Metrology representation announced.

The Sempre Group recently became an approved supplier for LK Metrology and Renishaw in Ireland to help Irish manufacturers benefit from faster scanning times when using coordinate measuring machines (CMM). As Sempre continues to develop its partnership with the two companies, it now offers demonstrations of Renishaw’s REVO® multi-sensor 5-axis measurement system at its Dublin site.

Currently, most CMM services in Ireland are being delivered from outside the country, and many manufacturers are unaware of how scanning probes and similar technology could optimise scanning times and improve machine throughput. This means that many risk not getting the most out of their CMMs in terms of speed, delivery and quality.

Following its collaboration with LK Metrology, The Sempre Group now supplies the company’s large-scale CMM portfolio while offering dedicated, local support from its Dublin office. With Sempre having proven success in the benchtop CMM market, the partnership means it now supplies LK Metrology’s full range of large-scale CMMs. Therefore, Sempre can provide customers with larger machines capable of measuring components for industries like aerospace.

The Renishaw REVO head uses synchronised motion and 5-axis measurement technology to minimise the dynamic effects of CMM motion at ultra-high measurement speeds. The probe offers flexibility, allowing operators to integrate and change a stylus with ease. Sempre is now demoing the REVO system at its Dublin site, so manufacturers can discover how it can improve their measurement process.

“Many manufacturers could be getting so much more out of their CMMs by cutting lead times, reducing costs and improving quality. However, because there is a limited CMM supply base in Ireland, many customers are unaware of alternative solutions,” explained Jason McGlynn, commercial manager at The Sempre Group. “Now that we’re an approved supplier for both LK Metrology and Renishaw, we can start having these conversations with manufacturers and show them what else is out there, so they can gain a competitive advantage.

“We’re particularly excited about the REVO system because it really is the cutting edge of scanning probe technology and, no matter how old or unique the CMM, manufacturers can retrofit it with ease. We’ve already started offering demonstrations here in Balbriggan, and our team can also support with integration.”

Since Sempre opened its Ireland office in 2021*, it has been a hub for where the company can offer local support and contract measurement services for customers. Therefore, manufacturers can experience technology like REVO first-hand while benefitting from the team’s extensive experience.

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* See also Metrology for Ireland (11/8/2021)

 @TheSempreGroup @LK_Metrology @renishawplc @StoneJunctionPR #CMM #Metrology #Ireland

Award for implants in human & veterinary applications.

Professor Chris Sutcliffe, Director of Research and Development (R&D) at Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Products Division (AMPD), has been awarded a prestigious Silver Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE). The award recognises his role in driving the development of metal 3D printed implants for use in human and veterinary surgery.

Prof. Chris Sutcliffe

The RAE Silver Medal is awarded to recognise an outstanding personal contribution to British engineering, which has resulted in successful market exploitation. A maximum of four are awarded each year. The Medal celebrates his successful commercialisation of additive manufacturing products as part of his work with Renishaw, the University of Liverpool, Stryker Orthopaedics and Fusion Implants Ltd.

Chris has worked in additive manufacturing for over 20 years starting at the University of Liverpool where he worked on the first direct metal 3D printing machine in Britain and on a variety of related research projects exploiting the technology in orthopaedics, structural light-weighting, heat exchangers/chemical reactors.

His desire to commercialise his research work led him to join Renishaw in 2011 to head up the additive manufacturing (AM) R&D activity. Renishaw remains the only British manufacturer of metal laser powder bed fusion AM systems and has recently launched the multi-laser RenAM 500Q series. The Renishaw systems are now used across a variety of industries to produce complex metal parts.

As well as his work on AM products, a large part of his research has focussed on metal 3D printed implants for medical applications, particularly on developing a new class of porous bone-integrating implants. The implants were successfully commercialised with Stryker Orthopaedics, which now produces implants on a global scale. Sutcliffe is also the founder and Director of Fusion Implants Ltd, which produces veterinary implants using the porous bone-integrating technology.

