There are few products that we use in everyday life that have not had CNC machining take some part in their production. Cars, planes, household machines and appliances, medical parts and toys all get to visit the CNC machine at some point in their production.
CNC or Computer Numerically Controlled machining has become more versatile then ever over the years. The number of axis has increased and the types of machine available now mean that increasingly smaller and more intricate parts can be manufactured using CNC machining.
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British motorsport company Prodrive announced this week that testing of the Hummingbird folding lightweight bike would begin in October, with anticipated production and sales starting early in 2017.
The Hummingbird is the concept of London based designer Petre Cracuin. Petre along with co-founder Ligia Stan has a passion for bikes and the project was born out of their desire to have a lightweight folding bike that was not only a pleasure to ride but was also easy to carry around and looked good. Despite having multiple bikes themselves, they realised there was nothing out there that fitted the bill so Petre set to work to solve the problem and the Hummingbird was born. A folding bike that is comfortable to ride, looks good, is easy to fold and carry and weighs in at an astounding 6.7kg. To put that in perspective, that’s the same as two normal weight domestic cats!
There are a few reason for plating or coating busbars. Cosmetic reasons or provision of insulation are a couple but the most common reason for coating busbars is to inhibit corrosion.
Busbars are commonly made from copper, which in itself is quite resistant to corrosion but busbars are often used in environments where higher levels of protection are needed. Over time, copper oxidises and can impact the surfaces conductive properties. So plating or coating busbars, not only reduces corrosion but also improves the longevity and conductive properties of the item.
Improvements in manufacturing processes and capabilities allow for more complex and diverse solutions to be thought up for an increasing number of problems. The ability to cut and machine smaller and more complex parts using modern techniques like waterjet cutting, 3D printing and various multi axis machines, combined with software developments mean this is becoming increasingly evident in the medical and pharmaceutical world. The ability to make one off, custom implants and limb replacements for specific patient needs is opening up a whole new world.
Waterjet cutting has really come to the forefront of manufacturing in recent years because of its versatility. There are an array of reasons to choose waterjet cutting over other methods, and they aren’t all about the actual cutting control. Improved efficiency in processes and reduced wastage and costs also factor highly, which by default leads to improved customer service.
Omni directional cutting, cutting widths, stress free cutting and improved finishing are all advantages of using water instead of more traditional cutting methods. However, one of the most fundamental things with waterjet cutting is that when you use water, there is no Heat Affected Zone (HAZ). This is the area around where you’re machining that gets hot because of the machining process. The heat generated in this area means the structure of the material gets altered and can be liable to fracture. If machining composite materials using traditional methods, the HAZ can cause all sorts of distortions and reactions, resulting in breakage and wastage. The ability to cut cold removes all these barriers and means that almost any material can now be cut with no alteration to its base structure.
Think of structural steel framed buildings and the sort of things that come to mind are probably, office sky scraper buildings or big warehouses and agricultural buildings. The sorts of thing you see in big cities or on the outskirts when new out of town shopping malls go up. But steel framed structures are commonly used across a whole range of construction projects; garages, residential housing and short term temporary structures all make good use of steel frame construction methods because they are durable, flexible, cost effective and sustainable.
In 2014 South West trains introduced electrical multiple units (EMUS) on some routes from London Waterloo. This along with projects to lengthen platforms and trains on other services is just small part of an £800 million investment to improve rail services on the network. In 2015 South West trains ordered a number of Siemens class 707 EMUs for use on the Windsor to London Waterloo commuter service and the first body shell for the 707s was completed in October 2015 at the Siemen’s factory in Germany.
Last month testing of the 707s began in earnest at the Siemen’s dedicated test track in Widenrath, Germany. The state of the art testing site has been designed to test UK fleets to Network Rail standards and should keep disruption to UK train services to a minimum during the testing phase.
When it comes to manufacturing parts or components the way each one is finished reflects the quality of workmanship. If you don’t finish a job properly, then it doesn’t matter how careful you’ve been with the initial production, cutting or moulding, the end product is not going to look good. And the way the end product looks will always have an impact on saleability.
There could, of course, also be an impact on your costs. If your customer is unhappy with the finish of an order, you may have to start all over again, meaning more waste and increased costs. And there’s the health and safety aspect of poor finishing. Rough or sharp edges won’t be acceptable to your customer and may also cause injuries to those working with them.
Back in March this year London was set to see the introduction of 5 all electric double decker buses capable of driving up to 190 miles in day on one 4 hour overnight charge. The 5 buses joined a fleet of single deck electric, hydrogen and hybrid buses as part of the effort to reduce emissions in the city centre.
At the other end of the country Stagecoach are operating all electric bus services in Inverness and having worked with manufacturer Optare have managed to extend the range of miles the vehicles can do. In addition to running on electricity, these buses also feature electric heating systems rather than the standard diesel ones. This makes them the UKs’ most efficient electric buses in terms of kWh per mile and they fist of their kind.
Even though waterjet cutting has only come into its own in recent years it may surprise you to know that it has been around since the 1930s. At that time it was used at a low pressure and only for cutting soft materials. Whilst things continued to develop after the war, waterjet cutting became much more effective in the 1970s, when the first reliable high pressure pump was developed.
Whilst the earlier waterjet machines could cut softer materials they could not handle harder materials and metals. The ability to cut harder materials like metal came about following the addition of an abrasive to the waterjet cutting nozzle. This was a technique first used in the 1930s, however early versions of the nozzle were not commercially viable. Further development of the nozzle and the availability of a reliable pump led to a more effective waterjet that could now cut through a bigger variety of materials.
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