Users of thin-style punch press turret tooling can now considerably reduce the time taken for resetting and machine changeovers.

Users of thin-style punch press turret tooling can nowconsiderably reduce the time taken for resetting and machinechangeovers following the development by Wilson ToolInternational of a self-contained, fast adjustment, toolingsystem.

The new Quick Adjust (trademark) system enables the userto gain a significant increase in the number of regrindsavailable from the tool and provides a quick and simple method toadjust the punch without having to use any additional hand tools.Now available from the Swindon-based European headquarters ofWilson Tool, Quick Adjust provides the opportunity for thinturret punch press users such as Strippit to increaseproductivity, reduce tool stocks and maximise machine uptime.With a full 6.35 mm of adjustment, through a simple pull-out andtwist motion to cater for regrinding, Wilson Tool has alsoeliminated any need for traditional shimming or preloading anddispenses with the need to use hand tools and fiddly setscrews.

Brookhouse Composites, of Darwen, has recently carried out an on-site repair of damage to an Agusta Helicopter using a portable Heatcon composites repair system.

Brookhouse Composites, of Darwen, has recently carried out anon-site repair of damage to an Agusta Helicopter using a portableHeatcon composites repair system. The repair was carried out atBlackpool Airport at the request of Brian Seedle Helicopters(BSH). As well as operating a flying school out of BlackpoolAirport, Brian Seedle Helicopters provides service andmaintenance to helicopter owners and is a Robinson HelicopterCompany Approved Service Centre with a full 2200 hour overhaulcapability.

It also carries CAA approval as a JAR-145 maintenanceorganisation, qualified to carry out maintenance and repair ofaircraft components manufactured from composite materials.However, when an Agusta 109E helicopter required repair of damageto the exterior skin adjacent to the nose wheel, it was decidedto bring in the specialist skills and expertise of BrookhouseComposites and allow BSH to concentrate on carrying out astandard modification to the helicopter by reinforcing thealuminium structure around the nose wheel.

Bearing in mind thatBSH has an excellent reputation for the quality and finish ofhelicopter rebuilds and repairs, it was important that theAugusta repair should be not only functionally effective but alsoaesthetically pleasing.

Consequently, Brookhouse decided to usetheir Heatcon portable hot bonding equipment to ensure thecorrect curing of the wet lay-up glass fibre repair, in line withthe specification set down in the Agusta manuals.

This required acure at ambient temperature under pressure, which was supplied bymeans of a vacuum bag.

This was laid over the complete repairarea and the degree of vacuum was monitored by vacuumtransducers.

The measurements were transmitted to thesystem's central processing unit, so that precise controlwas maintained over the complete curing operation.

(The Heatconsystem also features a thermal blanket so that, if necessary,curing can be carried out under controlled conditions of bothpressure and temperature.) The Heatcon repair system, which hasbeen approved by major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing andAirbus, complements the company's five existing, in-houseautoclaves and four curing ovens, which cater for the majority ofcomposites repair work.

It is used primarily for small repairjobs, which can be carried out on the shop floor, or for on-sitework.

Brookhouse Composites specialises in the manufacture andrepair of composite components and has particular expertise inthe aerospace industry, in both the military and the civilsectors.

It holds JAR-145 approval to carry out maintenance andrepair of composite aircraft components and was the firstcomposite manufacturing company to gain approval for themanufacture of components for use in the aircraft of all 30countries, which belong to the Joint Aviation Authority.

Itrecently became one of the first companies in the UK to gainapproval under the new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)qualification.

Specialised parting-off tooling from Advanced Carbide Tooling is being used successfully by R W Brown Engineering to produce high volumes of components, many of them in stainless steel.

