Sheffield Centre Slashes Machining Times
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
R&D at Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has led to a step-change in the machining capability of many of its industrial sponsors. This is illustrated by work with titanium alloys, which has reduced machining time by a factor of 5, and helped landing gear specialist Messier–Dowty win the contract for the Boeing 787 undercarriage, worth about US$2 billion (A$2.38 billion). Recent projects have reduced the machining time for engine casings at Rolls–Royce by a factor of 20, and the machining time for titanium fan disks by a factor of 40. Technology transfer to regional companies has boosted sales by more than £55 million (A$113 million). AusAMRC will introduce some of these new machining techniques to Australian manufacturers, assisted by experts from Sheffield.