Industrial Process News Issue 719

Crescent Industrial

See them on page 3

Loadhog

See them on page 7

Interpon powder coatings ensure the legacy of Dubai’s latest luxury hotel

Super-durable Interpon

D architectural powder coatings from AkzoNobel are helping to protect and enhance Dubai’s latest billion dollar luxury hotel and resort, Atlantis The Royal, with products that beautifully mimic the appearance of terracotta, ensuring its beauty and style for generations to come.

Constructed in two Lego like structures connected by a bridge the $1.4 billion project is the latest jewel in Dubai’s crown of luxury hotels and resorts and opened its doors to the public on 10 February 2023. The unique concept was designed by the award-winning team of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.

The challenge for the resort’s designers and architects was to find a powder coating that could protect aluminium surfaces and girders in a climate of extreme heat and corrosive salt spray from the coast, and with a finish that would complement the warm terracotta tones of Dubai’s landscape.

The solution was an Interpon D2525 superdurable powder coating which delivers the classic appearance of terracotta, without having any of the downsides of sourcing, transporting, installing, and maintaining the real thing.

Apex Dynamics increase sales record by 50% within 12 months

Since 2019, Apex Dynamics has grown within the UK and Ireland, expanding its global presence of 35 international Apex Dynamics locations across all five continents.

Crucially, being an Interpon powder coating, the Interpon D2525 is free of harmful substances and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). And no powder coating is lost to the environment when applied; coaters can collect overspray and re-use the powder, making it a better choice for the environment.

Although the design was completed and specified in the US, Interpon’s global presence, the consistency of its products worldwide, and flexibility in offering different textures and finishes everywhere meant that the coating itself could be handled in Dubai without the need for costly shipments.

Contact www.akzonobel.com

Watlow

See them on page 19

Contents:

Handling, Storage & Logistics ......................... 6-7

Health, Safety, Cleaning & Hygiene 9

Advanced Engineering

Review 12

CHEMUK 2023

Preview 14-16

Industrial Process Technologies 18-19

Dyneo+ New synchronous motors manufactured by Nidec, combining reluctance and permanent magnets

The new range offers high reliability, unrivalled performance and interactive commissioning. Sizes from 11kW to 500kW with speeds up to 6,000rpm. Specially designed for variable speed, DYNEO+ is available in aluminium or cast iron versions from 11 to 500kW, 132 to 355mm frame size, with IP55 or IP23 protection. Whether compact or interchangeable IEC type, these motors are easy to integrate into new machines as they are to retrofit existing installations.

GES Group’s 5 Pillars of Expertise

Established as Grants Electrical Services over 40 years ago, the group has grown into GES Group, a leading Electrical and Mechanical Engineering business, now serving customers throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. Currently employing over 80 staff, including many professionally trained and accredited Engineers, we respond quickly to Industry’s ever-changing demands and needs, while offering geographic coverage to many of our customers.

Traditionally AC/DC motor rewind and re-manufacture specialists, we have developed our portfolio as a market leader to now provide an extensive range of technically advanced products and services.

Nidec (Leroy Somer) Electric Motors stocked in Mallusk and Newbridge (IRL)

GES Automation (IRL), based in Newbridge, is the authorised distributor for Nidec (Leroy-Somer) Ireland. This is a very exciting time for both GES Group and Nidec as we have worked together in partnership in Northern Ireland for several years and by expanding the distributorship to Southern Ireland our partnership will create a more comprehensive infrastructure with enhanced experience and expertise and will provide our customers with a first class customer service experience.

Telephone: 02825 656406

Email: info@ges-group.com

www.ges-group.com

Featured in our previous issue as our Company of the Year, Apex Dynamics’ year-on-year growth is the driving force of its best practices as a business that has committed to producing forward-thinking, cutting-edge technology that contributes towards the overall growth of the Industrial industry. This of course is too confirmed by its continued commitment to delivering excellence and quality to every project and every client.

The award comes hot on the heels of the company announcing its new mobile exhibition facility – the Gearbus. Gearbus is a 7.5 T box truck which is independently powered as a mobile state-of-the-art demonstration facility. Following a recent road trip to Ireland, a whole new sector of engineers was introduced to the many marvels of

Apex’s precision servo gearbox range that is compatible with servomotors, rack and pinion drive systems for automation, and automatic lubrication systems for machinery structures.

Mike Gulliford, Apex Dynamics Managing Director, had this to say, “We are delighted to receive two prestigious awards from Industrial Process News within the last six months! We are also now preparing to release a new Helical gearbox range within the next few months, and are always looking to improve the breadth and depth of our product range.”

Contact www.apexdynauk.com

Freedom One Life is disrupting powered wheelchair market with the launch of the Series 5

Freedom One Life was founded by Alex Papanikolaou, a powered wheelchair user. His frustrations with products on the market which constantly let him down and restricted his life due to limited range, breakdowns, and constant fear of being stranded, made him question if powered wheelchairs could be designed differently. In 2019 Freedom One Life joined the SOLIDWORKS Start Up Program with TMS CADCentre, a SOLIDWORKS Reseller based in Scotland. This is a program providing entrepreneurs with free CAD software, training, and support to help them succeed.

“The SOLIDWORKS Startup Program changed the direction for Freedom One Life from its early days by helping us address the challenges in designs and simulate the various mechanical aspects of our powered wheelchairs. While prototyping was difficult initially due to the complexity of the products, SOLIDWORKS allowed us to overcome these challenges. The software is one of the most advanced in the market, and we are confident our powered wheelchair will be able to change the lives of all our users and enable them to live the life they choose,” said Alex Papanikolaou,

New ABB SWIFTI™ industrial cobot

ABB has launched the SWIFTI CRB 1300 industrial collaborative robot, bridging the gap between industrial and collaborative robots. Combining classleading speed and accuracy with expanded load handling capability of up to 11kg, the SWIFTI CRB 1300 can be used in a wide variety of production and product handling applications – from machine tending and pelletising to pick-and-place and screwdriving.

Featuring a high-quality design, backed by expert support, the SWIFTI CRB 1300 incorporates several features that can improve production efficiency by up to 44% compared to other cobots in its class. In a typical palletising application, SWIFTI’s speed and performance enable it to handle up to 13 boxes per minute compared to the nine boxes possible with other cobots in its class.

founder, Freedom One Life. Now after years of development, refinement, and continuous improvement, the Series 5 is now available to order.

Get in Touch:

T 01324 550760 solidworks@tms-scotland.com www.tms-scotland.com/solidworks

Where there’s muck, there’s brass

The potential for converting manure into a sustainable material of the future has highlighted the truth in the old saying, “Where there’s muck, there’s brass.”

Livestock dung is typically used as a fertiliser or as a source of biogas for green energy applications, but it could be used to create the next generation of cellulosic materials according to a new report.

The study, led by scientists at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in collaboration with the universities of Edinburgh and Bristol, reviewed recent research into the development of highvalue manure-derived materials from ruminant animals such as cattle.

They found that dung has been largely overlooked for these materials despite the

‘staggering’ variety of different applications for recycled ‘ruminant waste biomass’ (RWB).

The most common applications use manure in combination with other components to create composite materials such as plastic, recycled card

A festival of innovation

The award-winning Nineteen Group is pleased to announce an incredible range of activities that will take place during Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023. The week-long festival has four centrepiece exhibitions and combines both live and digital events, celebrating the best that the UK industrial sector has to offer.

A major part of Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023 is the free conference programme that will take place across two Keynote Conferences and six Solutions Theatres. Emphasising the importance of M&E Week is the fact that on Day 1 the keynote address in the main theatre will come from Government on the topic of their plans for supporting UK manufacturing while on Day 2 the shadow government will talk on the same subject. The conference agendas include topics including What next for UK manufacturing? Led by former Siemens UK CEO Juergen Maier and The story of a British Engineering Icon that looks at the story behind Triumph Motorcycles.

The week beginning 5th June 2023 is Manufacturing & Engineering Week with the centrepiece exhibitions Design & Engineering Expo, Smart Factory

Powered by ABB’s OmniCore C30 and C90XT controller, the SWIFTI CRB 1300 is up to five times more precise than any cobot in its class, making it ideal for tasks requiring consistent accuracy and repeatability. This, combined with a top speed of 6.2m/s, and payload options from 7kg to 11kg and reaches from 0.9 to 1.4, enables the SWIFTI CRB 1300 to perform a range of higher payload tasks including screwdriving, assembly, pick-and-place, and palletising. With protection against dust and moisture (up to IP67), it can also be used in demanding environments,

and paper or concrete.

However, it could also be used for the extraction of nanocellulose – a prospective bio-based and biodegradable material of the future.

Currently, there is a trade-off between the performance of the material and the amount of processing required to achieve this – limiting the capacity of RWB to replace conventional materials on a commercial level.

The study is part of a research project by Thomas Harrison, a PhD student at SRUC and the University of Edinburgh, and was published by ScienceDirect.

For more information, call 0131 535 4196 or contact: tom.maxwell@sruc.ac.uk

Expo, Maintec and the Drives & Controls zone taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 7th and 8th June. Other exhibitions are also taking place at the NEC during the week run by other event organisers and these include Automechanika run by Messe Frankfurt; Med-Tech Innovation Expo and TCT 3Sixty from Rapid News Group and Subcon from the Mark Allen Group. A visitor pass provides access to all events.

Contact www.mandeweek.co.uk/ipn

A recipe for coding and marking success benefitting the UK’s food and beverage manufacturers

Coming together as one, for the first time at this year’s FoodEx, Videojet Technologies and Clearmark Solutions Ltd are showcasing their full range of primary coding solutions for food and beverage manufacturers. The combination of these well-established organisations provides the broadest portfolio of end-to-end primary, secondary and tertiary coding and labelling equipment in the UK and Ireland, with the largest service team supporting customers packaging coding requirements from pack to pallet.

On show at FoodEx will be a range of primary coding equipment including the ICE Zodiac Hawk Thermal Transfer Overprinter (TTO), Videojet 1880 Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and 7440 Lightfoot Laser (Fiber Laser).

These mark an array of packaging materials with best before, use-by dates, production date, batch code and country of origin to ensure consistently accurate code placement at both high and low speeds to meet the requirements of the production line, printing on a variety of packaging types including pouches, sachets, film, paperboard, glass, metals and other substrates.

For end of line, the ICE Vulcan Label Print and Apply (LPA)

and ICE Torus Large Character Marking (LCM) systems can fulfil outer case labelling with the Vector Pallet Labeller completing a well-rounded portfolio of end-to-end coding and marking solutions.

The team will be on hand to give live demonstrations of the primary coding solutions and guide visitors through the full range of equipment. Stand L159, FoodEx Manufacturing Solutions at NEC Birmingham 24th-26th April 2023.

T 0115 964 0144 enquiries@clearmark.uk

making it ideal for machine tending applications. The SWIFTI CRB 1300 prioritises operator safety, with a safety laser scanner integrated with ABB’s SafeMove collaborative safety software.

The technologies enable safe collaboration to be achieved without the space and cost associated with installing protective fencing or other physical barriers.

http://new.abb.com/products/robotics/ collaborative-robots

Industrial Cleaning Equipment Company of the Month

Providing the power to create clean

In this issue of Industrial Process News, we are proud to announce Crescent Industrial as our Industrial Cleaning Equipment Company of the Month.

Crescent Industrial is a leading supplier of industrial floor cleaners for hire and purchase across many sectors including: construction, manufacturing, food processing and warehouse/distribution. Fully certified as an Alcumus safe-contractor member and ISO 9001: 2015 standards, this leading supplier offers qualityassured equipment for all industrial cleaning needs.

Established in 1975 as a family-business providing electrical contracting services, the company started repairing customers’ cleaning machines in the early 1990s due to demand for the service. This opened the doors for diversification and the team started supplying and servicing industrial cleaning machines. In 2003, after a successful merger with a Londonbased equipment supplier, this dynamic company has now branched into the new era of automated cleaners, paving the way forward.

Crescent Industrial showcased its next-generational K900 vacuum sweeper robot at this year’s UK Warehousing and Association conference, to impressed delegates. The ultra-low design allows it to nip under conveyors and Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), leaving hard-to-reach areas fully clean. Using SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping) navigation, this fully autonomous robot can manoeuvre complex spaces quickly, with quality-driven results. Covering an impressive 1,000m2/h, this robot is perfect for high-traffic areas in warehouses or other industrial areas. The K900 can run for five hours on rechargeable lithium batteries and with a quick, handy recharge time of 90 minutes, it will be ready to go again, in no time. We caught up with Calvin Stacey, Key Account Manager at Crescent Industrial, to find out more about this cutting-edge technology.

“We recently launched the K900 fully autonomous vacuum sweeper robot, which has been making waves in industry thanks to its super-low 35cm height, impressive cleaning performance and simplicity of deployment and use. The lightweight 32kg design makes it an incredibly versatile machine that can operate in standard warehouse operations, on mezzanines, under ASRS racking and in many more areas.”

Technology is also at the forefront of the dedicated aftersales team: using a Cloud-based service system, the team are able to look after all maintenance records and scheduling online. Equipment can be covered by a full maintenance programme, offering routine repairs and servicing, so customers know their cleaning equipment will go on providing the highest-quality results. Crescent Industrial offers a full hire and purchase options, allowing full flexibility for cleaning solutions across many sectors.

The central head office location is in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and with distributors and remote office across the UK, there is nationwide coverage available for all customers. There is a dedicated team of delivery drivers and highlyexperienced field service engineers ready to respond to order deliveries and emergency

repairs. Calvin tells us more about the wider company remit, “We provide cleaning equipment to industrial users to help them Create Clean in high-dust and intense cleaning applications. Our range of products include walk-behind and ride-on sweeper machines, industrial vacuums, scrubber-dryers and fully autonomous cleaning robots. All our equipment is available for purchase or rental and is supported by our team of engineers.

“Our equipment delivers better results thanks to more cleaning muscle (typically around three times more pressure), higher dust control and rugged machine construction.

“We primarily serve industrial users such as brickworks, construction sites, foundries, food factories and warehouse distribution clients.”

