Headquartered at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, the AFRC is a collaborative venture between the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise, the UK government and several multinational engineering firms. DMG Mori is a Tier 1 member of the AFRC and the supply of the machines is part of its membership agreement. Other Tier 1 members include Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Timet, Barnes Group and Abert & Duval.
The £80 million AFRC, part of the government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, focuses on developing forming and forging technologies in support of the development of high integrity components.
With state-of-the-art machinery such as the DMG Mori technology, the organisation is able to carry out R&D on, and manufacture, tools, dies and moulds, with the principal aim being to help customers reduce cost and lead times, as well as improve functional performance.
For example, DMG Mori machine technology allows tools to be ‘refinished’, a process that sees surface cracks removed, with this prolonging the life of existing tools and delivering significant savings as new ones can cost in the region of £90,000. This capability is crucial to the processes being promoted and investigated by AFRC research engineers as they work to predict and extend tool life.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, AFRC machining lead, says: “DMG Mori is at the forefront of advanced solution-based machining technologies. It has an excellent reputation in the manufacturing sector and this influence will be invaluable when developing AFRC machining technologies.”
Looking to the future, Steve Finn, managing director of DMG Mori UK, adds: “We are committed to the development of high value manufacturing in the UK. By supporting the AFRC, we can bring our expertise to bear within the forming industry, throwing a new light on the advanced and radical techniques that are possible.”
• In related news, David Jones has been appointed interim CEO for the AFRC, replacing Archie MacPherson, who, after three successful years, left the AFRC for Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) in January. Jones, who has over 25 years’ experience in senior roles within metals and advanced materials-focused businesses, will take on many of MacPherson’s responsibilities and will work closely with the AFRC's executive team to continue to move the organisation forward, in line with its business plan.
