MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Keighley Laboratories trains the next generation Enjoying an excellent start to 2012 and scheduled to start work on a new factory extension this summer, Keighley Laboratories is keen to recruit and train its next generation of skilled heat treatment technicians and metallurgists to pave the way for further growth.
positions. Two of Keighley Laboratories’ bright young prospects are enrolled on the new BTEC Diploma in manufacturing engineering at Bradford College, while the company is currently training a cohort of three apprentices and maintains an in-house programme of skills training and career development. Debbie Mellor, MD of Keighly Labs, is an enthusiastic
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supporter of the new BTEC Level 3 Diploma in manufacturing engineering. Redesigned in collaboration with members of the Contract Heat Treatment Association and revised to fit the new Qualifications & Credit Framework, which cumulatively awards credits for individual learning units, the course now includes modules relevant to metallurgy and heat treatment, including the structure and properties of metals, mechanical and thermal treatment, and metallurgical techniques. Keighley Labs has enrolled one trainee from induction hardening and another from its inspection department on the two year programme, in the pilot intake of a dozen sponsored students, and expects to fund
ith many of its qualified staff approaching retirement age over the next decade, succession planning is now a priority for identifying and developing personnel with the potential to fill future leadership
another two people each year. Although some of the thermal heat treatment processes are
still physically demanding, Keighley Laboratories’ work involves a growing number of high technology roles that would appeal to today’s computer generation. These include the application of spectroscopy to the analysis of metal components, the use of metallographic microscopes for examining the microstructure of specimens, the programming of PLC-controlled furnace processing routines, the skilled operation of non-destructive testing and inspection instruments and, when the new factory building comes on stream, the introduction of ‘cleaner’ heat treatment processes. “Since we work with advanced industries like aerospace,
automotive, energy, defence and petrochemicals, Keighley Labs and the heat treatment sector generally need the skilled technicians, metallurgists and managers of tomorrow and can offer properly-defined career paths,” explains Debbie Mellor. “Nowadays, apprenticeships are not about training people to do a single job for life, they are about unlocking their full personal potential. After all, I started as an office junior and progressed to become managing director.”
New NOF high performance topcoats With the aim of expanding its topcoat range (PLUS®
, DACROLUB® L
quality of each rolling operation; and less handling, eliminating possibility of mixing parts. Videx highlights that both stations have controlled thread rolling start, hydraulic clamping, zero-taper mechanism for parallel threads and micrometric thread pressure screws, as well as an AC speed controller, automatic air shut-off and two operator control panels.
V 106 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 76 July 2012 ike other topcoats it is applied onto GEOMET® 321 or 500
zinc flake coatings, thus enabling the increase, with a very thin layer, of the anti-corrosion performance of coated parts while providing new features. The new features of
the GEOKOTE® range includes resistance to chemicals, controlled
tribological properties, as well as additional anti-corrosion and abrasion performance. The GEOKOTE®
topcoat is also particularly well adapted for
manufacturers and users of fasteners (screws, nuts, tightening clips) by providing them optimal strength and mount-ability properties. The GEOKOTE®
topcoat also helps to avoid the
stick-slip effect when tightening. MGI COUTIER selects the GEOKOTE®
topcoat MGI COUTIER manufactures and assembles parts for the
automotive industry, such as door check straps that are highly stressed. The company wanted to develop a very high performing
Dual-spindle thread rollers
The new dual-spindle thread rollers from Videx Machine Engineering Ltd are designed to roll threads above and below the shoulder, with the possibility of the threads being either different or similar.
idex explains that the two heads are independent, eliminating influence of one on the other, enabling use of simple and economical rolling dies. Other advantages of the new dual-spindle thread rollers include independent adjustments assuring better quality of thread; high production speeds as the second operation does not slow down the machine; inexpensive tooling and full control of the
),
NOF METAL COATINGS GROUP recently launched its new GEOKOTE® line of topcoats.
anti-corrosion solution, even after very harsh use simulated by various test cycles. Two solutions were chosen - the application of a GEOMET® 321 coat and a clear or black GEOKOTE® topcoat. Mr Sébastien
Leclerc, project manager at MGI COUTIER explains: “We wanted a new coating combining both a strong corrosion and mechanical resistance. The GEOMET®
321 zinc flake coating with a GEOKOTE® topcoat provides us with the compromise sought
regarding the preservation of the corrosion performance after the numerous mechanical stresses exerted on parts. From the tests performed we have selected two options: a black topcoat and a clear topcoat.” The whole range of GEOKOTE®
It can be used with dip or spray processes on the lines of NOF METAL COATINGS GROUP’s global applicators network.
topcoats is available worldwide.
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