EDITOR’S CHOICE
LATEST IN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
ETG
ETG CELEBRATES 25TH BIRTHDAY WITH SHOWCASE
OF THE LATEST MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
The UK’s leading machine tool supplier
celebrated its 25th birthday in style, when
it showcased its latest manufacturing
technologies.
Engineering Technology Group (ETG),
which recently acquired HK Technologies,
threw open the doors of its Wellesbourne
Headquarters to give over 450 industry
delegates the latest insight into the world
of turnkey solutions, with two new product
launches, a UK debut for the Nakamura
MX100 and an in-depth look at the latest
additive manufacturing and wire EDM
machines.
Orders for four new CNC machines were taken
during the two-day event, which was used to
celebrate the firm’s milestone birthday and to
reinforce the growing demand for ‘lights-out’
manufacturing, automation and machine
tools that offer world class precision and
increased flexibility.
Sub-contract manufacturers involved
in automotive, aerospace, medical and
renewables were interested in the new
Quaser UX500 twin pallet machine (with
15k to 24k rpm spindle), the dynamic 5-axis
simultaneous machining power of the bavius
TR80 Machining Centre and the compact
footprint and powerful performance of the
Chiron DZ15 machining cell.
Reinforcing the turnkey excellence focus,
there was also Hyfore workholding, Filtermist
oil filters, Blum-Novotest laser measuring
systems, a Robojob Turnassist and the latest
robot from ABB present.
Martin Doyle, Managing Director of the
Engineering Technology Group, commented:
“We wanted to make a big statement for
our 25th and I believe we’ve achieved this,
bringing the latest machine tools, automation
and additive manufacturing technology to
the UK.
“Our customers are telling us they want more
‘lights-out manufacturing’, machines that
take up a smaller footprint and twin pallet
capability so they can work quicker and
smarter.” He continued: “Yes, there’s a bit of
uncertainty out there, but firms recognise the
need to stay ahead of the rest of the world
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when it comes to technology. By investing in
new solutions that we can bespoke to their
requirements, they can reduce cycle times,
improve lead times and look at taking on
increasingly complex components.”
“We have to aim to be an extension to their
production team and this is our focus going
forward. It was also great to see so many of
our technical partners exhibiting their own
unique products and services, including
Hydrafeed, Ceratizit, Bott and Jemtech.”
Industrial Revolution
The ETG Open House gave the company
the ideal opportunity to introduce its new
business HK Technologies to the market, with
technical experts on hand to talk through
Balance Systems, the Mitsubishi Wire EDM
MV12000, Markforged’s MetalX metal printer
and X7 Desktop Series for composite printing
and 3D Systems’ ProJet MJP 2500 plus that
provides bespoke parts and industry-leading
attention to detail.
Gareth Jones, the new Managing Director
at HK, used the event to promote the
importance of educating industry to the true
benefits of additive manufacturing and why
more companies - both large and small - need
to see it as a way of delivering prototypes and
low/medium volume production.
He also highlighted how additive technology
fits into the ETG and Hyfore portfolio, offering
manufacturers quick turnarounds for bespoke
workholding, jigs, fixtures, soft jaws and robot
grippers.
“When 3D printing first burst onto the
scene, the sector got caught in the trap of
making it too mainstream for domestic users,
encouraging a scenario where we’d all own
a printer at home and we’d start making our
own mugs for example,” explained Gareth.
“That’s not the reality. Instead, it needs to
be seen as a next generation production
technology, capable of producing repeatable
quality, quickly and cost effectively. We’ve
got a major task on our hands to get this
message across and, one of our main aims for
the future, is getting the technology out there
and firms using it.”
He concluded: “There are a lot of new
materials being developed and released to
support changing industrial applications, not
to mention the implementation of easy-
to-use software. These factors – combined
with the new technology and our internal
technical experts – are helping us deliver
tangible, bottom line results to our customers.
It’s an opportunity the sector needs to make
more of.”
For further information, please
visit www.engtechgroup.com or
follow @engtechgroup/
@hk_technologies on twitter.