“Throughout my career I’ve worked hard to commercialise additive manufacturing technology,” explained Sutcliffe. “As well as AM’s benefit to the aerospace and automotive sectors, commercialisation of AM and associated technologies has been lifechanging for those with musculoskeletal diseases. The award celebrates the successes of the engineers I have worked with to achieve this and I am grateful to receive the award to recognise our work.”

In his role at Renishaw, Sutcliffe runs AMPD’s work with funded projects and universities to extend R&D activities. He also runs a research group at the University of Liverpool, which is supported by Renishaw.

@renishawplc #Medical @RAEngNews

Top woman engineer !

Lucy Ackland, Senior Development Engineer at Renishaw,  has been selected as one of Britain's Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2017.

Lucy Ackland

The initiative is organised by The Daily Telegraph in partnership with the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and employers in the industry. Results were announced on June 23, 2017, to coincide with International Women in Engineering Day.

The Daily Telegraph’s Top 50 Women in Engineering was launched in 2016 to celebrate women’s achievements in the industry. The 2017 list is made up of outstanding female engineers under the age of 35, who have all made a significant contribution to the field.

Ackland joined Renishaw aged 16 as an apprentice and went on to study Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of South Wales, where she achieved a First Class Honours degree. Ackland has worked on several exciting projects during her time at Renishaw, including leading the project team for the RenAM 500M, Renishaw’s latest metal additive manufacturing system, which was fully designed in-house. She has also helped partner universities, colleges and businesses to help develop technology and training.

Ackland is actively involved in Renishaw’s education outreach programme, where she has been a science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) ambassador for nine years. She now runs weekly events to inspire young girls to consider engineering careers and show young people where an apprenticeship can take them.

“Historically, women’s achievements in STEM have gone unnoticed, and this needs to change,” explained Ackland, “The Top 50 Women in Engineering celebrates the great work done by women in the engineering sector.

“The awards showcase the amazing work that women are doing, highlighting how women are performing and achieving so much. Showcasing these achievements gives young women role models, challenges stereotypes and shows that engineering is an exciting career path.”

“We are very proud of this recognition for Lucy, who works tirelessly to promote engineering to young people. Only nine per cent of engineers in the UK are female, a figure which puts us behind the rest of Europe,” explained Chris Pockett, Head of Communications at Renishaw. “It is important to promote the achievements of female engineers to change the status quo and open up a new pool of talent to help solve the engineering skills shortage.”

Ackland was also recognised for her engineering successes in 2014, when she won the WES prize at the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Young Woman Engineer Awards, and was a finalist in the Young Woman of the Year category. In 2016, she was highly commended in the Woman of the Year category at the Bristol and Bath Women in Business Awards.

@renishawplc #Britain #PAuto @Telegraph

New chair for manufacturing event!

The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) has appointed a new Chair for its Exhibition Committee, which oversees the organisation of MACH, Britain's premier manufacturing technologies event. Chris Pockett, Head of Communications at Renishaw, who has been a committee member for eight years, was appointed Chair of the Exhibition Committee due to his extensive knowledge and experience of international trade shows and event management. The new position also sees Pockett join the Board of the MTA where he will contribute his additional knowledge of communications and international marketing.

Chris Pockett

The MTA is a trade association that represents Britain’s engineering-based manufacturing sector including companies involved in machine tools, cutting tools, metrology and CAD/CAM software. It is also the organiser of the biennial MACH exhibition which is being held from April 9th to 13th, 2018, at the NEC in Birmingham. The Exhibition Committee consists of MTA staff and industry representatives from exhibiting member companies of the association and is responsible for overseeing decisions concerning the exhibition.

He brings a wealth of experience of global exhibitions from his role as Head of Communications at Renishaw. He was involved with Renishaw’s first stand in China in 1993 and has organised and taken part in trade shows across all continents. He has been an MTA Exhibition Committee member since 2008, serving the association through a number of MACH events. As part of his new role, Pockett will be responsible for overseeing MACH 2018, the first event to be located in the NEC’s newer Atrium halls.

“We are delighted that such an experienced communicator as Chris has agreed to take up the Chairmanship of the Exhibition Committee,” explained James Selka, CEO of the MTA. “Chris has made a huge contribution during his time on the Committee and I’m looking forward to working with him to make sure that MACH builds on its position as the UK’s leading manufacturing technologies exhibition and becomes an even more important date in the manufacturing calendar.”

