 4 x 120 mm x 10 mm coppers to be secured safely to the top and bottom of the air circuit-breaker.

Two gas catalytic ovens from HERAEUS NOBLELIGHT have been installed at Life Fitness in Illinois, USA, where they are said to be helping to double production and save costs in the manufacture of high quality gym equipment. The company says they were fitted quickly and easily within a scheduled shut-down period, in the limited floor space available and were operational in less than a month.

When a major producer of heavy-duty industrial cleaning machines was commissioned to design and manufacture a high-pressure cleaner/de-scaler for an agricultural equipment manufacturer, it turned immediately to HYDRA-CELL seal-less pumps.

RITTAL is warning users of manufacturing automation systems to check that they are prepared for the summer heat and, if necessary, arrange for an inspection of their equipment to check the level of risk and says high temperatures are the most common cause of sensitive electrical and electronic components tripping or even failing.

Steam boiler manufacturer, CFB BOILERS reports it has launched a budget-friendly reverse osmosis unit, the BoilerRO, which is capable of achieving almost 100% purity of boiler feedwater for superior quality steam. Designed in Britain by CFB Boilers, the BoilerRO is said to cost around half that of many comparable units, making reverse osmosis accessible to steam boiler users that may previously have found the technology to be price-prohibitive.

When it comes to processing panels, CNC machining centres, such as Perforex from RITTAL AUTOMATION SYSTEMS, are said to be light years ahead of the alternative, manual approach when it comes to productivity and efficiency. In fact, machining centres can speed up processing by as much as 66% compared to the traditional hand-tooled method.

Samuel Taylor, a specialist manufacturer of bimetallic strips, reports it has improved the reliability of its production line by retrofitting two applications with ABB variable speed drives (VSDs). The production line consists of a leveler, grooving and inlay machines, a bonder and a recoiler. The recoiler originally used a DC motor but the need to replace the commutator brush gear meant the motor was often in for repair.

GAST, a leading designer and manufacturer of precision air products reports it has launched new LubeFree options for its AM series air motors that utilise a proprietary vane material that provides versatility, allowing users the options to oil or not oil the motor. GAST says this new LubeFree option has expanded its range of 2AM, 4AM and 6AM Series air motors and affords operators the flexibility to modify their maintenance schedules or save money by eliminating oil, lubricator components and system maintenance.

HERAEUS NOBLELIGHT says its new solid reflector infrared module (SRM) can significantly speed up heating or improve quality in the processing of thin and sensitive materials such as textiles or tissues and its special construction, incorporating external, top-mounted radial fans, air inlets and outlets, eliminates any air movement over the substrate to be heated, avoiding heat losses due to convection and any possibility of thermal shock.

RITTAL says its new System Catalogue 35 showcases the company’s portfolio of products for the IT and manufacturing industries, which are designed to address the needs of design engineers, switchgear manufacturers and data centre operators.

Reynolds, a leading supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables, reports it has partnered with temperature control and mobile power specialist AGGREKO to provide additional cooling capacity for its vegetable packing lines during the warmer summer months. Because temperature integrity is critical to Reynolds, it wanted a cooling package capable of delivering a stable 4-5 °C across one of the packing lines, in order to help maximise the freshness of its produce.

Chemical manufacturer Chemoxy reports it has accelerated a new business project at its custom processing plant by renting a temporary process cooling package from AGGREKO. Chemoxy needed additional cooling capacity to successfully develop a new production process with a major client. Rather than halting the project while a permanent solution was found, Chemoxy approached Aggreko to design and deliver a temporary alternative.

At this time of year plant and works engineers are often faced with the need to remove scale and debris from heating and cooling equipment to restore efficiency. KAMCO says it has a range of chemical cleaning pumps designed to clean heat exchangers, boilers, chillers, air compressors and cooling waterways without the need to strip them.

A leading manufacturer of bridge bearings and other critical structural components reports it has invested in a self-contained blast-room from HODGE CLEMCO as part of a major project to upgrade finishing processes at its West Midlands premises.

Most producers use glycols, to remove water vapour from the gas stream. This prevents the formation of hydrates that cause freezing and blocking of pipelines and valves, reduces system corrosion and produces gas that meets pipeline quality standards. Pressures in excess of 150 bar may be necessary in order to inject these treatment chemicals into the gas stream in the absorber tower. WANNER says its Hydra-Cell pumps are being used increasingly for this application thanks to their seal-less design, controllability, long term, low maintenance durability and ability to meet the pressure and flow rate requirements.

BEKA says its new timers and clocks simplify process timing in both hazardous and safe areas, are able to display elapsed time between events, or control external devices, and cycles can be repeated continuously or a specified number of times. Beka says as a clock the instruments display local time in various formats and two sizes of panel mounting instrument with IP66 front of panel protection and a rugged 316 stainless steel instrument for applications in severe or marine environments are available.

INEOS reports it is now specifying Venturi Orifice steam traps on ‘drip leg’ and ‘trace heating’ applications at its plant in Cologne and says the decision to generally allow Venturi Orifice steam traps follows a trial carried out by Ines Zießau, a student of Energy Systems Technology, for her dissertation entitled “Evaluation and Performance of Steam Traps in the Chemical Industry” for her degree at the University of Applied Science. The eight month trial was overseen by Prof. Reinhold Altensen of the University and Dr. Stefan Krämer, Energy Manager at INEOS’s Cologne site. The trial proved it was economically viable to replace conventional mechanical traps with Venturi Orifice steam traps supplied by EBE ENGINEERING.

Alco Valves and ACTION SEALTITE report they have released high-pressure valves to the UK market, suitable for any application with a gauge or transmitter, for measurement or isolation. Alco says it manufactures an extensive range of technically advanced, high integrity valve products, with pressure ratings of up to 10,000 PSI and it manufactures its products in the UK under ISO 9001. The company says in this way, it is able to retain stringent quality control checks, provide accountability and absolute material traceability.

STERLING SEPARATION has reported exceptional market responses to its new range of oil/water separators for compressed air condensate and says investment in the all-new CS75 separator for 11kW compressors has proved particularly well placed, with sales well above expectations. A low cost and serviceable device, CS75 offers an affordable solution for users of smaller compressed air systems. Also available are all-new separators with capacities of 150, 450 and 1000 scfm offering quality construction with consistent performance at modest cost for the widest possible range of applications. The company says with over 40 years in the business, every STERLING separator is ‘The Product of Experience’.

A purpose-built carbon infra-red oven has reportedly been instrumental in allowing Duerr’s of Manchester to change from a hot water rinse system to a cold air rinse system at its Wythenshawe jam-making site. As a result, water-usage and water-heating bills have been significantly reduced and more effective control has been established over the total jar heating and rinsing process.