20 Feb 2014

Britain’s engineering industry lacks women

February 20, 2014
Engineering Education, Manufacturing, News

British industry still suffers from a lack of engineers. Such is the concern that business secretary Vince Cable believes the shortage provides a serious threat to recovery. In particular, Cable highlighted the lack of women currently working or actively seeking employment in the British engineering industry.

Only 8% of British engineers are women, which is the lowest proportion in Europe. Compare that with Germany (15%), Sweden (25%) and top-performing Latvia (30%) and it’s easy to see why there is such deep-seated concern.

Research suggests the problem starts long before young people choose a career with many youngsters ditching maths and science as soon as they can. It’s a trend especially marked for girls.

A recent article in the Sheffield Star highlighted the concern. The newspaper reported that only 14 per cent of students at the new University Technical College, are girls. At the newly opened training centre at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, just four of the 160 engineering apprentices are female.

29 Jan 2014

Manufacturing industry is on the up

January 29, 2014
Manufacturing

When it comes to the economy, there have been tales of woe for six or seven years. A double dip recession, unemployment issues and precious little sign of recovery. Thankfully, there are better times ahead for the UK;s manufacturing industry with the IMF having upgraded its UK growth forecast from 1.9% to 2.4% for this year.

Recent predictions suggest the new forecast puts Britain well ahead of Germany, which the IMF expects to grow by 1.6%, and France, which is forecast to grow by 0.9%.

Good news indeed. The facts make for positive reading. And here are those facts. New manufacturing orders grew at the strongest rate in almost three years in the three months to January, with the CBI revealing that 34% of manufacturers reported an increase in new orders over the period.

22 Aug 2013

Further changes to CE marking in the construction industry

August 22, 2013
Manufacturing, News, Steel Fabrication

What is CE Marking?

CE Marking is the conformity marking for products sold in the European Union and has been a common requirement on things such as toys and electrical goods for many years. It consists of the CE-Logo and, if applicable, the four digit identification number of the notified body involved in the conformity assessment procedure.

What does the CE mark mean?

By affixing the CE mark a person takes on responsibility for the conformity of the product. CE marking is a visible sign that the product complies with all relevant product supply law.Its presence together with the Declaration of Conformity gives the product to which it is affixed presumption of conformity with relevant product safety Directives. CE marked products are entitled to free movement throughout the European market.

The construction industry has gone through one of the most significant changes for a decade this year, when CE Marking of construction products became mandatory in all member states throughout the European Union and the European Economic Area. It’s also preparing itself for further change.

29 May 2013

Strong growth predicted for manufacturers

May 29, 2013
Manufacturing, News

We might have spent the past 18 months in the midst of a double dip recession and the future if you listen closely enough, is far from bright. Still, according to the CBI’s recent monthly Industrial Trends survey, manufacturers expect strong growth in the coming months.

Although recent output has flat-lined, the outlook is much brighter for the next quarter with output volumes expected to rise strongly. Twelve of the 16 sub-sectors anticipate a pick-up, with the food, drink and tobacco, and mechanical engineering sectors being the key contributors to growth.

10 May 2013

£1.25 Million Expansion at PRV Engineering

May 10, 2013
Investing, Manufacturing, PRV Engineering

A £1.25 Million expansion at PRV Engineering and an upgrade project has just been completed at its site in New Inn, Pontypool, South Wales.

The addition of an 8000 sq ft building to its already 28000 sq ft facility, and the addition of a 10 Tonne overhead crane capacity means that PRV have set themselves up to re-enter the fabrication and construction markets. Markets that it retracted from some years ago to concentrate on developing its internal Engineering and Fabrication Services.

Expansion at PRV Engineering has brought new machining centres

Read More

20 Apr 2013

Subcon 2013 at the NEC, Birmingham 4th – 6th June

April 20, 2013
Manufacturing, Subcon Show

Subcon (the sub-contractors exhibition that showcases the best of the UK high precision engineering machining industry) is about to get underway again at the NEC in Birmingham. This year it is being held from the 4th till the 6th of June. With a list of top class exhibitors , it promises to be a great exhibition!

Advanced Engineering in the Spotlight

The focus of Subcon is on advanced manufacturing. Exhibitors include the likes of:

13 Apr 2013

5 Axis Milling Technology and its Advantages

April 13, 2013
5 Axis Machining, Manufacturing

5 Axis Milling technology takes the chequered flag as Formula 1 Team Lotus install 5 new HPU 450U machines at their workshop in Enstone, Oxfordshire. Team Lotus are one of the latest companies to give in to the promise and potential that the 5 axis milling process holds; a process that leading high precision machining specialists PRV-Engineering were quick to recognize the advantages of.They wre one of the first companies in the UK to invest in this latest state of the art engineering discipline.

One Machine Replaces Many

Read More

26 Feb 2013

The Art of Engineering creates Engineered Art

February 26, 2013
Engineering Education, Manufacturing, PRV Engineering

The art of engineering has now reached the stage where it can produce engineered art. A new Powermill CAM software program is being used in the film industry, together with a 5 axis router, by film set maker Golden Era Productions. They use it to replicate works of art for film set props. It enables complex works of sculpture like Rodin’s “The Thinker” and “The Kiss” to be recreated in all their glorious detail – with one difference of course.

Rodin may be turning in his Grave

Whereas Monsieur Rodin would have taken many months to have completed one of his stunning works of sculpture, the latest application of the art of engineering can do it in hours. It’s surely enough to be making him turn in his grave.

12 Feb 2013

New Milling Technology Courtesy of Edgecam Waveform Roughing Strategy

February 12, 2013
Manufacturing, New Technology, News

New milling technology, that advances the traditional milling capability, has recently been announced. It comes courtesy of a new advancement from Vero UK in their Edgecam software range, and has been christened “Waveform Roughing Strategy”.

The New Milling Technology Deserves a few Plaudits
It’s a rare event when something new comes along in the engineering world, so this new milling technology deserves a few plaudits. Edgecam software is cutting edge stuff, if you’ll excuse the play on words. These software programs are specifically targeted at the high precision machining sector within the engineering industry. It’s state of the art CAM/CAD application which takes advanced tool-path engineering and seamlessly melds it with CAD output. The growing library of Edgecam software packages is intent on improving productivity through the manufacturing cycle.

5 Feb 2013