“MACH 2016 saw an almost ten per cent increase in visitors from 2014, giving us confidence that the exhibition and the advanced engineering sector are moving in the right direction,” explained Chris Pockett. “We aim to increase engagement in the event further in order to highlight new opportunities that are impacting the sector, including additive manufacturing and Industry 4.0.”

Pockett joins Stewart Lane, Renishaw’s Group Sales Development Director, who is also a board member of the MTA, where he is responsible for learning and development. Renishaw is committed to supporting the wider industry through active membership of trade bodies, advisory panels and professional groups.

@MACHexhibition @mta_uk #Pauto @renishawplc

Head of Global Additive Manufacturing.

Renishaw has appointed Clive Martell MSc, CEng, MIET, former President and CEO of Delcam, to a new role as Head of Global Additive Manufacturing.

Clive Martell

Clive, age 54, progressed from a graduate recruit to become CEO of Delcam plc, where he successfully managed the company’s transition from an AIM (Alternative Investment Market) company to an operating division of Autodesk. After his appointment as Delcam’s CEO in 2009 his successful track record of delivering strong revenue and profit growth earned him the CEO of the Year Award at the 2013 Grant Thornton Quoted Company Awards.

In his new role at Renishaw, Clive will report to Geoff McFarland, Group Engineering Director and will be responsible for the strategy and direction of additive manufacturing across the Renishaw Group. He will liaise with development teams in Britain and sales and marketing operations across the world and will be particularly focussed on making a global success of Renishaw as an additive manufacturing (AM) solutions provider.

As part of this new role Clive will also guide the company’s Additive Manufacturing products line based in Staffordshire (GB), which develops new AM systems and the Medical Dental products line, which delivers AM solutions for the healthcare sector. Clive will also become a member of Renishaw’s International Sales and Marketing Board.

Commenting on the appointment, Geoff McFarland, said, “Having worked closely with Clive Martell during my six-year tenure as a non-executive director of Delcam, I am delighted to welcome him to Renishaw. His extensive experience within the global manufacturing industry, including the ability to grow customer service activities, the development of dedicated software solutions and the establishment of Delcam’s Healthcare division, will be especially valuable to Renishaw as we develop additive manufacturing as a standard solution for production applications.”

Engineer shortlisted for Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards!

Lucy Ackland (26), a Project Manager in Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Products Division working on the company’s next generation of metal 3D printing machines, has been shortlisted for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Young Woman of the Year Awards. 

Lucy Ackland

She started her career as a mechanical engineering apprentice and has progressed through a variety of roles whilst being supported by Renishaw to achieve further engineering qualifications on a day release basis. In 2012 she achieved a first class honours degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering from the University of South Wales, and in 2014 she was appointed a Board member of the charity Young Engineers. 

The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards aim to find female role models to help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis. Lucy Ackland has been shortlisted along with four female engineers from other leading engineering organisations – Ford, Rolls-Royce, ABB Ltd and Selex ES.

Lucy said: “I am thrilled to have made it this far in a competition that includes so many brilliant high achieving females.” 

“At the age of 13 I was inspired to become an engineer and despite some opposition from those who felt that I should follow a more academic route, I chose to apply for an apprenticeship. I hope that my progress and academic achievements since then can similarly help to inspire other young people to consider engineering as an attractive career option.”

Women currently represent only 6 per cent of the engineering workforce in the UK (source: 2014 IET Skills Survey), the lowest percentage in Europe.

Michelle Richmond, IET Director of Membership, and a former YWE winner, said: “The lack of women in engineering is a huge problem for this country, contributing to skills shortages which threaten the economy. It also means that women are missing out on interesting and rewarding careers.

“The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things: from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confidence to opt for science and maths at A-level, through to employers needing to do more to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female friendly.”

“It’s also a result of the lack of inspirational engineering role models for girls – which is where our Young Woman Engineer of the Year winners can play a vital role by encouraging and inspiring more young girls to become engineers.”