The expert range is designed to offer solutions to even the toughest of industrial cleaning challenges, as Calvin elaborates, “Floor cleaning is something that can often get overlooked, yet it’s one of the most important aspects of site maintenance, not only from an aesthetic point of view, but from the Health and Safety angle too. Even if there isn’t an immediately visible requirement for equipment, it pays to be aware of the regulations around controlling harmful dusts and other cleaning guidelines to ensure you are staying compliant.”

The Kodiak K12 Oscillating Scrubber-Dryer is one of the best problem-solvers; offering deep cleaning, polishing and even stripping solutions. Its oscillating scrubbing head gives orbital rotations up to 2,800rpm, offering high-power cleaning results every time. The machine can remove even the toughest of floor stains, with the buffer bringing the floor back to its former glory, making it perfect for high traffic usage on hard floors and tiled areas. The rectangular scrubbing head design enables cleaning right into corners and the even pressure distribution across the width of the pad ensures a uniform clean.

Kodiak machines are hand-built to a military grade standard to conquer tough cleaning tasks and to minimise the need for expensive repairs. Simple toggle switches, roto-moulded tanks and a metal chassis all from the robust construction to withstand heavy use in industrial environments.

The Topfloor TF95 is a vacuum sweeper machine, perfect for construction sites where dust, gravel and dirt can be hazardous to workers thanks to an excellent level of either M-Class or HEPA filtration.

While having excellent dust control for sweeping the likes of fine dust, the TF95 has double the cleaning power of standard sweepers enabling collection of debris as large as cans and small bottles thanks to a unique Tandem Roller Sweep system that uses two centre brooms to ‘grab-up’ dirt from the ground.

Topfloor sweepers are available in a range of sizes from pedestrian through to ride-on, cabbed versions. A popular choice for high-dust applications, vacuum sweepers form a partnership with industrial vacuums that enable users to stay compliant with Health and Safety legislation and protect their workers from potential respirable health risks.

The dedicated, expert sales team are able to provide full, detailed consultations on the cleaning models available for hire or purchase across different industries. This combined exceptional customer service, Cloud-based service system and precisiondriven cleaning products has seen an increase in customer demand as Calvin outlines, “Thanks to significant uplift in revenue through 2022, the company has grown its staff count by over 20% in the last year across various departments, so that we can continue to provide a consistent quality of service to our clients.

“There’s a number of new products in the pipeline that are really exciting along with some existing product amendments to make them even better! Stay tuned for more info on this!”

To view the full range of cleaning machinery solutions and get in touch, see the details below.

T 01789 415695

info@c-ind.co.uk

www.crescentindustrial.co.uk

Cuttingedge subsea technology

Expert advice on changing and refilling LPG cylinders for FLTs

Calor’s Technical Trainer, Brian O’Flynn, answers some of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to the safety precautions that forklift truck (FLT) operators should take when changing or refilling an LPG cylinder.

How do you refill an FLT gas cylinder?

When refuelling a refillable LPG cylinder, you should park up to three metres away from the bulk storage tanks; then apply the handbrake and turn the engine off.

Once you’ve checked the content gauge to see if it needs to be refilled, attach the filling hose and gun from the bulk tank installation to the filler valve on the cylinder. You

should check the connection on both the hose and the filler valve to make sure they are in good condition.

Now the hose and gun are connected, you can open the bleed valve that is on the refillable cylinder; there should be a small release of gas and once that has happened, you can then start conveying liquid by using the dead man switch on the installation. When you start seeing liquid appear, which will be shown with a white jet coming out the bleed valve, stop filling immediately and close the bleed valve. Then depress the gun to release it and make sure the connection is depressurised. Once you’ve stowed the hose and gun away, return to the cylinder to put the filler valve cap back on.

Please note, this article (www.calor.co.uk/news-andviews/gas-safety-week-2022) is for raising safety awareness and is not a replacement of taking an FLT safety training. If you’re interested in booking Calor FLT safety training for your employees, please email us on: CETraining@calor.co.uk

Cumbria based Digital Edge Subsea is a world leader in offshore digital video recording (DVR) and inspection systems. The company supplies the oil and gas industry with its digital video recording system that includes diving, remote operated vehicle (ROV) and topside operations.

Digital Edge Subsea’s products fit mainly into two categories, Subsea Robotics and Inspection Systems. The former includes both single and dual use modules as well as manipulators, which are high quality state of the art robotic solutions for the subsea market.

Digital Edge Subsea is also a market leader in producing subsea inspection systems, and with 10 years’ experience in the industry has nurtured strong customer relationships allowing for honest customer feedback which has been incorporated into the development of the Version 5 EdgeDVR.

The EdgeDVR has become an essential part of any ROV and Diving system offshore as it is easy to use and reliable. The new V5 software includes an online training platform and certification, as well as a powerful portable laptop version which comes in addition to the original 4U rackmounted version.

To work alongside this, Digital Edge Subsea has also recently released the Edge DVR Archive application. Edge Archive handles the transfer of data from the internal DVR drives to client storage, either on a NAS, a Raid, or a phased delivery to multiple external hard drives. Archive can act as a simple data mirror of the correct internal drive data folders or can be used to create multiple simultaneous backups of client deliverables. This can be done in continuous backup or a phased approach that is conducted after each dive.

For further information regarding Digital Edge Subsea, please contact:

T +44 (0)1229 206456

info@digitaledgesubsea.com

www.digitaledgesubsea.com

INTRODUCING EDGEDVR

The EdgeDVR is currently used worldwide by most of the major ROV and Diving contractors. With our Version 5 software, we have 6 models. The EdgeDVR has become an essential part of any ROV and Diving system offshore, easy to use and reliable. The system is capable of recording simultaneous High Definition and Standard Definition video, together with auto creation of Dive, Video, Photo and Anomaly logs. Multi channel digital overlay is also available for all recorded channels, logos and realtime survey data can be displayed. With around 800 systems now offshore, we have a proven record of reliability.

Aluminium Extrusion Company of the Month

UK company bid to become world’s first supplier of zero-carbon aluminium

In this issue of Industrial Process News, we are proud to announce Hydro Aluminium UK Ltd as our Aluminium Extrusion Company of the Month.

In 1905, Norwegian innovators Sam Eyde and Kristian Birkeland founded Norsk Hydro. With the headquarters firmly rooted in Oslo, Norway, this forward-thinking company now works across production, recycling and repurposing aluminium through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Energy and Hydro Extrusions.

With more than a century of expertise in hydropower, state-of-the art technology and production innovation, this Norwegian powerhouse is now based in over 40 countries globally, with more than 32,000 employees serving more than a total of 32,000 customers.

In the UK, Hydro UK has three aluminium extrusion plants in Birtley, Cheltenham and Tibshelf, with a further fabrication site in Bedwas. We caught up with Roger Ablett, MD UK Extrusions, to find out more.

“Hydro UK is an aluminium and renewable energy company, a leading provider in extrusion-based solutions, aluminium fabrication, building systems and components,” says Roger.

During the COVID pandemic we were proud to support our customers’ needs by providing the supply chain with medical related products. We were able to help with end products

such as ventilators, medical buildings and hospital partitions.

We supply a wide range of industries and businesses with lightweight, innovative and sustainable aluminium solutions that make a difference for both businesses, society and the environment.

“We have over 50 years of aluminium extrusion expertise. Committed to a sustainable future, our purpose is to create more viable societies by developing natural resources into products and solutions in innovative and efficient ways,” says Roger.

Aluminium extrusion refers to how aluminium billets are shaped through heat and a die opening for a full range of industrial applications. Hydro UK manufacturers aluminium profiles for many sectors including building, electronics to transportation. From the design concept, extrusion through to manufacturing, Hydro UK can offer bespoke items such as

windows or doors, or fully fabricated components.

Firmly established as leading aluminium extrusion experts, the key focus is now on sustainability: Hydro UK is fully focused on net-zero aluminium targets.

“Sustainability is the biggest challenge of modern production. We need to change our economy into one that produces for a low-carbon world,” elaborates Roger. “As we deliver circular solutions, our mission is to make net-zero aluminium by 2050 or earlier. Our Hydro 2025 strategy focuses on developing further innovative ways to protect biodiversity and help tackle climate change with our greener offerings to businesses.”

“The move to lower carbon aluminium production is designed to help our customers come closer to reaching their sustainability goals. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable as a material, and so by engaging with our customers, and promoting closed loop recycling concepts and services, we can offer more material with lower-carbon footprints that will contribute to reduce global emissions and create products and services for a more circular economy,” says Roger.

With increased market demand for greener aluminium products, Hydro UK has strategised renewable energy recycling, carbon capture and green hydrogen into its manufacturing facilities, in a bid to become the world’s first supplier of zero-carbon aluminium.

This impressive, concentrated drive towards sustainability distinguishes Hydro UK from its competitors as Roger illustrates, “What sets us apart is our sustainability capabilities. We offer locally supplied aluminium extrusions with efficient use of post and pre-consumer scrap to create recycled alloys and products to help serve a wide range of our sustainable customers on the path to net-zero emissions.”

This focus on sustainable local scrap and recycling, alongside other consolidated green investments demonstrate Hydro UK’s concerted drive to meet the UK Government’s 2050 carbon-neutral targets. Hydro UK’s customers can rest assured that sustainability is the modus operandi. For more details on this UK sustainable aluminium extrusion company, see the website below: T +44 (0)121 301 1200 marketing.extrusion.uk@hydro.com www.hydro.com

Employee Engagement Company of the Month

Digital employee recognition scheme increases morale and productivity

“We offer an all-in-one benefits, reward and recognition platform, including milestone and service awards, lifestyle savings, salary sacrifice, cycle to work, 24 hour GP helpline and pension contributions in an easy-to-use platform.

“We are the only provider in the market who offers one platform for recognition and benefits.”

Industrial Process News is delighted to recognise Terryberry as its Employee Engagement Company of the Month for its outstanding programme.

Award-winning Terryberry was established in 1918 by H.R. Terryberry and the family-run business continues to trade from its headquarters in Michigan, USA. Now with 30 locations worldwide, the company is set to continue its global growth portfolio.

The UK Terryberry offices are in Macclesfield and Cardiff. We spoke to Ben Pritchard, Head of Marketing, to find out more, “The main role of the company is to engage and reward employees and help a business to succeed by using the power of recognition.

It is commonly accepted that workplace morale is intrinsically linked to productivity and retention. With the current cost-ofliving crisis rocketing basic food and energy bills, Terryberry is helping UK businesses ride the storm.

The 360 Employee Recognition software and platform incorporates four aspects into one integrated digital hub: employee benefits, milestones and service awards, social recognition and wellness.

The employee benefit section allows managers and HR staff to incentivise staff through a range of benefits from private healthcare, life insurance and GP helplines, employee perks such as retail discounts and wellbeing schemes such as cycle to work schemes. There is even a sub-section for Christmas gifts; allowing managers to select allocated budgets and let employees choose vouchers from a range of high street outlets. This is guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of hard-working teams during the festive season.

The milestones and service awards are reserved for retirement celebrations and service awards. Gone are

the days of handing out gold plated engraved clocks or watches; companies want a wider, eclectic choice of gifts such as luxury hampers or unique experience days for their most valued employees.

School children aren’t the only ones who thrive under positive peer-to-peer recognition, adult employees blossom under recognition culture schemes. We all want to know we’re doing a good job; positive recognition bolsters self-esteem and superchargers dopamine. It’s a win-win scenario: employees feel good, will stay in their jobs and continue working hard. Managers benefit from a happy workplace, with staff who feel valued and will go the extra mile.

The last section is wellness, with Terryberry offering services to support an employee’s physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Through support with Mental health and wellness, to online gym classes, and help with managing your finances.

The 360 Employee Recognition software and platform offers HR departments and business leaders an integrated digital hub to look after the basics: everyday workplace morale with customised calendar events for Christmas, Birthdays and retirement occasions. This leaves more times for managers to come up with valuable team building sessions, whether that’s in the boardroom or in the pub!

In 2021, Terryberry partnered with the UK Government on their Help for Households scheme, launching Help for Employees, an easy-to-use offers and discounts

platform that is being made available to businesses of all sizes, with the aim to help as many people as possible save money and look after all areas of their wellbeing, reducing stress and creating a much happier workplace.

Ben Pritchard tells us more about their customers, “We can help companies with as little as 10 employees, through to large multi-national corporations. We are focused on maximum employee engagement: through rewarding, employees will succeed.

“Our programme is perfect for employees who are hybrid or remotely working, offering a one-stop-shop for benefits, wellbeing and recognition, that goes beyond simply financial rewards.”

To start prioritising your employees’ wellbeing today, see the details below:

T +44 (0)344 826 2008 www.terryberry.com/gb

Handling, Storage & Logistics

Use bespoke containers to store chemicals safely

It is time to consider using a bespoke, converted container to safely store dangerous materials. Shipping container units are strong and durable, easy to modify and can be specifically adapted for the storage of dangerous goods.

Safely storing hazardous materials

The conversions team at S Jones

Containers have extensive expertise providing purpose-built chemical stores, which are ideally suited for anyone needing to store hazardous materials with complete peace of mind. From bunded floors, louvred vents, ceiling suspended steel shelving and intrinsically safe ‘ATEX’ electrical installs, our skilled team of engineers will cover everything to ensure your storage is safe and compliant.

Bespoke chemical storage solutions

There are several options for chemical storage boxes

Pandrol upgrades loading dock to keep deliveries on track

Railway fastenings manufacturer Pandrol has installed a Thorworld modular loading dock and ramp to replace its previous Thorworld solution, which had successfully delivered 15 years of service at the company’s Worksop facility. The new solution, tailored to Pandrol’s needs, offers enhanced throughput and safety benefits.

Pandrol approached Darmax, Thorworld’s trusted sales partner, to oversee the installation of a bespoke Thorworld solution which paired a modular loading dock with a mobile ramp. This combination allows Pandrol to detach the ramp when needed, while also allowing for use during power outages. The removal of the existing ramp was arranged by Thorworld and used as credit against the new loading dock.

