MACHINING
A ‘DO IT ALL’ COMPOSITE PRESS
AMRC
AMRC AND RHODES INTERFORM PRESS ON
WITH NEW COMPOSITE FORMING FACILITY
Rhodes Interform, a specialist in bespoke
composite and metal forming machinery,
has recently completed the installation and
testing of a ‘world class’ composite forming
facility at the University of Sheffield’s
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre
(AMRC).
The AMRC’s brief was to design, develop
and manufacture a composite press
that could ‘do it all’ as it would be used
as a facility to assist a wide range of UK
companies to stay at the leading edge of
composite development.
The state of the art facility, comprising
of a 10,000 kN hydraulic press with six
axis loading, high pressure RTM, twin die
transfer tables, thermal fluid heating system
and die splitter, is capable of a wide range
of composite forming including Open and
Closed Moulding, Resin Transfer Moulding
(RTM), Prepreg, Compression Moulding
and Thermoplastics. The project attracted
funding from the Government’s Advanced
Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative
(AMSCI).
Rhodes Interform, part of Group Rhodes,
based in Wakefield, worked very closely
with the AMRC team throughout the design
and manufacture phase of the project
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ensuring that the bespoke equipment was
delivered both on time and to the client’s
exacting specifications.
Mark Ridgway OBE, CEO of Rhodes
Interform, said: “This project has been
a huge success as a result of great
communication, teamworking and
collaboration between our team and
the AMRC. We are very proud to have
manufactured a composite press that will
be used by some of the world’s leading
manufacturing companies to develop new
technologies.”
AMRC Composite Centre Research Engineer,
Darren Wells, said: “It was great to support
UK industry to build such a unique and
capable piece of equipment. This press will
allow us to take on a wide and varied range
of projects for many years to come.”
The machine will be available for use
by companies looking to develop their
composite capability through Research and
Development. The facility has already been
used as part of a successful joint venture
to develop the future chassis of a UK based
performance automotive company. This
project is expected to evolve into full
component production,, helping to bring
hundreds of jobs to the Yorkshire region.
For more information please visit the
website www.grouprhodes.co.uk or contact
the Rhodes Interform Technical Sales
department on + (44) 1924 37 11 61.
About the AMRC
The University of Sheffield Advanced
Manufacturing Research Centre
(AMRC) is a world-class centre for
research into advanced manufacturing
technologies used in the aerospace,
automotive, medical and other high-
value manufacturing sectors.
The AMRC has a global reputation
for helping companies overcome
manufacturing problems and is a
model for collaborative research
involving universities, academics and
industry worldwide.
Combining state of the art
technologies with the AMRC’s
expertise in design and prototyping,
machining, casting, welding, additive
manufacturing, composites, robotics
and automation, digital manufacturing
and structural testing, has created a
manufacturing resource far beyond
anything previously available in the
UK.
www.amrc.co.uk