Review of the technologies on show at Advanced Engineering
Birmingham’s NEC hosted Advanced Engineering between the 30th and 31st of October and being Britain’s largest engineering show, it had a lot to offer. From product launches and demonstrations to seminars on developing technologies in the industry.
This article will focus on what products and exhibitors were present at Advanced Engineering.
Premier Autoclaves
Premier Autoclaves had a replica of its autoclave. The pressure vessel uses heat and pressure to cure and cook carbon fibre for end-use products. In a controlled manner, heat and pressure are applied using the control system, to cure the original resin, hardening the product.
F1 car bodies to aircraft wings can be manufactured using this process. Either one product can be cured at a time or dozens depending on size. The autoclave has a three-meter diameter and is six metres in length, with bigger autoclaves also available.
For smaller products, racks can be installed to use the full volume of the autoclave. It can cook up to five tonnes of carbon fibre in one go. Depending on size and cut type, cooking can take between a couple of hours and 30 hours. The resin used and how it is cooked will vary the speed of processing.
The replica was created by a 14-year-old who developed the print using a relatively simple scope given to him by Scott Dyson, sales director at Premier Autoclave, and added a monitor and HDMI connection.
Dyson said: “He’s a passionate lad… that wants to be an engineer.” He was invited down to the expo to join Premier Autoclaves and see his creation on display, hopefully sparking the start of his successful career in engineering. Dyson added: “We need people like this in our industry.”
Blackman and White
UK-based Blackman and White showcased its device for cutting non-metallic materials, such as carbon fibre prepreg. This has application from F1 cars to high performance bike manufacturing. As the machine cuts, it can print part numbers onto the item it is cutting for identification in later stages of manufacturing.
The mastercutter can be used in any part of the production process, for either repair works or for original manufacturing, playing a key role for some composite companies. The mastercutter has a maximum cut speed of 1000mm/s with a depth of 150mm. It can cut a maximum width of 7m, but length-wise is unlimited in length due to the machine’s conveyor belt, limited only to the length of material.
The cutter can instantaneously change between materials by using various MRP software integrations to drive the machine using the customers manufacturing database.
Commercial sales manager Matt Tillett demonstrated the mastercutter’s safety features. Two category four light guards are equipped at opposite ends of the machine, both having a 360 view. As the machine is approached, the cutting process is slowed significantly to reduce the risk of accidental industry. The closer someone gets to the machine the slower it will operate, eventually coming to a complete stop.
Vivid
Print finishing company Vivid has also branched out with its own line of cutters being displayed at Advanced Engineering. The company has taken a vertical step backwards to produce a machine that can produce earlier in the manufacturing process than what the company traditionally does.
The company's first machine for cutting composites was at Advanced Engineering on a fact-finding mission according to technical director Gavin Ward, who said the company has developed the technology but is still finding its absolute use.
The cutter can be used on materials for packing such as PCBs, rubber, NDF, gaskets, and pre-print foam. A DXF file can be created for the cutter. Blades can be switched out as well as additional blades attached to mass produce cuttings at the same time, increasing efficiency. It can cut six to eight repetitive designs in the time it takes to normally just cut one.
The cutter requires just the click of a mouse to switch between materials, as the cuts, designs and materials are all preloaded, meaning minimal lead time is required between changing production.
The company comes from a print finishing background, predominantly working with end use products. The company’s development of this technology could see them now operate further back into the production process, not just limited to end use products.
Keyence
Quality inspection company Keyence provides microscopes for detailed inspection. The microscope offers a zoom of up to 6,000x, down to 210nanometers, to allow engineers to see every detail of a product. On top of this, the microscope can rotate to allow operators to see the device at different angles, not just providing a top-down view. Nothing else is required for this process.
To remedy a depth of field issue, where the front plate is in focus but the back plate is not, a common problem in optical microscopy, a set sample can be taken. This involves taking multiple images throughout focuses and combine them together to give a clear view of the product. Furthermore, it can be difficult to see if marks are engravings and if they affect the surface at all. For this, a 3D image can be generated.
A 3D model is built so the object can be viewed from any angle and the cut through section can be viewed, allowing engineers to see all marks on all surfaces. The 3D profile also allows views from angles that are not possible in reality.
PCB manufacturers and precision may benefit from the ability to rotate and not require any jigs or ‘bluetac’ to do so. This can be used throughout the production process, from maintenance, research and development, to product testing and prototyping. The machine can produce inspection reports and you do not need to be highly trained to use it.
Despite not needing a high level of training, Keyence does offer free lifetime training with the machine to ensure users can operate to its full capabilities. Typically two-hour training sessions are provided, as well as a help function in the software that provides video guides on how to complete tasks.
PRF Composites
PRF Composites was present to demonstrate its variety of composites available for manufacturing. The company provides a range of epoxy prepreg systems.
The company was showcasing eight different technologies. The first was reepreg which is a new carbon prepreg material made with recycled chopped carbon fibre mat. RP542-1 provides a high-quality surface finish on mid-temperature component prepreg. RP542-4 however is an intermediately toughened system for woven and unidirectional materials. RP549 provides highly toughened prepreg with a Tg of 214°C.
Two variety of cures are available, being the RP570 express which is a true snap cure prepreg, processed in four minutes and the RP570 FR express cure, formulated for structural components requiring FST properties. It can be demoulded after five minutes at 160°C. Q.tool can be used for prepreg tooling and RFA570 is a new adhesive film for core bonding applications.
Popular composites are kept in stock, but normally a lead time of three to four weeks can be expected for most orders. Currently, reepreg is being used in the aerospace industry, whilst the RP549 is being used in the automotive industry and the Q.tool is used in every industry.
Hamamatsu Photonics UK
On display was Photonics microseries including its optic semiconductors, which can be used for detecting light and light colours. The missal range has the company's new microspectrometer which was detecting the green light being shown at it on display. The software can detect the wavelength of the light The wavelength reading will change with different light colour detection. This can be used in environmental monitoring.
What’s next?
With products being announced and launched at the expo, it is now time to see how these do in the coming months and years to see how their applications translate into industry. As always more industry shows will be coming up, both in the UK and internationally, giving companies who missed out on this opportunity another chance to launch its products.