In operation for over 100 years, Pandrol supplies railway fastening systems to over 100 countries across the world, manufacturing in excess of 18 million clips per year. Given the extensive range of railway gauges, regulations, and specific requirements across the world, Pandrol has a hugely diverse product portfolio in order to meet this diverse and growing demand.

from S Jones. One is our 10ft converted chemical store for immediate delivery. This unit has a 450 litre capacity bunded floor, aluminium louvered vents and ceiling suspended steel shelving. The unit is user-friendly, accessible and legally compliant with COSHH regulations.

Our team can design and fabricate a bespoke hazardous materials storage container that suits the exact needs of your specific project. Unlike many shipping container companies, we design and manufacture your bespoke container conversion entirely in-house.

A bespoke conversion can be fitted with custom modifications, such as an insulated lining system and heater to ensure that the internal temperature is not affected by the outside temperature. We can also design your unit to ensure it has adequate ‘HVAC’ ventilation and humidity controls.

Every dangerous good or hazardous material has its own special considerations to think about when storing, meaning you may not be able to use a standard stock container conversion for your storage requirements.

If you’re looking for a bespoke storage unit for specific hazardous materials, contact our experienced conversions team who will be happy to discuss your specific requirements.

T 01922 741756

sales@sjonescontainers.co.uk www.sjonescontainers.co.uk

ZARGES Skymaster Plus X: Probably the only ladder you’ll ever need!

Strength, safety and unrivalled

versatility:

Skymaster Plus

X is the newly enhanced combination ladder from ZARGES which offers users multiple configurations and is expertly designed to be the ultimate ladder solution for construction, maintenance and engineering professionals.

The new Skymaster Plus X, part of the best-selling Skymaster range, provides a versatile and safe solution to working at height and is the only product in the UK to provide safer step treads on the top sections of the ladder –providing ultimate user comfort.

Available in a range of four sizes, from 3 x 8 rungs, up to 3 x 14 rungs, it offers a truly multi-functional solution as it can be used as a single, double or triple extension ladder, as well as an A-Frame or freestanding ladder – maximising the product’s usability.

Certified to the latest EN131 professional safety standard, the Skymaster Plus X has been designed and manufactured with users in mind, utilising safer step treads on the top section of the ladder to provide a comfortable and safe solution.

Its unique design also eliminates the need to invest in separate pieces of access equipment, guaranteeing optimum functionality to users across a variety of trade sectors, no matter the job.

To find out more about the Skymaster Plus X, please visit: www.zarges.co.uk

This has a significant impact on Pandrol’s logistics operations and so a rapid and reliable loading solution is essential to

01246 260981

info@thorworld.co.uk

www.thorworld.co.uk

https://youtu.be/JOB4Uk5u41g

Samson Pallet Stability announces launch

Samson Pallet Stability (formerly known as Samuel Grant (Sheffield) is delighted to announce its launch.

Following the success of the Queen's Award-winning Samson Nano pallet wrapping system, the company has been steadily working over the last ten years towards becoming the UK’s Centre of Excellence for pallet stability, investing heavily in equipment and expertise.

The Samson Nano is a unique offering, which gives customers the chance to wrap pallets to the highest standard capex free, with the machine, service and maintenance, and all the film, included in a fixed price per wrapped pallet.

The Slingshot was added in 2020, and is a horizontal pallet testing table which can replicate the inertia of a braking vehicle to 0.8G and allow customers to certify their loads to exacting EUMOS standards.

In addition, the expertise will remain in Sheffield for strapping for load stability, including consumables, tools and machinery. This includes the popular ‘swap and drop’ service for tools, eliminating downtime.

Andrew Grant, Managing Director of Samuel Grant Group, said of the launch, “For a long time Samuel Grant Sheffield has been the market leader in pallet excellence. The new

company separates Samson Pallet Stability from the general packaging provided from Samuel Grant (Leeds and North East), and gives us more scope to grow and develop our specialist products and services.”

Samson Pallet Stability is a proud member of the CILT (Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport) and the Cold Chain Federation. It welcomes approaches for any company wanting to get their palletised goods to their destination safely and in perfect condition. Samson Pallet Stability remains a member of the Samuel Grant Group. www.samuelgrant.co.uk

New sustainable packaging and supply chain solutions

automation arena where its products are used in fully automated warehouses. One product that is specifically suitable for all conveyors and transfer units is the Autotote 6545, and this is because it features an optimised base design that reduces deflection and noise. Its 100% closed underside ensures a smooth and silent running which protects the longevity of the conveyor belt and increases the base’s strength by more than 30%. There is also an option for drainage holes that are compliant with FM Global/VDS regulations and comes with a number of other different options and accessories.

Loadhog is a globally renowned multiaward-winning UK manufacturer that is dedicated to the design and manufacture, sale and pooling of Returnable Transit Packaging solutions. Ranked as one of Yorkshire’s Top 50 fastest growing businesses in 2023 (which marks its fourth consecutive appearance in the list), Loadhog serves a number of different industries including automotive & manufacturing, retail, postal, food, beverage and non-food sectors.

Since its establishment in 2003, the company has committed itself to introducing new paths and products designed with the express purpose of solving customers packaging and transport problems. Every sustainable solution designed at The Hogworks – Loadhog’s HQ, can and will save companies value time, money and labour.

Interestingly, Loadhog is and always has been owned

by its employees, bestowing a culture of power to every individual involved. From its HQ in Sheffield, UK to its other offices based in Obernai, France and Chicago, USA, Loadhog continues to develop innovative solutions to the unseen supply chain issues.

“We far outweigh any competitor because through intelligent design we can offer additional vehicle fill, less damages, and more longevity through use of better material with better impact properties, our products always solve a problem,” stated Shaun Khan, Managing Director.

Over the last two years, Loadhog has entered the

Another market Loadhog is keen to enter in 2023 is the intralogistics market. Shaun explained, “2023 will bring some positive and new changes. Firstly, we have decided to set up a new manufacturing facility in Obernai, Strasbourg. It will be a 55,000 ft2 manufacturing facility used to serve our European customers better on all service and support levels. We are also heavily concentrating on targeting the intralogistics market as this market heavily relates to automated warehouses to which our Autotote and Autotray products are particularly useful for.”

Tying in with its 2030 Vision, the company will always endeavour to create innovation, service and sustainability across all areas. By committing itself

to reachable goals such as having all products 100% recyclable by 2025, by Loadhog’s 25th birthday it also estimates that it will be sending 0% waste to landfill with minimal carbon emissions as well as investing heavily into targeting overall material usage of recycled plastic to 90%, which will be up by 60% on last year. 2023 will also see the company celebrate its 20th year, and its recent success in ecommerce which enabled the company to nearly double its sales turnover to £30m throughout COVID-19 only goes to show how influential, innovative and groundbreaking Loadhog’s products are.

T 0114 2800 800 info@loadhog.com www.loadhog.com

Beyond light we see heat: leading thermal imaging cameras

In this issue of Industrial Process News, we are proud to announce Thermal Vision Research as our Cooled Science Camera Distributor Range Company of the Month.

Thermal imaging cameras are widely considered to have first been used in the Korean War (1950-1953) for military reconnaissance and stealthy, nightly combat missions. From there onwards, the cameras have been utilised in many diverse sectors: to accurately identify overheating joints on power lines, scientific heat pattern research, and of course, search and rescue missions.

Thermal imaging cameras help researchers and professionals over all the globe, see thermal/heat energy displayed in visible thermogram form, after digitised software processing.

Thermal Vision Research was established in 2017 by Director Matthew Clavey. Situated on Aztec West business park near Bristol, in South Gloucestershire, the company is the UK premier distributor for the leading American Teledyne FLIR Cooled Science camera range. The company distributes to many diverse industrial sectors from aircraft research, defence to railway.

The leading UK distributor was recently asked to partner with the Aircraft Research Association (ARA): a specialist, local UK aerodynamic research institute. The research team were testing its hybrid laminar flow control hypothesis: the generation a porous section at the head of an aeroplane wing, will decide the point of transition of airflow: thereby reducing turbulence and creating fuel efficiency. The research goal was to make long-haul flights more sustainable, especially as we edge towards the UK Government's 2050 net-zero targets.

Thermal Vision Research was happy to loan its Teledyne FLIR T1K camera for this pioneering research into sustainable future aviation. The FLIR T1K was used to pinpoint accurate temperature changes in the high-speed transonic wind tunnel, with speeds up to a phenomenal Mach 1.4 (1,000mph). As a result of the air turbulence generated from the high speeds, the precise point of transition for airflow changes by less than 1° – the FLIR T1K camera is ideal for meticulous thermal measurements. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art camera goes beyond existing hot film gauges, by providing a visualisation of the airflow in-situ, without influencing the aerodynamic variable. Such precision-drive point of transition results has enabled the Aircraft Research Association (ARA) to prove the hybrid laminar flow control hypothesis, within controlled test conditions.

The ARA are now beginning to market the FLIR T1K wind tunnel concept design to engineering companies; as a viable blueprint for streamlined, greener aerodynamics. Cutting-edge FLIR Vision Processing combines next-generational HD resolution MSX®, and UltraMax® image enhancement, to produce astonishing 3.1 million pixilated thermal images.

It is not just the aviation research industry that has benefited from Thermal Vision Research’s precisiondriven consultancy, using Teledyne FLIR camera technology, Matthew and his team recently worked with Northern Rail.

Though the British Victorian railway network was built to last, vast stretches of tracks now need regular major maintenance to repair track corrosion or overhead cables. This can lead to hours, even days of closed tracks: impacting on commuters and causing major disruptions. Historically, much of this work was carried out manually by experienced engineers but now Northern Rail has taken the steps of trialling an innovative ‘intelligence train’ throughout 2023.

Working in collaboration with Thermal Vision Research, the ‘intelligence train’ in question has been installed with a FLIR A6750sc cooled thermal camera. The camera works in conjunction with acoustic monitors, G-shock Bogie, AI camera, radar dome, LIDAR horizon-scanning cameras and precisiondriven 180° thermal imaging software. The camera is so accurate, it was even used by NASA to record and map the surface of the moon.

In this case, the camera isn’t mapping moon impact craters or lava flows; but scanning for track infrastructure problems, with pinpoint accuracy. The camera will be moving at high-speeds and it is essential that it captures clear images. Pixels are generated in sub-one milliseconds of particular track sections, with impressive full-frames of 125Hz.

The meticulous attention to detail produces clear images, without the blurring of other uncooled thermal imaging models. The intelligent camera can read up to 100 metres ahead on the tracks, while in transit and continuously processing data onto a SMART Cloud-platform. The Cloud-platform can be accessed remotely by the Northern Rail team and allow detailed analysis of the tracks. This is hugely advantageous as it allows the railways track to stay functioning, obliterating costly downtime and most importantly, the thermal imagining pinpoints precise areas for track maintenance, earmarking for strategic planned engineering maintenance.

This is pioneering for railway maintenance, as it allows a more fluid proactive maintenance system, rather than the current costly current reactive system. The trial will continue throughout 2023, leading to potential expansion throughout other rail networks around the country.

Director, Matthew Clavey, has overseen the ARA and Northern Rail projects and explains why the Teledyne FLIR are so popular with customers, “The cameras we sell: Teledyne FLIR are the world’s largest suppliers of infrared sensors, so we have the advantage of providing clients with a recognised brand.

“We offer a thermal camera hiring system for shortterm projects, across many sectors including the: FLIR A70 research and development kits- these are readyto-use thermal imaging analysis solutions, perfect for electronic testing. The FLIR A700 Professional Science Kit is ideal for accurate temperature measurements for engineering and research projects. We can also offer the FLIR A6260 SWIR camera, FLIR A6750 MWIR camera and high-speed, high-definition FLIR X8500sc MWIR camera, all with HD tripods, pan and

tilt systems. We can even provide comprehensive training sessions, led by a trained operator to showcase the hardware/software set-up. Any shortterm hire cost can be refunded against a potential future camera purchase and we offer substantial discounts for extended hire usage.

“In addition, we offer a subscription service for a minimum of 12 months, in exchange for a FLIR A50/ A70 science kit. Customers will receive initial training, full insurance cover, regular scheduled maintenance/ re-calibrations and repairs if required, remote support from a dedicated team and advice about upgrading to more expert systems.”

The Teledyne FLIR camera range offers nextgenerational research solutions for cutting-edge research and real-time applications across many sectors. Thermal Vision Research will be exhibiting at EIS Instrumentation Analysis and Test Exhibition: the Silverstone wing, Silverstone Race Track: 16 May 2023.

T 0333 200 4667

info@thermalvisionresearch.co.uk

www.thermalvisionresearch.co.uk

www.flir.co.uk/applications/science/

Health, Safety, Cleaning & Hygiene

Efficient and sustainable parts cleaning for sophisticated hightech and high purity components

Whether it’s a millimetre-small fastener, complex precision optics or meter-sized machinery parts, the cleanliness requirements for high-tech components are becoming stricter and more demanding in numerous branches of industry. Although the exact specifications vary depending on the part, sector and application, most conventional cleaning systems are unable to achieve the result required to ensure consistent product quality. Ecoclean has been supplying solutions for precision and high-purity cleaning applications for many years. With its wealth of experience, the company is constantly driving forward the development of cleaning systems, technologies, and processes for this sector, including specially designed feature packages.

Demands on the performance and reliability of components and parts have increased enormously and continue to rise, particularly in sectors such as the semiconductor supply industry, optical and optoelectronic industry, thin-film technology, vacuum, laser, and analysis technologies, as well as the aerospace and medical device industry. This has an impact on parts cleaning. Key criteria for selecting the most suitable cleaning process and plant technology are the required level of cleanliness, the type of

contamination to be removed, and the material and geometry of the respective component. Based on this, it is possible to determine which and how many process steps are necessary with which cleaning medium and which mechanics. Aspects such as the quality of the rinsing medium and the drying technology are included just as much in this consideration, as are cleanliness-compliant parts handling and the prevailing environmental conditions, for instance connection or integration into a cleanroom.

