A productivity boosting rotary forge that can provide up to 90% materials savings compared to conventional machining is being shipped from Scotland to a world leading forging company in Sheffield, consolidating a research partnership with the University of Strathclyde's Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) – part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).
This move is the first official collaboration between Independent Forging and Alloys (IFA) in Sheffield and the AFRC – a member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult network – which opened an outreach office in Sheffield last year to support the region's forging and forming sector.
The forge has spent over seven years at the world-leading research centre and can provide up to 90% material savings compared to conventional machining by forming flanged components from hollow tubular workpieces.
By situating the machine within IFA, some of the world's leading metallics manufacturing businesses within Yorkshire and the wider UK will work with IFA on the new equipment providing opportunities to explore resource efficient methods of manufacture resulting in lower costs and less materials waste.
At the same time, the IFA's current links with various global industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, and defence will provide a broader customer base for the machine's capabilities.
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