Dedicated to the UK aerospace supply chain, Aero Engineering will once again provide a showcase to highlight what this vibrant sector has to offer. As part of the Advanced Engineering show and now in its ninth year, the event has grown to be one of the biggest annual trade gatherings dedicated to aerospace manufacturing in the UK. The two-day event, held on November 1-2 at the NEC Birmingham will showcase the very best in technology, processes, products and services available.

More than 700 exhibitors will be attending the show as well as thousands of engineers, procurement managers and senior decision makers from large and small companies; all looking to source, specify and invest in the most up-to-date products and explore industry innovations.

Our Aero Engineering show roundup starts with the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) (stand N4) which will once again be to the fore at the Advanced Engineering show with the presentation of several exciting new technologies. The programme is an Aerospace Growth Partnership initiative led by the ADS Group. NATEP’s newly-announced £8 million funding builds upon the previous successful programme, delivered in consortium with Regional Aerospace Alliance organisations and the devolved governments.

NATEP has already delivered 112 projects supporting companies in the aerospace supply chain to develop innovative technologies, working in collaboration with others and supported by higher tier companies. The opportunity has equipped them to win new business with existing customers and to diversify their customer base, including in overseas markets.

The new £8m injection of funding from the Aerospace Technology Institute will allow a further 40 collaborative technology projects to be supported involving around 100 aerospace supply chain companies, Universities and Research & Technology organisations, and will sustain or create another 500 high value jobs in the sector.

The initial £40m NATEP programme has shown that it was sized and arranged to suit the needs of small supply chain companies. The mentoring and support provided by the initiative not only helped define the scope and collaboration arrangement of project partners, but also the planning and execution of them. It has produced many exciting and innovative products, materials and manufacturing processes that will help anchor manufacturing and high value jobs in the UK, improve productivity and competitiveness in the sector and create opportunities to win and create export.

NATEP’s extension to 2020 will be delivered through three Calls for projects, the first of which, Call 7, has already achieved is target for outline project proposals. Two further Calls, 8 and 9, will be announced in January and June 2018.

Going for growth

Elsewhere, advanced composites manufacturer, Pentaxia (stand K110) will be unveiling plans for a £1 million investment in a new six-acre site at this year’s event. The company is inviting business leaders to find out more about the installation of cutting edge equipment and upgraded facilities that will double its existing production capability.

Visitors will also get the opportunity to meet Pentaxia’s team of engineers and take advantage of one to one meetings with managing director, Stephen Ollier where they can learn more about the future of composites and its capabilities across multiple industries.

Next year, Pentaxia will move from its current site in Longbridge Lane to a 70,000ft² manufacturing space in Derby. A six-month programme to refurbish and upgrade the site will start immediately and position the company to meet the rapid increase in demand for lightweight, high performance components from its blue-chip customers in the aerospace, motorsport and luxury automotive markets.

Formed in 2008, the company specialises in the manufacture of advanced composites for the aviation, motorsport, luxury automotive and general engineering markets. Vertically integrated, it undertakes nearly all operations from design through to the production of painted final products, in-house. This gives the company the capability to manage complex projects on tight timescales to demanding quality standards.

Next up is Engis UK (stand 086), a specialist in superabrasive finishing systems. The company will be showing a wide range of surface engineering solutions during the show. Top of the list of innovations will be Engis’ bore finishing tooling, which can be used on standard machining centres, bringing the previous ‘black art’ of bore finishing well within the capability of many engineering facilities.

On the consumables side, Engis’ will promote its new SC diamond compound, which enables faster and improved polishing of moulds and dies, particularly in repair situations, when moulds are still warm. Focusing on its honing solutions, Engis’ will show examples of its helical lapping tooling, developed specifically for low-volume honing of bores to provide mirror surface finishes with superior geometry.

Engis technical application specialists will be on the stand to discuss visitors’ specific needs and its range of superabrasive machines and consumables.

Moving on, The Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) (stand X1) in association with Silverstone Park will have a major presence at this year’s Advanced Engineering Show as hosts of the event’s VIP Lounge.

Each of the STC’s founding members as well as its CEO, Pim van Baarsen will be present at the Lounge on both days. The Lounge will act as an ideal location for figures from all corners of the advanced engineering spectrum to network.

STC is the not for profit company launched in December 2016 to promote the region within an hour’s radius of Silverstone – identified in a high profile SQW report as being home to around 4,000 companies with exceptional capabilities in high-tech engineering and recognised by the UK government as having ‘latent potential’.