Which system concept is the right one in terms of cleanliness and cost-effectiveness is determined

via cleaning trials with original components or test specimens. Ecoclean has appropriate High Purity Test Centres for this purpose. As a result, product-specific cleaning processes and process parameters can be developed and then stored as programs in the system controller. This ensures that each part is cleaned with the validated process parameters to achieve the required level of cleanliness in a consistent and reproducible manner. Furthermore, all relevant process parameters can be monitored, documented and transferred to higher-level systems.

M +44 (0)7799 346611

info.uk@ecoclean-group.net

www.ecoclean-group.net

Long established Cleenol launches new Easidose range of cleaning products

Cleenol, a leading developer and manufacturer of quality cleaning and hygiene products, has announced it is rebranding its market-leading Evolution 1000 range as Easidose.

The name of the new range is in recognition of its ‘easy to dose’ characteristics, as Paul Twiss, Head of Marketing at Cleenol, explains, “Our Evolution Super Concentrates system redefined cleaning chemicals. As part of the range, we wanted to create an additional system that ran parallel with our wall mounted dosing systems, one where the was no need for additional hardware. This is why we’re proud to introduce the brand new Easidose range.”

Each bottle of Easidose has a specially designed

measuring cup built directly into the bottle. Also embedded in the bottle is a feed tube which connects from the bottom of the bottle to the measuring cup above. A new range of universal

heavy-duty refill flasks will be available as part of the Easidose range and also an updated Evolution 1.5 litre range.

Both brands share a similar design, so the new flasks will show both Easidose & Evolution logos.

The new Easidose range comprises multisurface cleaners and degreasers, floor cleaners, anti-bacterial bath and washroom cleaners, air fresheners, window and stainless-steel cleaners and toilet cleaners. Each 1 litre bottle can make up to 300 refill flasks, saving single use plastic while taking up little storage space.

To find out more, contact: sales@cleenol.co.uk or visit: www.cleenol.com

AQUA Safety Showers: Experts in our field

Whenit comes to the safety of workers out in the field, we are the people to contact when it comes to emergency safety showers and eye wash stations. It isn’t just about the end product. We will recommend and advise you on the best safety shower solution to suit your requirements.

As there is no one-fits-all approach we have the flexibility to adapt or modify our units in our manufacturing facility in Great Britain.

Our range of emergency products and equipment offers protection against serious injury and are all built to exceed ANSI/EN safety standards. While we hope there is never the need for your safety showers to be used, having one is imperative on site should be working around harmful substances. Our goal is to create essential pieces of equipment that become the

standard in every laboratory and facility that uses harmful substances.

Are you properly prepared in case of an emergency?

Aqua Safety Showers can keep your workers safe with our wide range of products and units available. For a bespoke quotation or free site survey, please get in touch with our dedicated sales team today.

T +44 (0)1942 318096 sales@aqua-safety.com www.facebook.com/aquasafetyshowers/ www.linkedin.com/company/ aqua-safety-showers-international-ltd www.youtube.com/channel/ UC2IeWZzOlQDOrQiWVGYtYRw

Choosing a vacuum?

“Not all vacuums are the same,” says BDM Lesley Collins of The Preparation Group. “A vacuum, in terms of the size of motor, level of suction, filtration capabilities and collection capacity, must be up to the job.”

For maximum efficiency and durability, energy saving models need to be robust and offer low maintenance with easy cleaning and changing of filters.

On light applications for dust, models with 2 or 3 motors that are individually powered, allow the operator to select the level of power required. For situations where dust is critical there are vacuums that feature a Longopac® System. Instead of a bin, dust and solid material is collected into a continuous anti-static feeding bag

which is twisted and sealed for disposal. This gives the operator confidence that airborne particles are safely contained.

When there is a need to vacuum both liquids and dry materials, the M450 dry/wet vacuum for example, allows the operator to switch between dry and wet operations with no compromise to suction levels and without the need to change the filter.

A vacuum must be fitted with an L or M type filter to function. A vacuum fitted with an H filter is for collecting very fine particle and hazardous dust. Airborne particles can be prevented by 98%, making the operation safe for the operator while safeguarding sensitive equipment.

T +44 (0)1522 561460

hello@ppcgroup.co.uk www.ppcgroup.co.uk

Machining

UNISIG’s approach to automating surgical instrument manufacturing

As surgical instrument manufacturers pursue greater throughput while facing increased labor costs, automating the medical instrument manufacturing process has become a necessity. However, integrating automation into the gundrilling process for drilling deep holes in extremely precise surgical instruments in lights-out operation is a major engineering challenge requiring more than simply pairing a robot with a deep-hole drilling machine.

The right machine, tools and process must all come together to create small holes with extreme precision in difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium and surgical stainless steel. More importantly, the entire system must flow from a unified concept where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

To meet size constraints, a 6-axis robot was embedded in the machine with a pallet system on the backside of the machine, allowing easy operator access from the front to setup the machine without compromising ergonomics. The configuration enables quick setup changes between prototype and proving operations and full production runs.

The robot automatically repositions the workpiece from the front of the first spindle into the rear of the second spindle without operator input. The process of drilling a part from both ends in a single-piece flow is unique to UNISIG. Workpieces with enlarged

features on one side are loaded from the rear of the collet, solving a common problem in gundrilling medical surgical instruments with full automation.

Control of the UNE6-2i and a computer are consolidated into the Human Machine Interface (HMI), a menu-driven touch screen system for easy, intuitive operation. Training and operator engagement with the system is significantly reduced due to user-friendly UNISIG controller menus and prompts.

UNISIG’s comprehensive and integrated approach

to automating medical part manufacturing is a vison that sets it apart in the industry. It’s more than drilling the impossible hole. It’s a commitment to understanding and to the research that drives continuous improvement and innovation for automated part production at its full potential.

Further information on all machines and the complete UNISIG machine programme is available at: www.unisig.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter (@UNISIG). You will also meet us at the EMO 2023 show in Hannover, Germany, from 18-23 September.

To meet these challenges, UNISIG developed its UNE6-2i-750-CR dual independent spindle gundrilling machine. The UNE6-2i is capable of gundrilling hole diameters ranging from 0.8-6mm in part lengths measuring up to 30 inches with depth-to-diameter ratios from 20:1 to more than 100:1. The machine has a maximum combined drilling speed of 28,000rpm and a 3,000psi (207) bar programmable flow-based coolant system with dedicated pumps for each spindle to ensure precise coolant pressure control.

Automating hundreds of cycles of precision manufacturing, however, is not possible unless the overall operation is considered from the outset. Surgical instrument manufacturing is a sequential process: parts must be loaded into the machine in a particular way for specific operations that happen in a specific order.

Workpiece length, shape and configuration determine where it is gripped by the robot when loaded into a machine, moved from spindle to spindle for drilling, residual cutting fluid removed, and returned to the pallet. Where a part is gripped impacts where it is clamped for drilling to ensure accuracy. Every variable along the process chain must be considered and accounted for, and the calculus is detailed and complicated.

Then there are unique customer needs and requirements. The equipment and process must accommodate a variety of part families and hundreds of parts to increase runtime and efficiency. Operators must be able to change over part types and programming without calling in an automation specialist, and the entire process must be controlled from a central interface. Add to the mix that everything must be packaged in as small a footprint as possible, and the scope of the engineering challenge comes into focus.

UNISIG’s approach to solving these problems, however, results in targeted automation that enhances the existing benefits of gundrilling, ensuring a solid foundation for reliable processwide automation.

At its core, the automated UNE6-2i is a purposebuilt machine with automation embedded in its design, not added as an afterthought. Flexibility and adaptability are maximised by a harmonious, interdependent mechanical, software and operational planning scheme.

Record working dimensions for the new XXL-Box

“Afterthe huge success of the L-BOX and XL-BOX, our compact marking stations, we have been asked on numerous occasions to offer a larger workspace in order to be able to mark large parts.” These are the words of Eric B., Marketing and Sales Director at SIC MARKING, world leader in industrial traceability, to justify the launch of the new XXL-BOX Laser Marking Station.

Available in 3 basic sizes at a very competitive price, the XXL-BOX perfectly complements SIC MARKING’s laser workstation wide range of products, which makes it possible to meet all customer requirements in terms of cabinet size.

As its name indicates, the new XXL-BOX station offers record working dimensions (up to 520mm high) as well as great modularity thanks to its

3 standard models (800, 1,200 and 1,600mm wide) and its numerous accessories. The strength of this new product also lies in its ability to adapt perfectly to different customer requirements, illustrating SIC MARKING’s extensive know-how in the realisation of tailor-made solutions.

“The XXL-BOX is ideally suited for the classic use of its large working volume, but also enables the project manager at SIC MARKING to offer tailor-made solutions for more complex largevolume marking applications.” As Project Manager, Nicolas E. highlights the flexibility of this new product through a large number of accessories.

“Automatic three-dimensional axis, automatic loading system, loading drawer or turntable are just a few examples of the applications proposed by our technical teams to meet our customers’ needs.”

Cutting on the edge

The Laser Cutting Co (TLCC) has installed a new flat-bed fibre laser system that can also bevel part edges and cut countersinks, eliminating timeconsuming second operations.

“We’ve been growing significantly since the pandemic, both in terms of our customer base and month-on-month revenue,” said Sales Director, Charlie Day.

“This prompted investment in the Trumpf TruLaser 5040 fibre 10kW flat-bed laser, which positions us for further growth as we can now process a significant volume of work in comparison with our competitors.”

The new machine arrived at the end of February 2022. It is the second Trumpf model on site, where it joins a TruLaser Tube 7000 CO2 machine, installed in 2020.

“One of our older flat-bed laser cutting machines was a 6kW model from a Trumpf competitor, which was proving slower than the general market demand,” said Mr Day. “The faster TruLaser 5040 fibre has provided a lot more capacity and is generally a much better machine.”

The EdgeLine Bevel function automatically inserts chamfers up to 45° and countersinks of various sizes, eliminating the need for secondary processes.

Mr Day added, “We want EdgeLine Bevel because many of our customers request countersinking and weld preps. While we can provide this service manually EdgeLine Bevel will prove to be much more efficient, accurate and productive. As a large proportion of our customer base is essentially fabrication, engineering and welding oriented, the ability to offer countersinks and bevels on all parts will provide us with an even stronger proposition.”

The company also offers its ‘Smart Design Production’ to support customers by redesigning

parts in a way that reduces subsequent fabrication and assembly times and associated costs.

“Customers achieve approximately 50% time and cost savings on average through Smart Design Production,” continued Mr Day, “and EdgeLine Bevel will have a similar positive impact on our customers. If they need to weld the part after laser cutting and require a bevelled edge, it will simply arrive at their premises ready to process. If they combine that with tube from our TruLaser Tube machines then suddenly they can have a whole kit of products from us, complete with all countersinking and weld prep work already completed.”

T 0114 244 5544 sales@lasercutting.co.uk www.lasercutting.co.uk

Pumps & Valves

Oliver Valves supplies Saudi Arabian modular wellsites

Oliver Valves secured a £320,000 order to supply a range of single isolation needle valves, 2 valve manifolds and ‘IN’ type double block and bleed valves for fitment to Modular Wellsite Packages in Saudi Arabia.

Wellsite packages are integrated skid-based units that house all of the equipment between the Christmas tree and the production header. The skids are expected to be installed near the respective wellheads to control the flow and pressure of oil or gas. They include; wellhead shutdown panels to control the wellhead valves, power distribution system with single phase and 3-phase power distributed to modules across the well site. A huge chemical injection system for flowline protection against corrosion, sampling pots to facilitate fluid sampling, and flow lines fitted with instrumentation valves that measure temperature and pressures.

Oliver Valves is to manufacture over 2,000 custom-made valves constructed from Alloy 625 & stainless-steel material that will see the order fulfilled over the next few weeks. To find out how Oliver Valves can custom-manufacture your valves, call us by telephone on +44 (0)1565 654089, email: sales@valves.co.uk or visit: www.valves.co.uk

Advanced Engineering Review – Top Exhibitors

Innovation, collaboration, networking and sustainability

The UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals, Advanced Engineering, returned to the NEC, Birmingham on November 2 and 3 2022 for its 13th edition. Here, companies at the forefront of the UK’s engineering and manufacturing industry showcased their most cutting edge technology, and experts united to discover the latest innovations. Attendees were also treated to talks from leading industry figures, including representatives from Siemens, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Make UK, Rolls-Royce and Airbus.

409 exhibitors attended Advanced Engineering this year, with 85% rebooking for next year. Once again, the show was co-located with Lab Innovations, which also achieved record breaking rebooking rates. This year, over 8,800 people attended Advanced Engineering – 27% more than in 2021. This included representatives from Aston Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing, McLaren, Microsoft, Nissan and Toyota.

Advanced Engineering’s dedicated innovation areas proved popular again this year, with the spaces across the show floor given to the University of Manchester, two Formula Student teams, Crover, Bcomp, Plastron and Attentional Machines. Here, visitors got to see the latest innovations in graphene, electric vehicles, composites, drone technology, spacecraft propulsion and robotics, from companies right at the

Sustainable waste management

Agecko UK Ltd provide total sustainable waste management solutions, nationwide.

As a result of the recycling disposal processes, they found for problematic composites; they were invited to have a stand with Composites UK at The Advanced Engineering Show. It was great for them to network with likeminded innovators at the forefront of their industries.

across a range of industry sectors, for example engineering, manufacturing, food & beverage, retail, automotive & chemical. Their enthusiastic customer service team becomes each client’s personalised waste service department. Each site contact will request all services/collections through this team. Their accounts department will provide invoices that detail the tonnage and costs applicable to each waste stream for transparency & ease.

forefront of their respective fields.

Advanced Engineering returns to Birmingham’s NEC from 1-2 November 2023. This is our pick of the best exhibitors from last year’s event, listed here in alphabetical order: Agecko, AmaDema, Howmet Fastening Systems, Kluthe, Partner Electronics, Siebec & ZerdaLab. Further details can be found on this page.

Contact www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Lighter and stronger fibre reinforced polymer composites

AmaDema focuses on the enhancement of technical fabrics and prepregs to be used in fibre reinforced composites.

