GTMA set agenda for Advanced Engineering 2014

CEO, Julia Moore, states: “As a UK-based trade association representing leading companies in precision engineering, rapid product development, toolmaking, tooling technologies, metrology and other critical manufacturing related products and services, the umbrella of the Advanced Engineering UK show, covering aerospace, composite, automotive, electronics and performance metals, provides us with the ideal opportunity to highlight the projects and initiatives the association has recently developed.”

In partnership with the AMRC, the GTMA has launched a suite of CNC training courses that cover from introductory level right through to advanced level. Specifically tailored to ensure all candidates acquire and develop the required skills in CNC milling and turning to perform at the highest level in today’s modern engineering environment, the objective at each course level is to make sure that attendees have access to one of the world’s most advanced training programmes.

Designed for the toolmaking and precision machining industries, Julia Moore, explains that the new courses are structured into three stages. She says: “Courses start at introductory level, which has been designed to meet the needs of candidates that have an appreciation of manual machining and a desire to up-skill and expand their abilities.”

Developed to offer customers a unique turnkey solution for procurement, Julia Moore points out that the UKTA will provide a well-resourced and versatile capability to customers, supporting the growing trend for OEMs to use local suppliers and services.
It comprises of a number of toolmakers with a variety of capacity and technical capabilities to present a unified credible supplier front with far more to offer than any single company. Supporting the toolmakers, which have a wide range of expertise and the ability to handle tools ranging from micro to 10 tonnes capacity, it will secure projects and engage them in Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) and introduced what is termed a ‘total care package’ at the design development stage.

Says Julia Moore: “It is the aim of the UKTA to achieve a ‘right first time tool’ and ‘right first time moulded part’ for the manufacturer. ESI brings the toolmakers’ unique technical knowledge on the manufacture of tooling in at the correct stage of the concept design. It should be recognised that 80 per cent of the manufacturing cost of a new product is determined by the product and tooling design."

The GTMA recognises that UK-based OEMs want to source new parts locally and even wish to re-shore projects that were located overseas. “UKTA will open up new opportunities for the partner companies. With a potential complement of more than 100 individual toolmakers from world-class companies and a combined turnover of over £20 million we can address the needs of any manufacturing business, whatever the scale,” Julia Moore claims.

Continued improvement of the Incremental Sheetmetal Forming (ISF) project has resulted in a number of projects being developed for a number of industrial partners. However, these are subject to Non Disclosure Agreements. As a sheet forming process suited to low volume and one-off manufacture, the GTMA’s ISF uses an industrial robot to apply a very small tool contact area to achieve controlled deformation with low applied loads and very high accuracy. The tooling costs and lead times are a fraction of what is currently used in traditional sheet forming operations.  This innovative technology will bring direct benefits to component suppliers through the supply chain to the OEMs.

With GTMA’s links to OEMs and first tier suppliers the association acts as a conduit between the ‘wants’ of the OEM industry and the capabilities of the engineering businesses in the UK. “Our work with OEMs and Tier 1s has seen initiatives to raise standards in our membership base, which is now seen as a valuable resource for buyers building manufacturing supply chains. We play an active part in enhancing supply chain performance, that includes dealing with Supply Chain Development, internal supply chain audits and external evaluation,” Julia Moore concludes.