Specialised parting-off tooling from Advanced Carbide Tooling isbeing used successfully by R W Brown Engineering to produce highvolumes of components, many of them in stainless steel, on a newCNC sliding-head lathe. The tools are used on a Citizen L20-V11with 20mm bar capacity bought by the precision engineeringsubcontractor in order to increase its ability to produce largebatches of small components. The company also operates sevenother CNC turning and milling machines at its factory atClacton-on-Sea, Essex, where around 60 per cent of output is instainless steel, much of it for the food processing industry.Having used ACT tooling in the past, owner Bob Brown called thecompany in to advise on two particular jobs to be performed onthe new lathe one involving 20mm solid 303 stainless steel barand the other 8mm 304 stainless steel tube.

For both jobs thecompany uses L121C toolholders with 12mm square shanks and 13mmreach.

Two features are a flush-fitting mechanical insert clampand strong side reinforcement, which together hold the insertrigidly in position.

The solid bar is parted-off at a spindlevelocity of 85 metres/minute and a feed rate of 0.05 to 0.08mm/rev, using TiAlN-coated carbide inserts with a cuttinggeometry that optimises chip control.

The tooling consistentlyachieves the clean square surface required by his customer, andeach insert produces at least 2500 components, according to MrBrown.

For the second application, which involves parting-off 8mmdiameter 304-grade tube with a 1mm wall, ACT advised high speedsteel TiN-coated inserts with a 250 positive high-shear top rake.The sharp edge of the HSS inserts reduces cutting pressures,minimising distortion, and also avoids burring.

Parting-off isperformed at a velocity of 45 metres/minute and a feed rate of0.03 mm/rev.

'The specialist knowledge and personalattention we have received from ACT has been extremely valuablein solving these machining problems and enabling us to meet ourcustomers requirements efficiently and economically' said MrBrown.

The soon-to-be-launched Land Rover Discovery 3 will have the finish and feel of a premium quality car, thanks in part to a collaboration with Coventry-based Visioneering UK.

The soon-to-be-launched Land Rover Discovery 3 will have thefinish and feel of a premium quality car, thanks in part to acollaboration with Coventry-based Visioneering UK, which has beenworking with the vehicle manufacturer on tooling for the bodyshell. Land Rover, which conceived its new Discovery with theintention of providing the best driving experience both on andoff-road, recognised that customers for the new vehicle -announced at the Detroit Motor Show in the spring and due forlaunch in the UK later this summer - will require a high level ofrefinement in ride, handling and also in the vehicle'sexterior styling and finish. Visioneering UK, a leading partnerin the design and manufacture of component tooling and fixturesfor automotive, aerospace and other industries, worked closelywith Land Rover to design and manufacture the panel matchingtools and the environmental cube, a tool that is designed toensure pre-production and volume production accuracy.Visioneering also played a significant part in the development ofthe Data Control Models.

Brian Horner, chief executive ofVisioneering UK, said: 'The body shell is one of the mostimportant parts of any vehicle, its accuracy of build determinesthe overall vehicle quality to the customer when the trimcomponents are fitted.

'It is therefore vital that it can beproduced to a high level of repeatability.

While virtual designreviews have a major role to play in 21st century vehicledevelopment, they do not always allow subtle aspects to beclearly seen.

'A full-scale mock-up can enable subtleproblems and irregularities to be identified and addressed at anearly stage in the design process, saving both time and money forthe vehicle manufacturer.

'The Discovery 3 was conceived toprovide the best driving experience both on-road and off.

Noeffort has been spared by Land Rover or by its engineeringpartners to ensure that this is what it will provide.'

Mould toolmaker, Jordans, has made large investments to fend off foreign competition including an 800 tonne injection moulding machine, two high speed CNC machining centres and a CNC horizontal borer.

Jordans (Toolmakers)of Havant is an example of a successful UK engineering company holding off the advances of foreign competition. The manufacturer of plastic injection mould tools recently opened a new 22,500 sq/ft facility to provide capacity to produce 50 tonne tools and stave off the competition. The expansion has opened up new markets for Jordans; however it has required investment to the tune of over £1m in 2004.