Overall, AmaDema deals with the design and manufacturing of advanced composite materials, by identifying the problems and needs of customers in a variety of industries such as space, aviation, defence, sports and automotive by providing them with a variety of material services and product solutions in the field of materials.

NanoWeld® constitutes a novel technology for enhancing technical

fabrics such as carbon, glass, or aramid at any type of knitting, offering superior mechanical performance to the final composite product. The technology utilises nanoreinforced electrospun

Attending the show gave the opportunity to showcase re-use/ recycling outlets found for wax paper, dirty rigid and soft plastics & bulk food waste, etc. Agecko are proud to be renowned for finding greener solutions, for all standard and problematic waste streams.

Agecko’s growing portfolio varies

AtKluthe, we care!

nanofibres to enhance the interlayer properties of composites by transferring loads more effectively.

NanoWeld® is available as a solution to composite part manufacturers directly or to technical fabric and prepreg manufacturers through licensing. Current applications in space, drones, defence, construction, and other fields render NanoWeld® Technology a solution to enhance performance of conventional fibre reinforced polymer composites.

Contact info@amdmcomposites.com

Howmet Fastening Systems

Howmet Fastening Systems (HFS Industrial) is a leading innovator and manufacturer in fastening systems for a wide range of applications, especially where safety is a critical factor. The Huck brand, which is manufactured by HFS Industrial in Telford and distributed globally, provides a reliable, permanent, vibration-resistant fastening solution for a wide range of applications.

The Huck range comprises lockbolt and structural blind rivet fastening systems and a range of pneudraulic, hydraulic and battery installation tooling. The key benefits of a Huck fastening system are: n A high performance, maintenance free joint n Quick and consistent installations in the field or on the production line n Lower overall cost when compared to other methods of joining

To meet high levels of demand for large diameter Huck fasteners, HFS has recently invested in new machinery to expand its production capability and meet the demand of existing and new customers.

Siebec

As with many other exhibitors, the Advanced Engineering show at the NEC in November was our first one for quite some time so it was great being able to catch up with customers and prospects alike face to face again. There was an upbeat and positive atmosphere both from visitors and fellow exhibitors alike. Held over 2 days it brought together engineering professionals and companies across a broad spectrum. It was great to see the show, which was in its 14th year, so busy and with some valuable new connections made and existing relationships cemented it was 2 days well spent.

Being part of the Surface Engineering Association’s pavilion helped generate interest and showcase a wide variety of

HFS Industrial provides joining & fastening solutions to help solve problems faced in many industries.

A team of experts are on hand to discuss specific issues you might face in your production. If you would like to speak to an expert, please contact: enquiries@hfsindustrial.com

our products leading to some exciting new projects in the pipeline. Although interest in our precious metal recovery systems, our range of emptying vacuums, our highly regarded filter media and of course our range of selfrepriming mag drive pumps has given us plenty to follow up on, it is clear that the industry is still facing challenging times with rising costs so it was useful for us to be able present solutions that provide the most economical benefits to our customers.

We’re looking forward to attending again this year

Contact: Peter Webster, Sales Manager

T 01785 227700 peterwebster@siebec.co.uk

Kluthe surface treatment specialists are a family-owned global company; with over 65 years of expertise in innovative process solutions for metalworking and cleaning, forming and protection, chemical pre-treatment, and paint shop applications.

At Kluthe, we care! In addition to premium solutions and safety, we prioritise and promote sustainability in all our operations and have taken significant steps in our journey to become net zero.

Alongside this, each Customer will receive bespoke Environmental Reports. The report captures the tonnages collected from your premises monthly, the disposal processes, costs, recycling percentages and rebates.

To see how Agecko can help your business, contact us on 0800 342 3184 or email: info@agecko.com

Our green logo and ‘Harmony in Chemistry’ motto reflect our traditional philosophy & commitment to our environmental strategy and social responsibility. Renewable energy and investment in solar panels to power our facilities reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and decreases carbon emissions.

At Kluthe, we care about protecting future generations through professional management and reforestation, allowing us to remove up to 56,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. Our sustainability efforts are relentless! We have implemented a closed-loop chemical products recycling system; enabling us to reuse materials. We work with our suppliers to reduce packaging and transportation emissions and develop eco-friendly solutions that meet our customers’ needs. Everything is considered!

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the need for environmental responsibility, we are paving the way for a sustainable future.

Contact

T 0330 175 9970 info.uk@kluthe.com www.kluthe.com

How to make PDC drill bits work in geothermal drilling

Geothermal energy can become a key component of the global energy mix, but it only accounts for about 1% of total energy production today. Some of the reasons behind slow development of geothermal energy are that drilling for geothermal heat is challenging, expensive, and requires specialised equipment. The drill bit is especially critical for success, and traditional designs are not always suitable for the high temperatures and hard rock encountered underground.

To address this issue, Zerdalab, a UKbased engineering company, is at the forefront of PDC drill bit development for geothermal applications. We enable local manufacturing to reduce costs, carbon emissions, and lead times.

We are also developing machinelearning-enabled, physics-based processes that match the cutting structure to each application’s challenges quickly and objectively to ensure the bit’s best possible performance.

Another key focus of our development is a bit’s rapid repairability and reusability, which will help to drive the cost of drilling down and improve the economic viability of geothermal projects. All of the above can make geothermal drilling more economically viable and reduce its carbon footprint, accelerating the growth of geothermal energy production. PDC drill bits offer a promising solution for the challenges of geothermal drilling. By improving efficiency, reducing costs, and boosting sustainability, they can support the transition to renewable energy.

M +44 (0)7549 980407

info@zerdalab.com www.zerdalab.com

Electronics design in partnership

designing solutions within new and emerging technologies and transforming ideas into real products.

Working with a range of companies – from blue chips to growing SMEs – on developments ranging from consumer audio to laboratory equipment, industrial technology to telecoms, and more. Our growing team has a varied range of experience and specialities, we’d be happy to see how we can help you.

Working in:

n Industrial

Partner Electronics are a specialist team of engineers, working with ambitious businesses to develop electronics and firmware which make your products more powerful – and more saleable too.

If you are a manufacturing business, we can support your successful product development.

Throughout our 15 years, we have designed technology which supports innovation, developing creative solutions enabling our clients to manage materials shortages and cost rises which might otherwise frustrate their development.

We work closely with our clients, providing flexible and cost-effective engineering and project management skills,

n Sensors and Instrumentation

n Consumer

n LED Lighting

n Medical/Life Sciences

n Defence

“Partner Electronics’ diverse experience and knowledge helped push our original concept beyond our initial expectations to help us produce a product to be proud of.”

– Paul Barnett, Atlas Copco

T 01327 856400 info@partnerelectronics.com www.partnerelectronics.com

Trim down your waste with Rotech at FoodEx 2023

With sustainability and the rising cost-of-living being the hot topics of this year’s show, Rotech will highlight ways in which their innovative solutions can help food and drink manufacturers reduce their waste, while also shedding excess pounds spent on their coding and marking processes.

The waste produced by coding and marking technologies, and the recyclability of such waste, can vary drastically, and should be a key consideration for manufacturers looking to reduce their environmental impact.

On our stand P141 we will be comparing the waste produced by our favoured technology, thermal inkjet (TIJ) against that produced by other technologies commonly seen in food & drink production environments, thermal transfer (TTO) and continuous inkjet (CIJ).

Manually hand labelling or stamping date and batch codes onto packaging can be a time-consuming, labour-intensive process, one that often results in mislabelled or printed packs that have to be thrown away, a waste of both product and the manufacturers time. By automating the process with the RF Lite, manufacturers can see productivity levels rise dramatically; the compact system can feed and print up to 400 packs per minute, freeing up skilled workers for other tasks. Misprinted packs also become a thing of the past. The RF Lite accurately feeds product through to the printer, which triggers at the same point on each pack, producing a quality, clear print each time – a print automatically generated by the printer’s intuitive iDesign formatting software.

www.rotechmachines.com

New compact safety light barriers for the food processing industry

SLB440 series now in hygienic design with IP69 degree of protection

Schmersal has developed a new series of safety light barriers that are suitable for hygienesensitive applications in the packaging and food-processing industries, such as milk and meat processing. With a diameter of 62mm and a height of 115mm, the single-beam light barriers in the SLB series are extremely compact. This makes them ideal for thermoforming machinery for food packaging, for use on cutting equipment or on other machinery with narrow installation spaces.

SLB440 light barriers with IP69 degree of protection

SLB440 light barriers have been designed along the lines of the SLC/SLG440 IP69 safety light curtains and grids, which have been widely used in the food-processing and packaging industries for years. The new single-beam light barriers have been designed to cope with the high levels of stress placed upon them by the cleaning processes that are commonplace to these industries.

Thanks to a sophisticated, detailed design, the SLB440 series achieves IP69 degree of protection and is thus protected against ingress of water during close-range high-pressure and hightemperature spray downs. This means that the external and internal seals on this contactless active protective device (AOPD) meet very strict requirements and are able to withstand frequent cleaning with alkali solutions, foam, hot steam or high-pressure jets.

Stainless steel locking caps – PC safety tubes

The new AOPD product line has also been created based on the principles of hygienic design. The locking caps on the SLB440 are made of stainless steel (V4A) as are the cable inlet, pressure equalisation diaphragm and fastening parts. Made of polycarbonate (PC), the transparent protective tubes not only offer high resistance to cleaning agents, but also withstand strong mechanical loads. If spray lances should accidentally strike the SLC440 IP69’s enclosure during pressure washing in food production, the safety and protection function will continue to work thanks to the robust protective tubes. The materials thus ensure higher process reliability as well as a lengthy safety light barrier service life. The independent testing laboratory Ecolab has also verified the high resistance of the materials used in these components.

Integrated evaluation

The AOPD series features integrated evaluation with two safety outputs that are connected directly to the higher-level control system. Additional features of this AOPD series are the integrated setup aid and straightforward connection option with M12 connector (4-pole or 5-pole). The SLB440 light barrier achieves Performance Level PLe, type 4.

Visit Schmersal at Hannover Messe between 17 and 21 April 2023: Stand D09, Hall 09.

Contact: Steve Watkins, Marketing & Business Development

T 01684 571980

swatkins@schmersal.com www.schmersal.co.uk

Process and control engineering in focus

The CHEMUK

2023 EXPO will return this 10th & 11th May to the NEC, Birmingham.

CHEMUK 2023 continues to grow with over four hundred exhibitors confirmed for this year’s event.

CHEMUK brings together the entire chemical industry, with the exhibition floor split into three focused zones: The Laboratory & Innovation Zone; The Chemical, Process & Plant Engineering Zone; and The Chemical Industries Supply Chain Zone. In addition to the exhibition floor, visitors can attend any of the 40+ hours of keynotes, feature sessions, and panel discussions, running across the show’s five auditoriums, embracing some 150+ contributing speakers.

The speaker programme will address the key challenges and opportunities facing today’s chemical industry covering R&D, Innovation, Industrial Process Efficiency, Flow Chemistry, Plant & Asset Management, HSE, REACH Regulation and Sustainability. Speakers already provisionally confirmed to keynote this May include Professor David Bogle, President, IChemE; Richard Haldimann, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer, Clariant; Professor Gill Reid, President, Royal Society of Chemistry; Thomas Birk, Managing Director, BASF UK & Ireland, plus many more. The full speaker schedule will be hosted on the CHEMUK website.

Dates for the diary

CHEMUK 2023 takes place on Wed 10th & Thu 11th May 2023

Venue: NEC – National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, B40

1NT

Opening Times:

Day 1: 9.30am – 5.00pm Day 2: 9.30am – 4.00pm

Register for your FREE entry badge at: www.chemicalukexpo.com

T +44 (0)203 829 6062 duncan.harrison@ukindustryevents.com

Stronger Bonds make Better Business

InBASA’s 40th year of operation, we are still excelling in our mission to remain the umbrella organisation for UK adhesives and sealants manufacturers. Focusing on technical and legislative aspects and on promoting awareness of the industry and technology by providing guidance on technical and compliance issues, we create a variety of networking opportunities for members and provide a huge library of documents on the website. Our SME members are our lifeblood.

BASA is the voice of the adhesives and sealants industry and an information source for manufacturers and suppliers. We lobby on behalf of members and liaise with Government on legislation, keeping Members well informed of UK, EU and International proposals and initiatives.

With the growing concerns around the environment and using sustainable products and raw materials, BASA is dedicated to helping its members minimise harmful chemical usage and educate the public on the industry’s drive for safer products. BASA members work hard to formulate innovative products that positively contribute to the sustainability agenda while maintaining performance and durability.

BASA hopes to continue to reach more potential members, looking at ways to support its manufacturers post Brexit and help them to navigate potential new legislation and trade rules.

Come and see us on Stand N94.

Contact: Lorna Williams

T +44 (0)330 22 33 290

secretary@basa.uk.com

www.basa.uk.com

@BASA_updates

UN Certified sustainable corrugated packaging

Cepac Group is all set to exhibit once again at CHEMUK, NEC Birmingham, from 10th to 11th May 2023.

Cepac Group is one of the UK’s leading, most innovative developers and manufacturers of corrugated packaging solutions, supplying a full range of corrugated transit products across a diverse range of market sectors.

From planning through design, testing, certifying and into manufacture, Cepac is the UK’s most focused, specialist corrugated packaging producer of robust corrugated transit solutions for potentially dangerous goods. UN

Certified and fit for purpose, Cepac uses sustainable, fully recyclable corrugated packaging materials, ensuring your goods arrive safely at their destination.

As the UK’s most dynamic and innovative manufacturer

Come see us at CHEMUK Stand Number J34

of complete corrugated packaging solutions, the development and innovation within Cepac’s UN packaging range has strengthened the company’s offering within the hazardous goods sector. Cepac is able to provide a range of liquid packs for industrial chemicals, agrochemicals, and other applications.

Every stage of the process, from design and development to testing and manufacture, takes place at Cepac’s Rawcliffe facility in the UK. With a broad portfolio of corrugated packaging solutions, the company can cater for a diverse range of packaging applications and requirements.