In the past nine months, the STC has held a number of introductory meetings for the high-tech community to explain the STC and outline its plans which include attracting investment for companies with high growth ambitions. It has also set up three special interest groups (SIGs): Computer Aided Engineering; Digital/Advanced Manufacturing (DAM) and Autonomous, Connected, Electrified & Shared (ACES) vehicles technologies.

Silverstone Park is the high-tech business estate that developer MEPC has rapidly grown since taking over management of the site in September 2013 – this has included opening the UK’s only dedicated subcontract inspection metrology facility in partnership with Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.

Furthermore, Silverstone Park has been an integral part of the STC story – working with Barclays to lead the commissioning of the SQW cluster report in autumn 2015 – and developing an estate at the heart of the Cluster. MEPC is also a founding member of the STC along with Barclays, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, EMW, Grant Thornton and both Aylesbury Vale District and South Northants district councils.

Go West young man

Meanwhile, the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF) (stand L4) will showcase the best and most innovative capabilities of top-class companies from the Southwest which form the backbone of the UK aerospace supply chain.

With the Southwest being home to many of the largest aerospace companies in the UK, the WEAF member companies in its region provide the key components for the full fleet of Airbus aircraft, the turbine blades and blisks for Rolls-Royce and the majority of aerostructures, control systems, bearings and avionics systems for Leonardo Helicopters. The trade body’s members share a common theme of high quality products and services, and precision engineering for safety critical systems.

As one of the largest aerospace and defence associations in Europe, WEAF is able to provide a strong voice for members, as well as representation and access to prominent regional, national and international decision makers in industry and government. WEAF strives to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the supply chain, and bring stakeholders together to create one cohesive community.

WEAF’s mission is to strengthen an aerospace community that fosters innovation and collaboration, and provides a platform for growth. WEAF aims to provide access to a regional supply chain, focused on a collaborative culture, and driven by innovative technology, productivity improvement programmes, Aerospace Clusters of Excellence and skills development.

WEAF achieves this by offering critical support services, sharing best practice and enabling businesses of all sizes to understand supply chain needs, creating opportunities for all to flourish. In turn, this protects existing employment and creates new employment opportunities.

Further on, R-TECH Materials (stand M122), one of the UK’s leading testing, analysis and consultancy businesses, is showcasing its capabilities at this year’s event. It’s UKAS accredited laboratories run tests on all types of engineering materials from composites and polymers to metals and ceramics.

R-TECH’s experienced team of engineers, metallurgists, materials scientists and chemists help manufacturers with material approval and characterisation; identify quality issues; solve processing problems or identify why a product has failed.

R-TECH has recently invested in a range of equipment including a chemical analyser for carbon sulphur and nitrogen; a laboratory bend machine for rebar; a deflectometer for flexural testing; and automatic polishing equipment for preparing micro sections and macro sections of welds. It’s also on track to secure aerospace approval from Nadcap later in 2017 and has teamed up with Zwick Roell to run training courses on mechanical testing of composites.

The company can test complex orientations to loads up to 1500kN. Standard tests include lap shear, in-plane shear, climbing drum peel, shore hardness, compression of core materials and shear properties of sandwich panels, as well as fatigue testing (in tension or in bending) at loads of up to 100kN. R-TECH can also offer its customers bespoke testing thanks to its biaxial extensometry with strain gauging capabilities.

Operating across a wide range of industries, including aerospace, marine and automotive, R-TECH is accredited to perform testing in tension, compression, flexure, shear and hardness to ISO and ASTM standards under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The company can also prepare laminates where required.

Testing times ahead

Still on a testing theme, Instron (stand J53) will be offering attendees the opportunity to see the ElectroPuls, an All-Electric Dynamic and Fatigue Test System and its new, intuitive, and touch-friendly Bluehill Universal software.

The company offers a comprehensive range of solutions for testing composite materials and components, including tension, compression, shear, torsion, planar biaxial, impact, and rheological properties to name a few. In addition to quality hardware, Instron also offers a wide range of services for verification and alignment.

Instron will feature a variety of application demonstrations on the ElectroPuls system and the electromechanical load frame. Experts will be on hand to discuss visitors testing requirements and the specifics of any applications.

Where next? Well, Wallwork Group (stand P52) will be showcasing its R&D capacity. With extensively equipped laboratory facilities centred in Cambridge, it leads cross-industry research with product manufacturers to improve performance, reduce production cycle times and achieve savings.