This includes an 800 tonne injection moulding machine, two high speed CNC machining centres, a CNC horizontal borer plus a host of CAD/CAM computer technologies.

The arrival of high specification machine tools and technologies has brought a requirement for specialist tooling, and Jordans has employed TaeguTec to fulfil this task.

The company uses TaeguTec tooling for the machining of its mould tools.

The tooling for Ford, Nissan, BMW, Toyota and Jaguar produces componenets such as bumpers, centre consoles and a host of other plastic automotive interior and exterior parts.

The company predominantly uses P20 tool steel and a 60Hrc H13 steel.

Machining these materials was the reason for the introduction of TaeguTec's Bull Mill.

Specifically designed for Mould and Die machining, the Bull Mill has provided Jordans with significant productivity improvements.

CNC Manager Ben Yule comments: 'We have been using the Bull Mill two months and it is superb! We were using a competitor's cutter but the Bull Mill has doubled our feed rates.

It has given us more than an hour tool life in comparison to 20 minutes with the previous cutter.' 'We used an 80mm Bull Mill on P20 Tool Steel, which was used to produce an automotive back plate tool.

As soon as the cutter started we could immediately see the improvement.

We thought that justifying the cost of a tool supplier change to management would be difficult, but TaeguTec produced evaluation reports.

The reports showed speed, feed and depth of cut improvements as well as cycle time, cost per part, cost per insert and machining cost savings thus making justification simple.' The Bull Cutter evaluation showed that feed could be trebled to slash cutting time per pass from 18 to 6 minutes, resulting in cycle times per component falling from 108 to 46 minutes.

The Bull Mill has given Jordans a machining cost saving per part of 57% and a total cost saving per part of 43%.

The benefits have resulted in Jordans saving up to £700 for 20 hours of production on certain components.

Yule continues: 'The cutters have the capability of running even faster but the size and weight of the components restricts significant feed increases.

We are very pleased with the results and will be looking to introduce more TaeguTec tooling to the facility.' The Bull Mill has been in use for 2 months at Jordans and as it reaps the benefits, the company is already introducing further TaeguTec tooling.

The new range of solid carbide cutters has been introduced and is also delivering time and cost benefits.

The company now uses the carbide range for normal and high speed applications utilising the heat shrink method for finishing components.

Another introduction has been the new Rib Processing cutters.

Using diameters down to 1mm, the ball nose and slot drill style cutters are used for machining small radii, slots and general picking out.

Supplying components to the racing car industry, Ace Precision has equipped its machine tools with cutting tools from AutoSport 2005 exhibitor ITC of Tamworth.

Supplying components to the racing car industry, Ace Precision has equipped its machine tools with cutting tools from autosport 2005 exhibitor ITC of Tamworth. ACE works with titanium, inconel and HS15 and 30 aluminium alloys to fine tolerances, so the use of correctly designed cutting tools is imperative. Ian Ward at ACE comments: 'Tooling has a huge effect on machine utilisation and efficiency'.

' Our primary objectives are repeatable accuracy, speed and high surface finish'.

' ITC understands the subtle differences that make tools work more efficiently with each individual material'.

' Using ITC's Cyber cutters we have dramatically reduced machining times and tooling costs as well as increasing machine efficiency'.

'' 'We have finish machined a series of titanium race car components using a single 10mm Cyber ball nosed cutter'.

' The cutter ran for over 250 hours taking 3mm cuts with a 2mm step over at 12,000rpm with a feed rate of 4m/min'.

' The surface finish and dimensional accuracy were consistent throughout the whole batch'.

' Milling deep pockets with sub 5mm cutters often causes serious deflection'.

' With use of the ITC reinforced long reach short flute cutters we have consistently achieved 6 micron tolerance from top to bottom of a 25mm deep pocket'.

'' 'In unmanned machining we have not lost a single nights production through breakage and wear'.