Come and see us on Stand K92.

M 07384 215106

Simon.Wardell@cepac.co.uk www.cepac.co.uk

Specialist solutions

We take pride in overseeing the entire manufacturing process, from design, prototyping and manufacture to delivery, installation, full product certification and after-sales service

Drallim is an innovative technology driven British engineering company with global presence. With experience in providing comprehensive turnkey assembly & test solutions covering electronic, electromechanical, engineering, and mechanical products. We offer our customers a total contract manufacturing service, offering design, and manufacturing solutions, providing engineering skills, manufactured equipment & custom-built systems for the aerospace, industrial and utility markets.

Product realisation: Prototyping and new product introductions

From the initial enquiry, our Business Development Team analyses the specifications and requirements of a product or project and issues a comprehensive and detailed quotation. When an order is received, a project plan is then developed; our team uses detailed documentation, engineering change and reporting control to ensure continued information integrity. An experienced project manager acts as the interface between Drallim and our customers although, at the same time, we actively encourage engineer-to-engineer communication. We have had customers’ engineers based at our headquarters signing off drawings as they are produced to meet urgent deadlines for manufacture. The designated project manager ensures that resources are allocated appropriately and that all tasks are tracked and recorded. The result is a controlled transition into the manufacturing process.

Design support

When it comes to product manufacturing, a substantial proportion of the end product’s total

cost is determined at the design stage. As a result, this part of the manufacturing process presents the perfect opportunity to identify improvements that will lead to cost reductions. A thorough understanding of each element will enable the product to be designed and optimised for procurement, manufacturing and test. We provide an extensive Design for Manufacture service to help our customers achieve substantial improvements, including:

n Improved manufacturing productivity

n Enhanced product quality and reliability

n Minimal/simplified maintenance

n Lower cost

sera is the right fit for compact polymer preparation

Polymer solutions are used everywhere where sedimentation or flotation of suspended solids in water is to be accelerated and the dewatering behaviour of thickened sludge improved, such as in wastewater treatment, paper manufacture, drinking water treatment & sewage sludge dewatering.

The PolyLine from sera is a series of simple, flexible as well as economical and high-performance systems for preparing polymers. The systems are equipped with precise flow measurement for solution preparation and level measurement to ensure efficient and economical operation of the systems.

The PolyLine is available in three

different variants, each for use with liquid, powder polymer or as a variant

for both polymer forms.

In some cases, our Polyline Flow was a little too big for the desired customer application, but we are now welcoming the new, smaller version – The PolyLine Flow Compact. With a footprint of 120 by 80 centimetres, it fits exactly on a Euro pallet. This means that it is not only cheaper to transport but can also be placed more easily at the customer’s site and finds its place in every room and every application.

Come and see us on Stand D10 at CHEMUK 2023 for the first look at the new design.

T 01283 753400 sales.uk@sera-web.com www.sera-web.com/en

Welcome to All Valves Online

AUK-based, valve and actuator specialist who provides equipment, support and technical services around the world to many different industry sectors. Despite our wide scope, the company has remained as one of the fastest growing valve and actuator distributors thanks to the tireless efforts of our skilled and experienced staff.

Allvalves offers a complete range of actuated valves, manual valves, pipe fittings, pumps, and controls and can confidently supply products that meet all of your requirements and conform to even the most stringent specifications.

As an ISO 9001-2015 Quality Approved and certified company, All Valves guarantees a high quality of service from pre-sale sizing & specifying, all the way through to post-sale support. In accordance with our ISO quality management procedures, we test, wherever possible, all products and valve actuator assemblies in-house before shipping, to ensure that our electric ball valves, electric butterfly valves, air actuated ball valves and air actuated butterfly valves reach you in perfect condition, every time.

Allvalves carry a large amount of stock and export to over 40 countries each year.

Come and see us on Stand G14.

T +44 (0)1386 552369 sales@allvalves.co.uk www.allvalves.co.uk

n Reduced time to market

n Increased customer satisfaction

n Manufacturing

n Precision assembly

We regularly produce complex assemblies that demand high levels of skill, precision, accuracy and consistency. The engineering and manufacturing teams at Drallim are highly skilled in this type of work, with awareness of critical engineering tolerances when producing assemblies of this complexity. Our skills base extends to include testing of electrical, electronic, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic assemblies. Following

rigorous approval processes, Drallim’s supply chain partners for custom parts, such as plastics, machined and fabricated metalwork, etc, are monitored closely for quality and delivery performance. Tight control of the material supply chain ensures the availability of high quality mechanical parts is maintained for timely production.

Electrical assembly

Many of the assemblies produced require wire and cable interconnection between boards and sub-assemblies. This can be via cable forms or point to point wiring. As part of our electro-mechanical assembly service, we are often called on to produce products that require critical cable routing. We also undertake electrical wiring of switch and instrument panels plus sophisticated control cabinets. We have highly trained engineering and assembly teams to assist with design and the assembly and support for all your cable and loom requirements.

n Electro-mechanical Assembly

n Pneumatic & Hydraulic Assembly

n Racks & Cabinets

n Box-Build Assembly

n PCB Assembly

n Prototype Wiring

n Cable Assembly

n Testing

So, if you are interested in British manufacturing and looking for a contract manufacturer, we are sure Drallim can meet your needs.

For further information, come see us on Stand J8 or please visit: www.drallim.com

Flow Control Group

Covering a wide range of sectors including oil, gas, industrial, water, wastewater, sewage, chemical and power generation, the business provides consultancy services including product design, specification, selection, valve sizing, actuation, flow and pressure management, installation and the supply and retrofit of a full range of spares and replacement products.

The Group’s Site Services division specialises in ‘On-Site’ product support. We can undertake both new installations and carry out retrofit of valves and actuators to existing works. Where necessary we can act in a support capacity on client led

installations.

The Flow Control Group incorporates fabrication and machining capabilities and can, in addition to the production of valves and penstocks design and manufacture mounting kits, pedestals, drive bushes, spindles and other ancillary equipment.

Our manufacturing facilities supply bespoke products in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 quality management systems. The business also operates to ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45000:2018 standards operating to the highest Health & Safety and Environmental standards. Utilising our in-house actuation facility, we can assist with actuator selection, and can fit, set and test actuators prior to delivery. We can also fit actuators on site where necessary.

Come see us on Stand K56. T 0121 752 8870 sales@cotswoldvalves.co.uk www.cotswoldvalves.co.uk www.flowcontrol.co.uk

Seal-less, extremely low pulse & controllable pump in action

Wanner will be demonstrating a fully operational Hydra-Cell seal-less and packing-free process pump at CHEMUK. Visitors to the stand will see the extremely low pulse MT08 flow chemistry and HPLC pump in action, producing a smooth flow for consistent processes.

Visitors will also see the internal components of the pump head, including the triplex diaphragms of the fully-functional pump with its clear perspex head and other cutaway demonstration pumps on display.

The MT08 exceeds API 675 standards and boasts extremely low pulse flow with the diaphragms in a single pump head. This eliminates the need for pulsation dampeners, eliminates pipe strain due to pulsation, delivering accurate and smooth flow for chemical dosing and metering applications.

The MT08 is part of Wanner’s Hydra-Cell seal-less range of low pulse dosing solutions. These have earned a solid reputation for reliability, with pumps still operating 25+ years after installation. They also require very low planned maintenance and servicing, leading to a reduction in operating costs.

Compared to other dosing pump technologies, the HydraCell’s true positive displacement pumping action, minimal

internal losses, and especially the multiple diaphragms achieve a very low pulse flow, result in smaller drive motors and can therefore reduce energy usage up to 50%. This combined with the wide range of flow rate controllability ensures optimum energy usage.

To see the pump in action, visit the Wanner Stand N46, Hall 1 of the NEC. For more information on Wanner Hydra-Cell chemical process pumps, visit: www.hydra-cell.co.uk/Chemical

LAUDA Technology

LAUDA Technology has been providing solutions for forward-thinking businesses for the past 65 years.

Designed to work seamlessly alongside applications that require precise heating and cooling, from -150 to +550°C, LAUDA technology is especially suitable for use in the chemical industry.

There are multiple processes where temperature plays a key role such as the tempering process, production of drug substances, polymerisation or crystallisation, and our units are planned and built precisely according to our customer’s wishes, meeting the strictest of safety standards.

Located in Stamford UK, and ISO-9001-certified, LAUDA has a long history of working with market-leading businesses from around the world who have come to rely on the precision, reliability, and longevity of LAUDA equipment.

LAUDA process circulators and chillers can often be found coupled to a range of different analytical instruments, while the new ‘VersaFreeze’ guarantees safe storage of vaccines in a temperature range of up to -85°.

And with a UK-based sales, service and support team, LAUDA

High quality and precise burst behaviour, even in harsh processes

The move from mechanical scoring to unique CPX manufacturing

can be relied upon to provide a world-class standard of preand post-sale customer care and product support. For temperature control, say it LAUDA. Come and see us on Stand E86.

T 01780 243118

info@lauda-technology.co.uk

www.lauda-technology.co.uk

www.linkedin.com/company/lauda-technology-ltd

ISS Projects (UK) Ltd

ISS Projects (UK) Ltd was founded in 2000 and has been providing tank gauging and specialist liquid level management solutions for over 20 years throughout the UK and Ireland.

ISS Projects offer an Independent Overfill Protection Unit Designed to protect against tank overfills. The failsafe system is designed and built to BS EN 61511 and can be tailored to customer specific requirements.

Once installed the alarm panel can form part of a Safety Instrumented System (SIS), this is achieved using safety relays to control pumps and valves for each tank. The panel can then be monitored by an ISS Tank in Touch gauge monitoring system which can display tank level, top pressure and temperature for up to 72 tanks

monitored individually. This then gives the option to display the information on a web browser or network as well as being displayed on the HMI.

Alongside these products they offer a number of support services ranging from Remote Telemetry, Service Contracts and Emergency Breakdown Support.

This is all achieved by ISS’s team of highly skilled engineers who are excited to be attending CHEM UK 2023 where they are eager to chat with new and existing customers.

Come and see us on Stand D24.

T 01765 606655 enquiries@issprojects.co.uk www.issprojects.co.uk

By chemists for chemists

At Asynt we are committed to investing in new technologies that respond to the real demands of global industry and academia. Providing world-leading solutions for scientific research, Asynt’s unique range of innovative products and services is developed by chemists for chemists and is effective, sustainable, and safe.

Key examples include the versatile DrySyn oil-free heating and cooling blocks that provide brilliant thermal performance without the associated risks of using standard oil-based systems and the Asynt CondenSyn waterless aircondenser, which, when teamed with the DrySyn range, will not only help reduce your environmental impact, but will also save you money.

Our other areas of expertise include sample preparation, pressure reactors, parallel synthesis, Flow Chemistry, Photochemistry, evaporation and purification tools alongside our fully-customisable ReactoMate lab reactor systems for scale-up from 100mL up to 100L, providing a safe and simple solution to your process development needs.

In addition to Asynt’s own product ranges, we work with a wide range of key manufacturers to provide a one-stop-shop for all your required laboratory apparatus. Asynt also offers a

full bespoke design & engineering service where, using the latest technology, we work closely with scientists to create exciting new products which meet a previously unfulfilled requirement.

Come and see us on Stand E76 at CHEMUK.

T +44 (0)1638 781709 enquiries@asynt.com www.asynt.com

The continued development of in-house technology by the German rupture disc manufacturer REMBE allows the company to manufacture rupture discs with sustainable advantages and industry-leading performance characteristics for a wide range of industries and sectors.

Contour Precision Lasering (CPL ) and Contour Precision Profiling (CPP ) enables high quality, accurate, burst control even in the harshest of chemical environments. With the CPL the predetermined breaking points are sublimated using a laser with high-tech equipment and not, as is the case with other manufacturing methods, mechanically scored.

This high-tech production method includes a digitisation of the rupture disc contour, whereby extremely high structural stability of the rupture disc as well as the most precise burst pressure and opening geometries are achieved when bursting. Based on this innovative technology, the Sauerlandbased company is creating the CPX technology series. Thanks to its improved, high-precision and at the same time robust features, CPX is excellently suited for industries with harsh conditions, aggressive process media and even for processes in which strict hygiene standards must be met.

In contrast to traditional mechanical scoring, with the CPL manufacturing method, the material structure of the rupture disc (including the opening lines of the rupture disc) is not thermally affected or

mechanically integrally weakened. The surface facing the process remains completely smooth and without unevenness, scratches or indentations, which means that the rupture disc cannot be affected by product deposits from the often aggressive process medium. The known IKB®-, IKB®-X- and SFD types are the ‘classics’ of the CPX series. Even rupture discs already installed in plants can easily and quickly be replaced with a CPX version, which means that, in addition to maximising plant availability, the incurred operating costs can also be reduced without much effort.

In summary, rupture discs of the innovative manufacturing method CPL offer the following advantages:

n Durability thanks to a robust design

n Lower burst pressures with tighter tolerances

n Precise bursting behaviour and extreme reliability

n Resistance to corrosion and pin-holing

n Cost efficiency thanks to the high production speed

Come and see us on Stand C46.

www.rembe.de

AERZEN Machines

For over 150 years, AERZEN has been developing, manufacturing and supplying rotary lobe blowers and subsequently oil-free and oil-flooded screw compressors for complex and demanding air and gas applications. Our history has given rise to a unique knowledge of technological advances and know-how.

The chemical industry is completely dependent on reliable supplies of process gas. But each process is different and requires specialised machines. The solution: the efficient compressors and blowers from AERZEN – proven in numerous operating environments, suited for almost all media, unrivalled in their reliability, and adaptable to individual client specifications. Can the solution really be this easy? It can!

Whether in the chemical, petrochemical, energy industries, whether with ammonia, argon, styrene gas, vinyl chloride, or hydrogen – the oil-free compressors, blowers and vacuum pumps from AERZEN have proven themselves in over 10,000 installations and processes around the world. AERZEN always offers suitable solutions with its products.

