Around the Industry

In most places of employment there can be a potential threat to health and safety from airborne particulates and aerosols. It is important to note, however, that dust hazards are not necessarily visible to the human eye and that the finest particles can represent the greatest threat because of their ability to travel deepest into the lungs. Effective monitoring is therefore key to the implementation of an effective risk management strategy.

  Beginning in April 2018, Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, will increase the production capacity of its DAILUBE extreme pressure additives by 6,000 tons per annum at its eco-friendly plant in Kashima, Japan. 

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest has sold two engineering test stations – a T5830ES and a T5833ES system – to Tsinghua University, the top academic institution in China, in the latest business dealing between the two organisations.

  In order to keep up with growing demand and diversifying product requirements, LASER COMPONENTS' partner Holo/OR has announced a number of new developments to its production facility. As well as general refurbishments to maintain consistent high quality production, new machines have also been installed.

  In an effort to continue to grow their business in existing and new markets, a live and on-demand sports streaming service called DAZN wanted a fast, low maintenance way to enable their small data team to run predictive analytics and machine learning projects at scale.

Europeans urgently need to find another solution, because of the ban on imports of European plastic waste impeded by China at the beginning of 2018. The EU commission, for example, is considering a ‘plastics tax’. An EU directive against lightweight plastic carrier bags has already contributed to a reduction of consumption in many countries. Until 2030, all packaging in the EU ought to be reusable and made of recyclable materials.

The production capacity of EOS has been expanded and its system manufacturing facilities relocated to Maisach-Gerlinden, just west of Munich, and closer to its headquarters in Krailling. With the new facility measuring 9,000 square meters, EOS is boosting its production capacity in 2018 and is now capable of manufacturing up to approximately 1,000 systems per year.

  Analysts at IDTechEx have appraised the technology and potential commercialisation of triboelectrics, which is a new form of energy harvesting based on similar materials and think there is potential for partnerships. There has been considerable progress with self-healing polymers just lately, with the researchers dreaming of use in regular tires and phones.

The construction of the London Underground is often considered an engineering marvel, but we often forget the little miracles that happen on a day to day basis. Case in point - the story of a group of Transport for London (TfL) maintenance engineers who journeyed in the summer to Hertfordshire’s ultra-modern Learn to Weld Technical Training Centre (TTC) with no welding knowledge whatsoever, and returned to London as qualified welders. And this was all completed within one week.

Engineers are always looking for alternatives to chemicals that might have health concerns or cause environmental damage.Worries abound: from long-term health effects, to environmental implications to economic considerations, these all have had a huge impact on the manner in which industry cleans. Regulations and guidelines can be bewildering especially with the laws continually changing and redefining the choices companies can and can’t use.