' ITC's cradle to grave service is backed up by extensive investment to provide peace of mind'.

' ITC have designed and manufactured specials for us within 24 hours, so it makes sense to use their expertise,' concludes Ward.

The tools supplied by ITC can be seen on stand number E46 at the AutoSport Show to be held at Birmingham NEC 13-14th January.

A member of the ITC staff will be more than happy to discuss tooling to suit your requirements and optimise your production.

When the Essex based subcontractor JB Limmax of Harlow needed to reduce its processing times, it turned to ITC Tooling of Tamworth.

JB Limmax of Harlow is one of the UK's leading manufacturers of paintball gun components. When the Essex based subcontractor needed to reduce its processing times, it turned to ITC Tooling of Tamworth. Beside gun components, the company produces small batch work for the electronics, MoD and medical industries, predominantly working with aluminium.

JB Limmax was introduced to ITC Tooling at the MACH exhibition and shortly after, an ITC sales engineer visited the company.

JB Limmax Managing Director Barry Mann recalls: 'When we first came across ITC, we explained our problems and they immediately sent an engineer to our site.

The engineer introduced us to the 2041 high helix range of cutters.

These had an immediate affect.

One job was 19 hours per 100 parts, the ITC cutters slashed that time to 15 hours.

We have since installed newer technology, which includes a 12,000rpm spindle machining centre.

That has really enabled us to optimise the cutters capabilities; the machining cycle is now 10.5 hours.' Before the introduction of ITC Tooling, JB Limmax had difficulty obtaining cutters to the required lead times.

The extensive range of off-the-shelf cutters from ITC ensures that JB Limmax receives the required cutters through a next day delivery service.

'Initially we had a cultural problem with the shop floor, but once the staff witnessed the benefits of the cutters, the whole workforce selected ITC as their first choice tooling supplier,' continues Mann.

The most important factor at JB Limmax is the reduced cycle times and the significant reduction in downtime credit to the tool life of the 2041 series.

However, this is partially due to the introduction of the new machine tools.

Up to 50% of the tooling at JB Limmax is ITC and this will undoubtedly increase in the future, credit to the exceptional tool life.

The high rigidity of the 2041 series is a contributing factor to extended tool life.

It also contributes to the impressive surface finishes, which have vastly improved since the introduction of ITC tooling.

This was demonstrated when milling a small pocket.

JB Limmax used the 6mm 2041 series, the complete series has wiper flats on the bottom to guarantee an exceptional surface finish.

It was awkward to get coolant into the pockets and the high helix of the 2041 series provided excellent swarf clearance.

This enabled the coolant to get to the relevant areas, which also contributed to improved finishes.

'In many instances the finish is more important than the size to our customers.

This is because most parts are polished and the polishers used to spend considerable time working on components.

Now the processing time in the polishing department has been slashed credit to the finishes achieved by the cutters,' concludes Mann.

ARRK Product Development Group is reporting that it has purchased an 82% stake in one of Europe's leading Design, Engineering and Analysis companies.

ARRK Product Development Group is reporting that it has purchased an 82% stake in one of Europe's leading Design, Engineering and Analysis companies. (Note:This transaction is subject to the approval of the German Cartel Authorities) PCL Group is headquartered in Munich and, with turnover of 55 million GBP and 600 employees, is a leading independent provider of engineering, design and computer simulation services for the product development process in the European automotive, aerospace and transportation industries. The Group is a strategic supplier to a number of European blue chip companies including BMW, DaimlerChrysler, EADS, Scania and VW Group.

PCL operates through three branded subsidiaries, P + Z Engineering in Germany, Tesco in Italy and ARTWARE in France.

ARRK PDG Limited, wholly owned by ARRK Corporation of Japan, a Publicly quoted company on Japan's JASDAQ market, have acquired an 82% share of PCL Group from Primary Capital, a UK based private equity investment company, for an undisclosed sum.