All blowers and compressors can be used in hazardous areas Zone 1 and in Zone 2 as defined under ATEX Directive RL 2014/34/EU as well as the Machinery Directive, including the

latest safety standard (EN 1012-3).

Visit AERZEN’s Stand C44 on the 10th & 11th May at CHEMUK.

LET'S TALK.

T +44 (0)20 8502 8100 sales-uk@aerzen.com www.aerzen.com

New multichannel desktop lasers

With the new ‘BrixXLAB’ multichannel desktop lasers, laser- and LED specialist Omicron provides fibre-coupled high-power illumination possibilities within laboratories.

By combining Omicron’s BrixX lasers and a standalone desktop housing, Omicron provides researchers with a flexible laser tool to use in laboratories.

The four separately controllable laser channels can be equipped with the same or different wavelengths from 375nm to 1,550nm (one wavelength per channel) with up to 10W/channel.

This provides ultimate flexibility when examining one sample with four different wavelengths or for examining four samples with the same

wavelength. High safety is provided via fibre detection per channel, as there is no laser emission if the fibre is not connected.

Due to modern control possibilities via touchscreen, no additional computer is required to control the system. This allows a higher level of independency and user-friendliness within laboratory applications. In order to integrate the

Laboratory Equipment & Services

Liquid chromatography instrument

system into more complex processes, it can also be controlled via the included Windows-based Omicron Control Centre software or third-party software.

To facilitate the exact management of irradiation times when illuminating samples, the BrixXLAB has a built-in timer functionality that can either be activated for a single channel or grouped for multiple channels.

The BrixXLAB can be applied in fluorescence analysis, as a light source in analytical processes, as well as for drug development, such as in photodynamic cancer therapy.

Contact laser and LED specialist Omicron to learn more at: https://omicron-medical.de

Lab Innovations celebrates its ten year anniversary in style

The UK’s largest trade show for the entire laboratory industry, Lab Innovations, returned to the NEC, Birmingham, earlier this month to drive sustainability and innovation in laboratories and celebrate its tenth anniversary. The show’s numbers were at an all-time high, with 4,213 attendees flocking to network with 192 exhibitors, listen to keynote speakers and celebrate the latest innovations in the lab industry. Following the success of this year’s show, 98% of exhibitors have already signed up again for next year’s show and ensured Lab Innovations 2023 will be another unmissable event for the entire lab community.

192 exhibitors attended Lab Innovations 2022 on 2 and 3

Cole-Parmer®, an Antylia Scientific company, is a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality solutions for the scientific market. Our scientists, engineers, and researchers collaborate to develop innovative products, that meet current industry standards and requirements. Cole-Parmer® instruments, tools, and consumables have earned an excellent reputation for offering accurate, dependable, durable, and economical solutions for both lab and field-based science.

The latest addition to our collection includes a complete breadth of stereozoom (dissecting) and compound microscopes that offer excellent clarity and crisp, highresolution images; binocular and trinocular models that fit a variety of sectors – from entry-level and

November, 2022, with a record breaking 98% rebooking for next year’s show. Exhibitors at this year’s event included Analytix, Avantor, Beckman Coulter, Cole-Palmer, IKA, Randox, SciMed, Shimadzu and Scientific Laboratory Supplies, to name a few. Once again, the show was co-located with the UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals, Advanced Engineering,

educational applications to advanced life science and biomedical workflows.

We are attending Lab Innovations on 1-2 November 2023, Booth L60, where you can come and see our latest and greatest products, explore their unique features, meet our team, and discuss any niche requirements of your business.

Cole-Parmer is part of a complementary portfolio of leading brands, which includes: Environmental Express, Traceable, ZeptoMetrix, and Spex (now part of Cole-Parmer). This portfolio, under Antylia Scientific, brings mission-critical products and services to support customer needs to help them deliver on their goals and work to accelerate this pursuit of scientific discovery.

Analytical and measuring instruments

Shimadzu UK Ltd provide innovative technical solutions and advanced analytical sciences both here in the UK and across the globe. Within the last five years, the company has released over 40 new analytical products that come supported by an exceptional post-sales service, helping customers from initial enquiries through to continuous training and development.

As a subsidiary of Shimadzu, it mainly works to provide analytical, life science and materials testing equipment and boasts two main components which are its Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes where it hosts demos, training sessions and undertakes work on key applications, and its R&D campus and production facility in Manchester where it designs and produces new and existing instruments from MALDI

which also had its highest ever rebook percentage with 85% of exhibitors having already secured their stand for next year.

Exhibitor bookings for next year’s show, taking place on 1 and 2 November, 2023, are now open, so book now to ensure you secure your stand at the UK lab industry’s biggest gathering of the year. This is our second pick of the best exhibitors from last year’s event, listed here in alphabetical order: ColeParmer®, Esco Lifesciences, Network Scientific, Prestige Medical & Shimadzu UK Ltd. Further details can be found on this page.

www.lab-innovations.com

www.lab-innovations.com/ register-your-interest/

Shimadzu UK Ltd is a world-class innovator in analytical and material testing instrumentation across a wide range of scientific sectors such as: pharmaceutical and life sciences.

Trailblazing next-generational research and development is a fundamental linchpin of Shimadzu’s philosophy.

Shimadzu’s UFPLC is the industry’s first Ultra-Fast Purification LC instrument that fully automates recovery of highly purified target compounds from complex samples.

The UFPLC offers a single automated workflow that utilises on-line fraction trapping as an alternative to traditional fraction collection,

allowing elution of collected compounds in highly volatile organic solvents that can easily be evaporated, resulting in ultra-high purity compounds in significantly reduced time. The instrument is controlled by a dedicated walk-up software designed for users to easily set conditions for chromatographic separation and isolation of target

compounds, trapping, purifying, eluting and collecting highly purified compounds. The Nexera UFPLC greatly improves the efficiency of preparative fraction collection and purification workflows in pharmaceutical, food, chemical and other industries as well as research organisations.

Shimadzu UK Ltd will be exhibiting at Lab Innovations 2023: NEC, Birmingham 1-2 November on Stand J50.

For more information on the innovative UFPLC solution, see below: T 01908 552209 info@shimadzu.co.uk www.shimadzu.co.uk/ufplc www.shimadzu.co.uk

Lab Innovations Review – Top Exhibitors

Premium laboratory sterilisation solutions

Ultimate results. Leading innovations.

Prestige Medical, owned and operated by the sterilisation market leader and global company Tuttnauer Ltd, has been a world leader in the field of laboratory instrument decontamination for more than 30 years. Prestige Medical now offers a complete line of Tuttnauer premium laboratory sterilisation solutions, including autoclaves, thermal washer disinfectors, validation and testing indicators, for life science labs and research institutes.

The Tuttnauer autoclave offers sterilisation for all desired applications: Liquid sterilisation with various cooling options, Pipette and Glass – Hollow sterilisation, Instrument, textile and filter, Agar preparation, Biohazard waste sterilisation. A product line that offers multiple high demand sizes ensuring repeatable performance for the modern day laboratories.

Meet us once again at the Lab Innovations 2023 for another inspirational show, and learn about Prestige Medical’s newest technologically advanced devices.

T 01254 682622

M 07435 982870

matt.aylott@prestigemedical.co.uk

Specialised scientific business growth services

Network Scientific is an award-winning business growth agency that has been supporting companies in the industry with their sales, marketing and recruitment for over 12 years. To date, it has assisted 324 scientific businesses with their growth plans, across 45 global locations.

Generate sales leads, build brand awareness and strengthen your team all in one place with its innovative services.

Its sales team use its scientific expertise and experience to propel your sales campaigns. Converting key target audiences and decision makers into interests and leads, while capturing crucial market insight to shape future activity.

The marketing department delivers strategic on-line and off-line campaigns to tell important brand stories, fuel lead generation and nurture prospective customers – designing, curating, and monitoring digital assets that aim to drive engagement.

Contact T +44 (0)1480 272279 www.coleparmer.co.uk

For over twelve years, its experienced recruiters have been supporting the growth of businesses, ranging from start-ups

and SMEs through to global blue-chip organisations. With expertise in sales and marketing recruitment, temp and permanent lab and quality support staff, this year also sees the launch of its newest recruitment division, engineering.

It grows its business by growing yours!

Get in touch for a chat with one of the friendly consultants: T 01423 813520 www.networkscientific.co.uk

Esco Lifesciences

(matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionisation) range, as well as software for its customers both in the UK and around the world.

Shimadzu UK Ltd was a stand out exhibitor at Lab Innovations 2022, enticing visitors to Stand E12 where they were able to spin the wheel to win a variety of prizes including giant microbe plushies. Shimadzu UK Ltd also relished the opportunity to establish new connections with future customers and other industry professionals. And, of course the team were out in full force to showcase some of its products including Nexis GC-2030, Advanced i-Series integrated HPLC/UHPLC, IRSpirit FTIR and UV1900i Spectrophotometers.

Shimadzu UK Ltd was so successful at

the 2022 Show, it will be exhibiting again at Lab Innovations 2023 on Stand J50.

T 01908 552209

info@shimadzu.co.uk www.shimadzu.co.uk

Founded in 1978 in Singapore, Esco Lifesciences has grown dramatically in the past 46 years. Originally created to manufacture clean room products, we now have hundreds of products in our portfolio to suit your research needs. With offices and factories across the globe, a team member will be able to support you when you need it most.

What’s more, is that our Barnsley base holds our in-house sales, engineering, and production teams, meaning that your projects will be handled from enquiry to installation all from one location.

At Esco Great Britain, we focus on the ‘Scientific’ and ‘Healthcare’ divisions of the Esco family, and with our leading position in

Biological Safety Cabinets, we are the obvious choice for sterile work zones when handling pathogenic

biological samples.

We aim to invent, discover, and commercialise enabling technologies to help make human lives healthier and safer. Providing affordable solutions for research across private labs, research institutions, universities and hospitals is essential for the advancement of knowledge, something that we pride ourselves in, here at Esco Lifesciences.

We provide service all over the world and improve lives through science. You’re at the forefront of future discoveries, and we want to help get you there.

T +44 (0)1226 360799 egb.info@escolifesciences.com www.escolifesciences.com

Industrial Process Technologies

Pneumatic Diaphragm Pumps Laboratory

WHIMS for Wardell Armstrong WardellArmstrong,

a leading global consultancy for mining and mineral processing, has acquired a laboratoryscale Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS) from Bunting.

The laboratory WHIMS is for the consultancy’s material test facility located in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The laboratory-scale WHIMS is part of Bunting’s range of small-scale high-intensity magnetic separators.

For many years, Bunting and Wardell Armstrong have worked together on mining, mineral processing and environmental projects requiring material separation tests.

Bunting’s Customer Experience Centre in Redditch, UK is a globally-leading testing facility for high-intensity magnetic separation, electrostatic separation, and eddy current separation. The purchase of the laboratory WHIMS provides Wardell Armstrong with greater testing and research capabilities on-site at Truro. Bunting will continue to provide support for the testing of materials on other high-intensity magnetic separators such as the Rare Earth Roll & industryleading technology such as the electrostatic separator.

Controlled material tests on laboratory-scale high-intensity magnetic separators provide vital data on the mineralogy of an ore or deposit. The electromagnetic laboratory-scale Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS) removes fine magnetics and para-magnetics from mineral slurries. Handling minerals in a slurry or suspension is preferable for many processors, especially when beneficiation involves wet processing. Additionally, a wet process often produces a better separation for very fine materials.

The laboratory-scale Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS) features two electromagnetic copper coils mounted either side of a canister housing a matrix, which captures magnetically-susceptible particles. press@buntingmagnetics.com www.bunting-redditch.com

Wide temperature range single frequency DPSS laser

Pneumatic Diaphragm Pumps are the most versatile pumps ever built. Even though these AODD pumps offer quite a few advantages over the electric operated pump technologies, there has not been a radical change or evolution in the basic design over years and almost every diaphragm pump had similar issues and problems.

Conventional

SAMOA® – A European pump manufacturer, established in 1965, has been in the forefront of developing innovative air operated pump technologies over the last six decades. For the first time in the industry, SAMOA® has developed an Air Operated Diaphragm Pump featuring a globally patented, virtually wear-free, frictionless pivoting air valve eliminating most of the issues users face today.

Can

Stall-free

Air

Remote

Best

TheFPYL-532-50T-SLM-C and FPYL-532100T-SLM-C have an outstanding wide operating temperature range between -40°C to +60°C. They are offered with either 50mW or 100mW at 532nm in a very compact housing of just 110mm x 52mm x 52mm. The spectral linewidth is <0.00001nm which complies to a coherence length of >9m. With a power stability of <1% and a noise of amplitude <0.25% they are perfectly suitable for applications like:

n Confocal Microscopy

n RAMAN Spectroscopy

n Particle Measurements

n DNA Sequency

n Flow Cytometry

n Digital Imaging

n Analytical Chemistry sales@frlaserco.com www.frlaserco.com

Electrical & Electronics

The new alternatives in power conversion

Power conversion is commonly achieved through phase-angle controllers, transformers and power supplies. But these solutions can either damage heaters, or take up large amounts of space or make it incredibly hard to measure and control the power flow. Watlow’s power conversion technology solves these issues by providing the ability to bring voltage up or down smoothly without having to introduce a bulky power supply. Watlow temperature controllers, such as POWERGLIDE®, are capable of modulating the amplitude of the

output voltage, allowing the voltage to step down from 208 volts to as low as 20 volts.

Lowering the voltage in this way is a great way to drive low-impedance heaters.

It can reduce the power distribution rating with smaller fuses and wires, which saves money and space. It can also protect ceramic heaters from breaking. Watlow’s power conversion technology also achieves high power quality without the high cost and added space of a DC power supply.

Power conversion is an essential element of many heating applications. Yet most current power conversion technology is not well suited to cases where heaters are fragile, have ceramic components, or have to ensure safe operation across the globe. No longer do devices have to be engineered around power quality issues. Instead, smooth, stable power changes are possible across a huge variety of outputs, and noise is reduced drastically.

www.watlow.com

Traco Power launches technical blog

For tenured engineers, power converter data sheets are easily consumed, and many of the technical concepts are well understood. However, through Traco Power’s regular interaction with students, it is clear that not all aspects of how power supplies are specified are fully appreciated and immediately comprehendible. With this in mind, Traco Power is launching a technical blog.