Heat treatments include solution, age or precipitation, hardening and tempering, nitriding by gas or plasma and more. Coatings include TiN, CrN, CrALN, TiALN, Diamond Like Carbon, Duplex Nitron and multi-layer variants. The company is also a centre of excellence for vacuum brazing, producing complex component assemblies by joining same-metal or dissimilar metals. In addition to AS9100 revision D, the company has many process specific approvals from aerospace primes, such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Moog.

As a leading manufacturer in the thermal analysis field, Netzsch (stand L161) will showcase its latest DSC 204 F1 Phoenix with extensive and innovative automatic sample changer for up to 192 samples.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry is the number one technique with which thermal effects and derived parameters for such events as melting, crystallisation, crosslinking, glass transition, specific heat capacity, and oxidation can be investigated. In addition, attendees will see its LFA 467 Hyperflash with multi-sample changer for high throughput of thermal conductivity for a wide range of materials including polymer and composites. Laser Flash Analysis instrumentation measures the thermal diffusivity (even for thermoplastic melts); using that information, the thermal conductivity can then be calculated.

Next up, Vapormatt (stand N43) will unveil its leading wet blasting technology for the surface preparation and finishing of composites used in aerospace at Advanced Engineering.

Visitors to its stand will experience first-hand Vapormatt’s extensive range of high performance wet blasting systems. Developed to meet the needs of the aerospace sector, these systems enable high quality surface preparation and finishing of engine components and composite materials.

Vapormatt’s dedicated aerospace specialists will be demonstrating the impressive wet blasting process on its manually operated wet blasting system, the Puma. Visitors to the show will see for themselves how to effortlessly achieve controlled, reproducible and superior results, using advanced solutions that are easy to use and maintain.

Vapormatt’s popular Leopard and Sabre wet blasting systems are widely used across the aerospace sector already. These fully-automated machines ensure unrivalled surface preparation and finishing of large components, such as wing spars and turbine blades. The Leopard is available in three variants: a horizontal version; vertical version; and a compact, yet high capacity version known as the Cub.

Show visitors can discuss their process requirements with one of Vapormatt’s wet blasting experts, while also learning how Vapormatt’s versatile systems can meet their needs, whether that’s for cleaning or peening.

High-speed throughput

Laser Design (stand L43), a subsidiary of CyberOptics and provider of ultra-precise 3D scanning systems and services, will demonstrate the ultra-fast, metrology-grade CyberGage360 3D scanning and inspection system during the Advanced Engineering show.

The CyberGage360 greatly facilitates quality assurance by allowing anyone to be an inspector of in-process and incoming/outgoing parts on the manufacturing floor or in the metrology lab. This helps lower customers’ cost of quality and supports faster go-to-market times. With little training, anyone can check parts for any deviation from CAD or check critical features.

Incorporating CyberOptics’ proprietary 3D Multi-Reflection Suppression (MRS) technology, the automated CyberGage360 brings significantly greater accuracy and scanning speeds to the industrial parts inspection and reverse engineering markets. Designed for use in general purpose metrology, the CyberGage360 has a range of potential applications for where high accuracy and high-speed throughput are vital.

UK specialist subcontract engineering company, Mini Gears Group (stand N21) has now achieved AS9100 Certification for the manufacture and supply of all types of machined components, precision gears and gear racks. This quality management standard was an important step for Mini Gears as its business has significantly increased in the aircraft seating market and continues to grow.

On its stand, the company will be showcasing the range of machined parts it now manufactures for both business class seating and pilot seats including privacy screen components, racks, gears, pinions, table latches, table plates, carriage plate support hinges, seat supports and slide mounts.

With an in-depth knowledge of materials and rack and pinion design Mini Gears has enabled its customers to offer a smoother ride on their aircraft seats, together with reducing manufacturing costs by up to 50% giving them a competitive edge. Mini Gears offers design solutions to new and ongoing projects. Great care is also taken with delivery. The technical sales team designed specific packaging to prevent damage in transit and storage and every customer is presented with straight to line kits.

Mini Gears Group has over 100 machines at its large 35,000ft² manufacturing facility in Stockport, near Manchester and operates a year on year apprenticeship scheme to maintain its skill base.

Flatbed cutting specialist, Zünd UK (stand D43) will showcase next-generation cutting innovations at the show, running live demonstrations of the Zünd D3 L3200 digital cutting table. Featuring a fast, innovative double-beamed system and market-leading automation, the Zünd D3 can process carbon fibre, glass fibre, foams, textiles and a host of other materials up to 50mm thick.

This combination of the latest tools, material handling systems and Swiss engineering has been shown to significantly reduce production time and materials wastage, increase workflow efficiencies and downtime, and enable users to diversify with new applications.