ARRK PDG Limited will purchase 79,400 out of the total of 96,100 shares, the remaining shares staying with current management, who will continue to lead, manage and develop the business.

This will further enhance both ARRK's and PCL Group's capabilities and significantly strengthen and expand the potential service offering to customers.

'The opportunity to service our customers, not only with our individual services, but enabling us to further develop the potential of synergy of services, through to the provision of real Full Line Service support in terms of Turnkey projects is both exciting and we believe necessary both for ARRK, PCL and our customers.

We must continue to develop capability to meet our customers needs and assist them in achieving their ever more demanding targets ' both Andrew Williams Managing Director of PCL and Peter Rawson of ARRK confirm.

PCL Group will continue to be run by the current management team, led by Andrew Williams.

The team, supported by experienced engineering staff in all its subsidiaries, have a track record of success in developing PCL Group over the past 10 years.

Together, this team will now be able to further grow and develop the businesses, building on the significant success and reputation already gained with their customers across Europe.

As well as continuing to work closely with all its current customers, the PCL team will also develop opportunities with other ARRK companies in Europe and Worldwide.

Peter Rawson, Managing Director for ARRK in Europe explained, 'The opportunity to bring a successful and experienced team within the ARRK network and to extend the width of our capabilities exactly fits our aims of enhancing our ability to support customers in Europe and Worldwide.

We welcome all the PCL Group members into the ARRK family and really look forward to working together and opening up many more opportunities for them to further advance their significant capabilities, expertise and customer offerings'.

Andrew Williams, Managing Director of PCL looking at the future stated: 'We are delighted to have achieved a successful outcome for all existing shareholders and welcome ARRK as a new shareholder and partner with management.

For us the complimentary services offered by ARRK worldwide and their financial backing opens up substantial new opportunities for the continued development of our business.

It allows us to offer Turnkey project possibilities to our customers and importantly to support them globally.

In addition being part of the ARRK organisation provides potential new opportunities for all our staff.' He continued, 'ARRK is committed to develop further its presence in Europe, which provides us with an exciting platform for the future, from which to develop PCL further through both organic growth and acquisition.' It is intended that the operating companies, P and Z Engineering, TESCO and ARTWARE will continue to be run under their own names and overall as a separate business, although obviously with new majority owners and will be part of the extensive growing network of ARRK businesses around the world.

ARRK, employing around 250 people in the UK, over 400 in Europe and over 10,000 worldwide, specialises in the fields of Design, Engineering, Rapid Prototyping, Pre Production Services, Tooling and selected areas of niche Production in Plastics and Metals.

Industries serviced include Automotive, Aerospace, Telecommunications, Business Machines, Household Goods, Medical Equipment, Consumer Goods and the Design and Engineering community.

With sister companies truly worldwide, ARRK has a multitude of product development capabilities offered to customers locally, either as individual services or through to Full Line Services, from Design to Production

ITC has helped design and sculpture company Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design of Ceredigion, West Wales recently undertaken a number of high profile projects.

Long established design and sculpture company Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design of Ceredigion, West Wales has recently undertaken a number of high profile projects. These include the 'Deux ex Machina' - a sculpture of two dancers for the Newport Theatre and the most recent project, the ceremonial Key to 'hand over' the new Cardiff Children's Hospital on March 1st. The projects were previously outside the company's remit, until it introduced a CNC machine tool in 2001.

Managing Director Sebastien Boyesen comments: 'I bought the machine to enable us to create more technically challenging pieces using CAD/CAM technology.

As a small business I had little time for extensive training with new technologies.

Luckily, our tooling supplier ITC of Tamworth helped me all the way.' Taking on new technologies was a daunting prospect for Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design of Ceredigion.

'The new machine meant I was cutting materials like stone, slate, plastics and aluminium using different techniques, speeds and feeds.

It required alternative methods, tooling and lubricants.

I spoke at length with ITC's technical representative Sally Hunt whose advice proved invaluable.