“Over the years, ever more parameters have been added to our data sheets to support the requests of our customers,” states Florian Haas, Vice President of Marketing & Digitalisation, Traco Power Group. “However, we’ve seen that these parameters are not always clear for engineering graduates and students. Our new technical blog is aimed at all those who wish to delve deeper into the data sheets and fully understand not only the entries they contain, but also why they are important to their application’s design.”

Regular technical insights on power supply topics Drawing upon the Traco Power engineering team’s years of experience and reflecting on the questions regularly posed to its engineers, the blog tackles everything from EMC basics and power converter specifications to application-specific challenges.

“We’ve gathered so many questions and answers over the years, it simply made sense to release this information so as to expand how we support customers,” said Andreas Flühler, Head of Technical Services. “The technical blog enables us to provide engineers and students with answers to their queries more efficiently while also making our expanse of power converter knowledge available to everyone who visits our website.”

The technical blog can be found here: www.tracopower.com/int/blog and is regularly updated with new blog posts.

Industrial Process Technologies

SoundCam 2.0

Imagine how easy it would be to deal with troublesome sound sources, if you could see them overlaid on

a camera image. This amazing technology has been around for more than a decade, but only now have reductions in price, complexity and size enabled its widespread use. The SoundCam 2.0 is a unique, new product which makes noise source location as easy and portable as using a video camera, requiring no acoustic expertise or training. It is waterproof, battery powered and has a touch screen that anyone can master in minutes.

We must do all we can to slow down climate change by saving energy and CO2. That’s why our SoundCam 2.0 and our smaller SoundCam ULTRA models now have ultrasonic microphones, that make them super sensitive for finding compressed air leaks, and saving $$$ on energy

You can also solve Health and Safety (noise) problems, find worn bearings on your production critical machines, as well as make your product the quietest on the market. It’s easy to reduce workplace noise if you can see instantly where the loudest sources are. In seconds, you can have video proof of the origins and levels of noise, and initiate and verify improvements. For the acoustic experts, we also have the modular BIONIC series of acoustic cameras, with advanced specifications and prices that nobody can come close to.

We also offer rental, and consulting services. With this unique technology, we can solve your noise problems faster than anyone else! As UK distributor for CAE Software and Systems GmbH, the market leader worldwide, we supply quality made in Germany directly from our UK base in Coventry. SoundCam UK (www.soundcam.uk), is a trading name of Acoustic Camera UK Ltd. the UK distributor for acoustic cameras and accessories from CAE Systems GmbH, Made in Germany.

Process & Control 3D Printing Manufacturing reinvented

Award winning digital pressure measurement…

ESI Technology’s Dynamic GD4200-USB digital pressure transducer has proudly been named Sensor Product of the Year 2022. Let’s take a closer look at just some of the details that secured the crown at the IEAs…

The Hardware

Made from a specialist titanium alloy, the USB transducer comes with a variety of thread options and offers excellent chemical compatibility. Capable of measuring up to 5,000 bar pressure reference. The use of ESI’s Silicon-on-Sapphire (SOS) sensor technology combines the insulating and elastic properties of Sapphire. This allows the sensor to

perform consistently at an accuracy rate of ≤ ±0.15 % of span BFSL across a wide temperature range.

The Software

The ESI-USB software is downloadable from our

website using the credentials supplied on purchase. The sample rate allows the user to view pressure data measured with up to 21-bit resolution at selectable speeds up to 1,000Hz, with a range of pressure units and a fully adjustable scale to choose from.

Pressure test readings can be downloaded into customised test reports, and users can access features such as leak testing or data markers with ease.

Compatible with Windows 8 | 8.1 | 10 | 11

T +44 (0)1978 262255

www.esi-tec.com

Capitalising

on the benefits of 3D printing technology can drive down costs in manufacturing. With potentially limitless applications for plastic and metal printers modern manufacturing companies aren’t short of places to start.

Throughout time, manufacturing companies have needed to adapt to survive and the 2020s are set to be no different, writes Ian Weston, Managing Director at Mark3D UK. Constant demands from management to identify and drive down costs means today’s engineers must be more adventurous and creative to realise valuable cost savings.

Many in the manufacturing sector, especially in engineering, believe “the easy wins went long ago”. However, I’m not so sure. Over the last five years we have seen a number of agile, entrepreneurial, high-tech companies start up, or morph from their current position, to offer today’s engineers a host of modern technology that can help drive down costs. Known as ‘Industry 4.0’, they present a range of offerings covering design automation and iteration, production monitoring software with real-time logic-based decisions and even, bearing in mind it has been around for some 30 years, good old-fashioned 3D printing.

The market moves very quickly and 3D printing for engineers has improved tremendously in recent years. The technology now offers engineers affordable printers with strong materials and predictable results, yet it often struggles to be taken seriously in the boardroom. While early 3D printers did a great job in raising awareness of the technology, they had an equally adverse effect because of the items people chose to print with them. Green men and games characters fail to cut it in the engineering board room.

The opportunity for excellent return on investment (RoI) is there, if production engineers know where to find it. Simply borrowing a printer from the design office and expecting immediate cost savings is not realistic. Design office printers use different materials and technology compared to those used by engineers. Printing-savvy engineers know that 3D printing is far more valuable to businesses outside of the design office, rather than within it, typically realising the RoI in around three months. www.mark3d.com

Lining system a ‘game-changer’ in battle with high-rise damp

One of the UK’s leading drainage and wastewater specialists is promising to transform the rehabilitation of vertical drainage stacks in high-rise buildings with a revolutionary LED pipe lining system.

Lanes Group plc has proven it can significantly speed up the previously difficult process of lining both rainwater and foul stack pipes, with less disruption, using far less energy and creating less material waste.

The company has become the first contractor in the UK to line tall building drain stacks using the Brawo Magnavity LED light cured in place pipe (CIPP) system supplied by trenchless technology specialist S1E.

The system makes lining drains in high-rise buildings much easier and more sustainable, just at a time when problems caused by faulty drainage systems are becoming a maintenance priority for social housing landlords.

Mark Scott, Manager of the Lanes Birmingham depot, which is leading the company’s investment in the Brawo Magnavity technology, said, “Stack repair has been a challenging problem in high-rise buildings for years.

“This technology is a game-changer. It means stacks can be lined more quickly, cost-effectively and to a consistently high quality standard. So, landlords can be confident a significant maintenance headache can be resolved effectively for the first time.”

Surface Finishing

Lanes is lining stacks on high-rise blocks of flats for a main contractor working for a West Midlands council. The results have been so successful that more blocks are being added to the programme.

The process involves inserting a resin-impregnated flexible felt liner, often with a polyurethane or polypropylene coating, into a pipe. The resin then cures to create a tough, waterproof pipe-within-apipe, eliminating defects.

The Brawo Magnavity system uses LED light to cure the resin. Its LED light array is combined with a powerful electric magnet that holds the lights in place as the liner is inverted into the pipe with compressed air.

Once the liner is in place, the light pack, with its 96 UV LED lights, detaches from the magnet and cures the resin at a speed of up to 0.6 metres a minute as it is pulled back through the pipe.

Because the magnet guides the liner so effectively through the pipe, it can negotiate multiple bends, up to 90 degrees, something other CIPP systems fail or struggle to do.

The specialist 3D liners used by Lanes are flexible so accommodate the 70mm to 100mm changes in diameter in the stack pipes being lined.

The system, which can also be used on horizontal pipe systems, also allows liners to be ‘blind shot’ into pipes from a single chamber, rather than between two chambers.

The advanced low-odour resin developed by Brawo is stable until exposed to UV light, giving the Lanes lining team all the time it needs to prepare the liner for curing. By contrast, ambient cure liners must be inserted in a specified time before the resin starts to harden.

Lanes is able to install and cure each of the 47 metre long stack liners for its West Midland client in around two hours.

Mark Scott said, “The same task would be impossible with hot water CIPP due to the weight of the water in the liner, and would be risky with ambient cure CIPP because of the unpredictability of curing times, and the production of toxic vapours during the process.”

T 0800 526 488

sales@lanesgroup.co.uk

www.lanesfordrains.co.uk

Continuous Screen Changer SiloScreen

The Siloscreen is now the first choice for the production of: blown and cast film, thermoformed products, expanded sections, oriented tapes, twines, rope, tubing and other products which benefit from uninterrupted extrusion and steady process conditions.

Please visit: www.siloteq.com

Mobile: +44 (0)7733 111929

Email: trish.siloteq@gmail.com

Registered in England - GB No: 862 8924

HUMIDITY CONTROL MADE EASY 01372 571200

www.humiditysolutions.co.uk

Nitrile Gloves

Forging ahead in the global stainless steel market

In this issue of Industrial Process News, we are proud to announce NIRONIT Edelstahl GmbH & co. KG as our Stainless Steel Specialist Company of the Month.

The global stainless steel market size is thought to be now worth in excess of $183.86 million, with ferritic stainlesssteel in particular accounting for a large market share. The demand for stainlesssteel continues to rise across the public and private sectors, across infrastructures such as residential housing, automotive, railways and process industries. Stainlesssteel has always been regarded as more robust than carbon steel or weathering steel, with its superior qualities: corrosion-resistant, low maintenance costs, high pliability and longer average product life-cycle. With its famed tensile strength properties, stainless steel is widely used in piping systems, pumps and storage systems.

reputable company is able to offer premium standard-sized or bespokeordered products.

Established in 1982 by Thomas Meyer (CEO), the company has expanded to become leading German experts in the stainless-steel field. With the headquarters in Lower Saxony, Rosengarten, production facilities in Bremen and warehouses in Lower Saxony, Prinzhöfte; the company boasts of an unrivalled stock of stainless-steel plates and coiled sheets up to 14,000mm.

NIRONIT has an extensive stock collection for any steel project: from retail steel fabrication to railway networks.

thicknesses 0.5mm to 60mm and covers most diverse parts: maximum passage widths from 800mm to over 3,000mm.”

ARKU was founded in 1928 and is world leading with its high-capacity, precision levelers, deburring and edge rounding machinery. NIRONIT has always used premium deburring machinery, allowing consistent, exceptional quality for customers all around the world.

expertise, NIRONIT can set up a repeat ordering service, based on pre-arranged fixed prices. This cost predictability, in the current cost-of-living crisis is advantageous, allowing companies to plan annual budgets, with guaranteed assurance of delivery on-time.

NIRONIT prides itself on only offering the highest-quality products: using method testing methods, all products are inspected before, during and after production, ensuring a streamlined inspection process. For added reassurance, there is an in-built quality management system, adhering to DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015 by TÜV Nord.

For more information or to see the full stainless-steel range, see below: T +49 4108 4301-11 christoph.werth@nironit.de www.nironit.de

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on global stainless-steel production, with many Asian companies ceasing manufacturing completely. Italian steel mills lost significant sales volumes and there have been substantial delays in stainless slab imports. NIRONIT was mildly affected but due to the foresight of excellent crisis management planning, managed to weather the storm.

NIRONIT has been a leading stainlesssteel manufacturer for over 40 years, supplying to diverse sectors from chemical, shipbuilding, pump construction to agriculture. A recent merger with FERRIT-Blechservice GmbH & Co. KG has significantly increased the stainless-steel production capacity. Offering a truly first-class service, this

The expert engineering production team in the service centre, uses state-of-theart cutting machinery to a wide range of specifications. The new HiFocus Plasma Cutting machinery has an impressive dimension range: cutting up to 40mm thickness, outside tolerance +3mm and inside tolerance –3mm. The FineFocus is similarly impressive: cutting up to 150mm, up to +10mm outside tolerance and –10mm inside tolerance.

a flexibility in width strips. We chatted to Christoph Werth: Head of Global Sales to find out more about NIRONIT, “We are stainless steel experts, with over 40 years international trade experience. We specialise in special grades, coils, plates and cuttings. With our own warehouse and service center with waterjet, plasma, saw, bevelling machine and deburring machine, we can deliver stock quickly and have expertise with customs processing. Our customers span across four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.”

NIRONIT stocks all classic stainless-steel such as: 304/304L, 316L, 316Ti and 321, as well as numerous special grades that are used in various apparatus and projects. There has been a recent addition of new cutting-edge machinery to enhance manufacturing and production as Gioia explains further.

“We have a new deburring & levelling machine by ARKU. The edgebreaker is universally applicable, with unique edge rounding up to 2.0mm. The flatmaster has a powerful, unrivalled performance: with servo-hydraulic straightening gap control, hydraulic overload protection to protect drive and straightening unit, allowing reproducible straightening results. From small to thick: material

Laser or plasma cutting can leave residue on the edges, compromising the downstream processing. Parts with burrs are tricky to assemble and ultimately may not fit securely into welding fixtures. Deburring removes these small imperfections: burrs and with laser cutting, the burr will be removed

The precision-driven CNC-controlled waterjet offers pinpoint high-surface cut edges, with very tight tolerances. The dimensions range and table sizes are impressive: 2,010 x 4,010mm, 3,000 x 6,150mm and 3,000 x 9,880mm.

Specific sawing can cut round stock up to 660mm diameter and flat stock up to 660 x 1,060mm length (minimum length: 20mm). The band saw cuts all flat and rectangular dimensions from steel plates, with a dimension range of 2,500 x 6,250 x 300mm. The advantages of using a band saw are right-angled clean-cut edges and

from the part. Automated deburring has multiple benefits: removing residue, rounding sharp edges after punching or cutting, surface finishing and removing oxide layers left from laser cutting with oxygen. The oxide layer can cause unclean weld seams and corrosion, if not removed.

There are additional health and safety risks with unrounded edges: causing potential injuries and logistically: more cumbersome to apply paint further down the line.

Having deburred sheet metal parts are a guaranteed sign of high-quality and give companies an edge over competitors.

NIRONIT is an innovative company and has also invested in a new laser system, to continue its excellent, experienced customer service. With its longstanding commitment to customer