Cut and thrust

Each Zünd digital cutting system is built in Switzerland to a modular design, meaning users can choose the exact configuration to meet their needs at the time of installation and make changes later on as their requirements change and grow. Even on an everyday basis, Zünd tables are highly versatile, thanks to integral elements such as an automatic tool changer and easy-to-use software – yet are robust enough to withstand years of 24-7 operation.

Its team will be on hand to introduce engineering professionals to the D3 – the newest system in the Zünd portfolio – and to advise on the best cutting technology for their aerospace businesses.

A few aisles along linear motion expert HepcoMotion (stand J54) will be making its debut appearance at the Advanced Engineering Show. With over forty-two major product lines with thousands of individual components in various sizes, Hepco has a wide range of products to meet practically any requirement.

Key products on the stand include Hepco’s core V guide linear system; GV3. GV3 is designed to serve a diverse range of automation and linear applications and is widely used in the packing industry for applications such as a telescopic pick and place gantry, transport system or multi-lane row divider to name but a few. GV3 is particularly suitable for high precision applications, or any application where accuracy is paramount. One of the quietest linear systems on the market it offers high speeds of up to 8m/second.

Hepco will also be showcasing the DTS2 driven track system – an ideal choice for any application that requires high positional accuracy and a demanding duty cycle. Widely used to facilitate high speed automation of assembly processes, the DTS2 is popular in a number of industries including packaging, automotive and electronics.

Further products include the SBD Sealed Belt Driven actuator which provides a higher level of performance in terms of load capacity and life than other comparable sized linear actuators. A stainless-steel band covers the linear guide and belt, which prevents dirt ingress, making the SBD ideally suited to harsh environments or industries where there are high levels of debris.

Software specialist CGTech (stand O62) will demonstrate the new version of its Vericut CNC machine simulation and optimisation software. Vericut 8.1 sees enhanced support for Force optimisation, a new Additive Manufacturing (AM) module being employed, along with, Workpiece Sectioning, X-Caliper measurement tool, report template, and grinding and dressing operations.

Vericut’s new additive module simulates both additive and traditional machining capabilities used in any order on hybrid CNC machines. Simulating both operations can identify potential problems that can occur when integrating additive methods. The user can access detailed ‘history’ stored with the software’s unique droplet technology, which saves programmers time by quickly identifying the source of errors, in most cases using a single mouse-click. It checks accurate laser cladding and material deposition, detects collisions between the machine and additive part, and finds errors, voids, and misplaced material. Users can virtually experiment with combining additive and metal removal processes to determine optimal safe hybrid manufacturing methods.

CGTech will also demonstrate its Composites Applications software for programming and simulation of Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) and Automated Tape Laying (ATL). Visitors will have the opportunity to receive a thorough overview of the steps needed to get from a CAD designed composite part to CNC programs that drive an AFP or ATL machine. There will be information on new projects that highlight the implementation and use of machine independent off-line NC programming software for AFP and ATL machines.

At this year’s new Connected Manufacturing zone part marking specialist Pryor (stand CM27) will be showcasing its world leading marking, identification and traceability solutions.

Pryor’s team of specialists will be available to discuss the requirements of visitors and explain how to achieve superior mark quality and full traceability of parts with advanced software that can be easily incorporated in the manufacturing process. Visitors to the exhibition can get up close and personal with InDot, Pryor’s leading range of dot-peen marking machines. Designed for integration into existing production lines, InDot provides a sequence of impact dot marks that create human or machine-readable inscriptions such as identification codes, logos and 2D Data Matrix barcodes.

For those interested in laser marking systems, Pryor’s new laser marking machine will be on show. This incorporates high speed, on-the-fly laser marking and vision control, while producing a clean, smooth finish.

In addition, Pryor will also present its new embedded control system, the 4000 Controller. This latest generation control system, which features a 10.4 inch industrial grade touchscreen, is one of the most robust, reliable and user friendly models on the market and is ideal for error-free marking in a wide range of sectors, such as automotive and aerospace.

Finally, OB2B Industrial Marketing & PR (stand L170) will exhibit once again at the show. The company specialises in providing marketing and PR writing services to manufacturers of polymer based materials, composites, engineering plastics and adhesives. Technical and commercial expertise is combined to provide cost effective marketing and PR support to a global client base of multinationals and SMEs. Specialist outsourced help needed by busy sales and marketing teams is typically to create new sales tools, review and update the website, and to regularly write and send out press releases to target media.

During the show, stand visitors can see examples of news and application story press releases written for client companies which have gained successful national and global media coverage in magazines and online.

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