The sound technical advice of ITC has earned my trust and this has been rewarded with us purchasing all our CNC tooling from ITC.' This expert advice was demonstrated with the 'Deux ex Machina' sculpture; the 'life size' aluminium sculpture was machined from ITC cutters.

The company used the ITC 6mm diameter single flute stub cutter to complete the project.

Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design used 3-D laser scanning software to scan actual dancers.

The company then generated contoured layers through its CAD/CAM software to build an image of the dancers.

The program then mapped the sculpture slices on 5mm thick aluminium.

The 1m/sq aluminium sheets supported by MDF were then machined with the ITC single flute stub cutters.

Running at 1600rpm with a feed of 400mm/minute, the 6mm cutters machined the contours with one pass at the full depth of 5mm.

The sculpture was to be the centrepiece of the opening ceremony of the Newport Riverside Theatre attended by the Major of Newport, the Secretary for State for Wales Peter Hain MP and the leader of Newport council Sir Harry Jones CBE.

This placed Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design under considerable pressure to meet a tight deadline.

'We estimated the job would take four months to complete and with machining times taking up to a month, we needed to improve production times to meet the deadline.

The speeds and feeds of the tooling contributed significantly toward this.

However, the most important factor was surface finish.

The design of the sculpture ensured that the machined edges of the aluminium were on show more than the surface.

The ITC cutters gave us such a high surface finish the completed profiles did not require additional polishing or finishing operations.

This was a major contributing factor to the sculpture being completed to the required deadline,' continues Boyesen.

Another job currently in progress at Sebastien Boyesen Environmental Design is the pattern making for the major New Battle of Britain Memorial to be sited outside County Hall in London.

'The sculpture of the dancers required over 140 hours of machining using less than 10 cutters.

Powered to 1.4HP by a new governed turbine drive, the new light E Series unit with a 2.5' extension from Air Turbine Tools enables users to work tight areas, finishing faster and cleaner.

Powered to 1.4HP by a new governed turbine drive, the new light E Series unit with a 2.5' extension from Air Turbine Tools enables users to work tight areas, finishing faster and cleaner. The Double turbines put the power in the users hand with far lower vibration and weight than traditional vane tools. The E series consists of four lightweight models, the 204XDME, 203XDME, 230XDME and 525XDME.

The E Extended Reach Series are powerful, light, low vibration units with rugged construction, operating under 67dBa.

Torque and speed stay high under load producing governed constant high speeds from 25,000 rpm to 50,000 rpm up to 80% of light Air Turbine Tools rated horsepower.

The result is faster finishing with less operator stress and RSI injury risk.

Better cutting action and longer tool life result from work with high speeds that don't drop under load.

No lubrication, oiling or maintenance is required with Air Turbine Tools.

Elimination of lubrication costs, part cleaning, corrosion and workplace air pollution from oil mist are other additional advantages.

No vanes or gears to vibrate or repair.

That means greater reliability and lower operating costs.

The motor governor is efficient using only the required power which reduces compressed air consumption up to 30% when compared to typical vane tools.

Special features of the E Series include: - Double front bearings provide added durability when applying lateral loads on the unit.

- 2.5' front extension - Double Turbine Power (patent pending) From weld grinding in the ship building industry and auto parts fabrication, E Series tools like the 230XDME tool, are well suited for parts cleaning, polishing and grinding applications where a longer reach into cavities is necessary.

Paul Jones, Jamie Griffiths and Robert Williams, of FSG Tool and Die, based in Pontypridd, all won national recognition for their skills and achievements at the GTMA Apprentice of the Year awards.

Paul Jones, Jamie Griffiths and Robert Williams, of FSG Tool and Die, based at Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd, all won national recognition for their skills and achievements at the GTMA Apprentice of the Year awards. Paul was awarded the Nicholas Van Moppes Trophy and a cheque for £300 which was presented by Roger Onions, GTMA President, and Adrian Nicklin, Engineering Process Director, Wagon Automotive, while Robert and Jamie were both awarded Certificates of Merit. Paul, who lives in Treorchy and went to school at Treorchy Comprehensive, is currently studying at the University of Glamorgan and is in the final year of his apprenticeship, which he expects to complete in August 2005.

