Hydraulics specialist relies on MecWash

Husco International, a manufacturer of hydraulic and electrohydraulic controls, has installed another MecWash Midi component cleaning system following the success of previous installations.

The company commissioned its first MecWash Midi for use at the company’s European headquarters in Runcorn, in 2000. Since then, Husco has installed a further six cleaning systems. Another two machines will be delivered this year, totaling nine MecWash machines altogether. MecWash also has five component cleaning systems in Husco’s US manufacturing plants and one at its factory in China.
For further information www.mecwash.co.uk

International Women in Engineering Day

To encourage female secondary school students to pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, Renishaw is hosting an International Women in Engineering Day event at its New Mills headquarters.

On Saturday 23 June, students aged from 11 to 18, with their parents/guardians, are invited to visit Renishaw to learn more about the opportunities open to females in this field.
During the event, attendees will meet Renishaw’s female apprentices and graduates to hear about their experiences, and learn about the different paths into engineering. The group will then rotate around workshops, including a hands-on engineering session building LED torches. Visitors will be invited on a tour of the Renishaw Innovation Centre and to take part in a speed networking session. There will also be a CV writing workshop to help the students with their applications to further education or apprenticeships.
For further information www.renishaw.com/educationoutreach

German Chancellor meets service robot

Collaborating with robots and controlling them with gestures? German chancellor Angela Merkel experienced first-hand how this can be achieved in her opening day tour at the recent Hannover Messe 2018 exhibition. On the IBG Automation stand, Angela Merkel and the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and his wife Angélica Rivera, got up close and in person with robotic hands from Schunk.

SCHUNK – HMI 2018, Hannover Messe, Hanover Trade Fair

Schunk’s SVH mechatronic gripping hand, which is designed for applications in assistance and service robotics, is very similar to its human counterpart in terms of size, shape and mobility. The five fingers can carry out all kinds of gripping operations with the help of nine drives. Elastic surfaces on the front phalanxes ensure a reliable hold on objects being gripped. As the hand can perform and imitate numerous gestures, visual communication between humans and service robots becomes significantly easier.
For further information www.schunk.com

£1m sales target for metrology firm

A metrology expert has joined Blum-Novotest as its new UK technical sales manager with the aim of doubling sales to £1m over the next 12 months.

Gary Bates, who started his career as one of the last indentured apprentices at Rolls-Royce, will be responsible for growing the firm’s market share. “Blum-Novotest had its best ever year in the UK in 2017 and it’s my job to build on this significantly, almost doubling sales to £1m per annum,” says Bates. “This is just the tip of the iceberg; we’ve got the technology, the service and the backing of our German parent.”
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

Smart factory set for Scotland

The University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) has agreed a tier-one partnership with software platform BitzList – the first micro-business to sign a top-level agreement with a High Value Manufacturing Catapult organisation.

Working in collaboration, the AFRC and BitzList are developing a technological platform for the creation of a smart factory – an environment where machinery and equipment are able to improve processes through automation and self-optimisation using a constant stream of data from connected operations.
Through the partnership, BitzList will give the AFRC access to specialist Industry 4.0 software it has been working on for over 15 years. The software is designed to provide manufacturers with the tools needed to organise day-to-day operations, and for parts suppliers to streamline supply chains. This technology, which is already deployed within the manufacturing sector, can be used by customers and suppliers to request the production of parts.
For further information www.strath.ac.uk