One to Watch - eServ, a Perot Systems Company

Discovering new and innovative companies is one of the interesting parts of this job. Many are cast from the same mould, but every now and again something pops up that is a little different to the norm, isn't a "me too" copycat and can be said quite legitimately to be offering something different to the market.

As we all know and have discussed here before service operations come in a wide variety of forms in this industry. It's only when you look a little closer that you start to see the differences between those who have an old SLA250 in the back room and deliver poorly finished resin models and those who rail at being described as a bureau and who can act as a effective product development partner and add tangible value.

eServ, a Perot Systems Company are one I'd place in the latter category. Never heard of them? No, neither had I but with over 500 employees, $43 million in revenue, and customers worldwide it's only a matter of time before you do.

Quite simply they can do everything you might expect an engineering company to be able to do and a bit more. The corporate strap-line says True Product Engineering Partner but that is only the half of it, speaking to the guys you find out they work with everyone from Terex and CASE to Harley Davidson, and have done everything from complete new product introductions (example here) to cost reduction exercises, many of the projects are quarterbacked from the rather cool mission control eOps Center shown in the picture which enables global collaboration in real time - looks like something you'd find at Kennedy Space Centre...

eServ use a model they call ValueSourcingTM. It essentially means clients allow them to become a major part of their design and engineering process, performing all tasks related to a particular project. The means that clients only pay for specific expertise when they need it and have no labour and overheads, in this era of cost savings it certainly resonates.

Good news for us in Europe is that eServ have landed over here and are now taking their very switched on project management and holistic approach to market. They suggest that their process results in "faster time to market, fewer mistakes, less waste, and increased profit". That is pretty much the holy grail of us all, maybe it's worth testing out the theory....?

Read more...

BTMA Joins MM Live 2009 as Supporting Partner

Rapid News Publications plc, organiser of MM Live 2009, is delighted to announce that the BTMA (British Turned Parts Manufacturers Association) has become a supporting partner of the show.

Held at the prestigious Ricoh Arena, Coventry, 20-21st October 2009, MM Live is a global showcase for everything to do with the mass manufacture of small to micro precision parts, whether a company can make them to order or supply the machinery to mill, turn or mould. The theme of this year’s event is Business Critical Technologies for Micro, Precision and Nano Manufacturing, demonstrating the need for micro and precision manufacturers to adopt the latest technologies to help them stay ahead of the competition.

The BTMA represents companies whose core activity is the manufacture of precision machined components within the UK, with at least 50% of their turnover being supplied on a sub-contract basis. BTMA members deliver tens of millions of turned parts and machined components in various batch quantities every year to buyers throughout industry in the UK and overseas.

The endorsement of BTMA underlines the significance of the show to the precision turned parts sector and highlights the importance of its members to the engineering community.

Mark Blezard, Sales Director for MM Live commented, “I am delighted to welcome onboard the BTMA as a supporting partner. There is a significant number of BTMA members who have the capabilities to supply small to micro precision components, and it is these ‘technically demanding’ areas of manufacturing that are proving to be pretty robust.”

Visitor registration can be completed quickly and easily at www.micro-show.com.

Read more...

Economic Stimulus Package - TCT Live 2009 Style

Q: When times are tight and travel and training budgets even tighter what should leading media and event organisations do to underline their commitment to the sectors they work in?

A: Make access to their leading Additive Manufacturing Conference completely free for anyone who wants to attend!

Thats right! In an unprecedented step TCT has decided to remove the registration fee for this years Additive Manufacturing Conference which will take place October 20/21 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK. It's fair to say that this year more than ever before, designers, product developers and manufacturers are looking to source cutting-edge techniques and gain expert knowledge to help them stay ahead of the competition.

As a media operation, that in many ways is as old as the technologies themselves, we have a part to play in growing this industry. This year travel and training budgets are under ever-increasing scrutiny and by opening this Conference to all we hope to stimulate new converts to the technologies and help drive the industry forward.

Over the years, The TCT Conference has pioneered knowledge exchange within the industry and to this end the quality of papers being presented in 2009 remains at the forefront of technological advancement in Additive Manufacture.

Papers already confirmed include: Brian Cioffi, Converse; Steve Wilkinson, Rolls-Royce; Volker Junior, Junior & Tacke; Iain Todd, AMRC with Boeing; Mike Ayre, Crucible Industrial Design; Neil Hopkinson, RMRG Loughborough University; Jeremy Pullin, Renishaw; and Cyrille Peignot, Ecolateral ALM on behalf of EADS. We are particularly delighted to announce that a Senior Executive of Airbus will present the keynote address.

The theme of TCT Live 2009 is Business Critical Technologies for Product Development and Manufacturing. This gives the 2009 conference the opportunity to explore more deeply than ever before the realities of additive manufacture and will look at whether the promises and reported benefits are actually fact or fiction.

The conference programme has been specially formulated to address key issues including the business reasons for adopting additive technologies, definitive manufacturing applications of additive fabrication, and future considerations such as economic, environmental and corporate social responsibilities.

As a conclusion, the last session of the second day will draw together equipment and material vendors and end-users to discuss the practicalities of this technology and how they can really be used to reduce cost, increase speed and improve efficiency.

The conference is expected to be heavily subscribed therefore any visitor wishing to attend the TCT Live Additive Manufacturing Conference must be pre-registered to be guaranteed entry. Visitors registering on the day cannot be guaranteed entry. Registration can be completed quickly and easily at www.tctshow.com

Read more...

One to Watch - Melotte NV

Every now and again a new company comes to the fore, either by creation, or through good marketing or sometimes just because the world catches up with what they are offering. It might be that Melotte NV are one of the latter.

Established in 2004 Melotte are a Belgian engineering company focused on state of the art technologies, more recently they have been making some considerable noise in the Rapid Manufacturing arena, specifically in metals. Their blog "The World of Layered Manufacturing" gives you flavour of what they can do with the array of technologies at their disposal.

I'm often struck by the disruptive nature of RM and how it completely changes the way people go about their daily tasks, we all know that designing for RM has a complete set of new rules, but imagine the change in thinking for a surgeon if within 36 hours of having a CT scan the patient in question can be the recipient of bespoke, ready to use, titanium heart valves. Sounds good doesn't it? Well Melotte have done this and plenty more besides with their Selective Laser Melting, Direct Metal Deposition and Electron Beam Melting technologies.

Melotte have a an interesting take on things. Yes they expound the business case for RM, reducing time-to-market, reducing cost and improving efficiency but they also take this to a natural conclusion, and one that is gaining more and more momentum in this sector as we move forward. The conclusion is that RM is also good for the environment with less material use, less energy used and less waste.

Mario Fleurinck, General Manager, pictured above, is a true believer, and if you attend one of the multitude of RP&M events around the world this year you will get the opportunity to hear him explain the Melotte philosophy and why adopting these technologies is so important for the global community.

Read more...