He has been with FSG since October 2001 and has been trained in all aspects of machining in a tool-room environment, but is currently specialising in CNC milling.

When taking a break from work and studies Paul enjoys cycling, watching sport, music and reading.

FSG MD, Gareth Jenkins, commented, 'Paul is a very diligent worker and is very focused.

He consistently produces excellent work, has fitted in well with FSG staff and has already been earmarked as the main operator on an additional CNC machine intended for the milling section.

He has also continued to excel with his Engineering studies and is set to complete his HNC in Mechanical Engineering in June.' Founded in 1961, FSG flies the flag for Wales as a market leader in the design and manufacture of precision toolmaking.

The company has particular expertise in the automotive markets, metal and plastic packaging, hot forging and press tools.

A world Class accredited ISO9001 Company, with over 65 employees, offering the very latest in 3D CADCAM facilities and automated manufacturing processes, FSG provides its customers with excellent service and product quality.

Two further Correa CNC machining centres have been ordered by Brookhouse Holdings plc, of Darwen to meet the increasing demand for precision tooling for the civil and military aerospace, automotive an

Two further Correa CNC machining centres have been ordered byBrookhouse Holdings plc, of Darwen to meet the increasing demandfor precision tooling for the civil and military aerospace,automotive and general engineering sectors. The two new machinetools will complement five large milling machines already inoperation at Brookhouse Patterns and Brookhouse SPD, theGroup's tooling companies, but will now add 5-axiscapability The new 5-axis machining centre is a Correa FP 50/50,which is of the double column bridge type. It has a workingenvelope of 5m x 3.25m x 1.25m and is scheduled for commissioningin November 2003, after installation at Brookhouse's IndiaMill factory in Darwen.

The other machine is of the fixed bed,travelling column design and offers full 3-axis, CNC capability.It has a working envelope of 2m x 0.8m x 0.8m and will beinstalled immediately at Brookhouse SPD in Tameside.

AllBrookhouse large-scale machine tools enjoy full, integrated CADsupport.

They are all networked to CAD stations and PCs to allowCAD files, in virtually any protocol, to be received fromcustomers by e-mail, FTP, ISDN or tapes and transferred directlyto Brookhouse's Catia V4 and V5 workstations.

After designapproval, on-shop RTM programming software is used to producemanufacturing programmes which can then be downloaded to theappropriate machining centre.

Brookhouse Holdings plc encompassesa number of companies, which together provide the expertise,facilities and resources in design and manufacture to meet theextremely high demands of today's aerospace sector and thegeneral engineering industry.

This total capability includes theproduction of all aspects of tooling in both composite materialsand metals, the precision engineering of tooling, jigs andfixtures, and the manufacture and repair of composite andmetallic components to international approval standards.

Our first-ever survey of the polyurethane processing equipment manufacturers elicited responses from 28 of the world's leading polyurethane machinery makers, with most of the top names responding to our questionnaire, at least in part.

Some of those responding gave comprehensive details of their activities, down to tenths of a percent in regional sales in the case of Gala Industries Inc. Others barely acknowledged their names and headquarters locations, while a few failed to respond at all, despite being contacted several times.

There is a psychological condition that sometimes overtakes travellers. They feel invincible in a foreign country, as though, being away from home, the normal restraints on their conduct no longer apply. Any rational observer would know that this approach is naive and fraught with potential danger, but somehow, being away from the familiar constraints of the home jurisdiction is dangerously liberating.

There may be some element of this syndrome which applies to lawyers who practise occasionally in other jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction has its own set of ethical rules and codes of conduct. There are many common elements among them.