Uk - Visi software supports this toolmaker with detailed tailored functions and automated algorithms for the design process. On the shopfloor, automatic feature recognition algorithms detect regular geometries and automatically generates the necessary NC data, maintaining company standards.

Spain – Now available from the exclusive UK and Eire agent, Warwick Machine Tools, the new range of ONA AV wire EDM machines is part of the Spanish company’s strategic plan to improve current product competitiveness with the introduction of high performance ‘Premium’ machines that was initially established with the recent launch of the highly capable QX die sink CNC EDM range.

UK - Machining tool steel die nests is a complex operation at the best of times. A particularly intricate job used to be a loss-making operation for a UK-based toolmaking firm. But now the purchase of a 5-axis machine is said to save enough time to make the process profitable.

Germany – Additive manufacturing is booming with worldwide sales in 2016 forecast to increase by around 30% to more than US$7bn. An industry pioneer is Concept Laser of Lichtenfels, Germany. The company continues to lead today, now with its vision of the “AM Factory of Tomorrow”.

The German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) and Messe Erfurt want to meld, step-by-step, their exhibitions, which are Metav and Rapid-Tech and Fab-Con 3D, journalist Walter Frick reports.

Utilising Stratasys’ PolyJet technology, Unilever 3D prints injection mould tools to create prototype parts in final material. It reportedly slashed lead times for prototype parts by 40%

Hermle offers an alternative process to laser sintering in the shape of the MPA technology. This involves a form of thermal injection, in which powder particles are accelerated to very high speeds using a carrier gas and directed onto the substrate with a nozzle.

Belgium – The combination of a laser scanner and co-ordinate measuring machine has proved to be the answer to the challenge a UK-based diecasting company was facing in bringing its products to market faster and reducing development costs.

Like most European manufacturers, Portuguese mould makers are unable to compete on price alone. Those who take advantage of the latest technology, such as a combination of EDM technology and high-speed machining, will have an edge up on the competition.

The medium-sized Knarr Group, located in Helmbrechts, Germany, is a tool and mould-maker that manufactures and supplies all standard parts through to complete mould bases according to customer requirements. In addition to the company’s highly motivated employees, its modern machine tools and its CAM system provide the basis for the company’s steadily growing business success.