The 2021 annual Collaborate To Innovate (C2I) awards, organised by The Engineer magazine, are now open for submissions until 3^rd September 2021. The award scheme, now in its sixth year, seeks to identify and promote the most innovative collaborative engineering projects in the UK manufacturing and civil engineering sector.

For our machines to work their best, we need to feed them accurate information. Here are a few pitfalls that can occur in the world of precision drilling, and how you can avoid them.

The pandemic has been tough on the Aerospace industry, though it today wouldn't exist without outsourced, precision-engineered components. Unlike most land vehicles, almost no modern aircraft are designed, constructed, and tested entirely in-house. Due to the sheer number and diversity of disparate aeroplane, spacecraft, satellite, and helicopter components, aerospace manufacturing typically relies on a scattered production chain of outsourced commissions, to design and build each separate part to fit a grand overall plan.

All steel tube manufacturers have many considerations to make. It all begins with attention to detail.

Detail in this realm means balancing multiple contrasting variables including: the initial design requirements; the specification of the material; the quality of the machine; the cost of manufacture; and the required quality of the final product are the main areas.

Whether you're manufacturing cylinders for use in engines, hydraulic systems, or industrial machinery, it's crucial to make sure that they are reliable, function smoothly, and stand the test of time. That means ensuring that their surfaces are honed. In this article, we'll examine how honing is used in cylinder manufacturing and who you can turn to for help with the process.

Manufacturing products and shipping them to customers doesn’t just happen overnight by magic. Instead, the design and creation of products relies on a complex supply and resource management system that often extends beyond international borders, from the sourcing of raw materials to the eventual delivery of the completed product to the end user.

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) turning is a practical and efficient way of manufacturing custom components. However, while CNC lathes are capable of producing consistent results in a speedy and cost-effective manner, there are things that can go wrong with the process. Let's look at four of the most commonly experienced CNC turning problems and examine what can be done to resolve them:

The impact of coronavirus on supply chains in 2020/21 has been immense. What started as a problem for China rapidly evolved into a global catastrophe, with supply chains experiencing considerable disruption due to trade restrictions and material shortages.

The UK has a legally binding target to reach ‘net zero’ carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. This bold target has already done much to affect the landscape of UK manufacturing, and is set to dominate the conversation over manufacturing strategies and technologies for the next 30 years. Reaching net zero, or carbon neutrality, necessitates reducing overall carbon emissions, and offsetting those emissions that can’t be avoided – e.g. by tree planting and other removal strategies. In order to reach the target, the UK will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 – scarily that’s only 9 years away!

The impending corporation tax hike from 19% to 25% for businesses reporting profits of £250K or more was one of the less welcome changes brought in by the 2021 budget and met with a mixed response from the business community. The changes come into effect from April 2023, with corporation tax being applied on a sliding scale, from 19% on small businesses filing £50,000 or less in annual profits to the full 25% on everything in excess of £250,000. Many businesses were critical of the move because, like many tax increases, the bulk of the burden is likely to fall on successful SMEs rather than large corporations, with the risk of the 6% hike deterring investment in growth at a time when it is sorely needed.