Tooling Intelligence supports ITC at Progressive Apprentice Academy
Release Date: 03/19/2025
UK’s SMEs say ‘apprentices are the solution to UK’s skills gap crisis’
MTD Audiobook
Over 80% of the UK’s SMEs believe apprenticeships are at least partly the solution to the UK’s skills gap crisis, with a further 69% of the view apprenticeships are a ‘valuable alternative to university’ Four in 10 (44%) feel not enough is being done to encourage young people to consider apprenticeships. The findings are taken from the latest independent research commissioned by Close Brothers Asset Finance and are in support of National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), which highlights the positive impact that apprenticeships make on individuals, businesses and the wider economy....
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Tooling Intelligence supports ITC at Progressive Apprentice Academy
MTD Audiobook
Edging closer to its 50th anniversary, the Progressive Technology Group has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last decade. Founded in 1977, the relocation to larger premises in 2013 was one of the many catalysts for the Newbury company’s decade-long growth. Opening multiple new divisions and branching into new markets, the company now employs more than 250 staff. Among its accolades are many prestigious awards from AMG Petronas and Rolls-Royce, to name a few. However, this pedigree cannot be bought; it is embedded in the company’s culture, with Progressive Technology opening its Apprentice...
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Rebirth of a classic British motorcycle
MTD Audiobook
The Brough Superior, a classic British motorcycle designed by George Brough in 1919 and manufactured in Nottingham, was of such high quality that it was dubbed the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles. One famous customer, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), owned eight and died in 1935 from injuries sustained when he crashed number seven. The design was beautiful and practical, and a sidecar was often added. Although the factory closed after the Second World War, enthusiasts have ensured the name survives. In 2004, around 1,000 original Brough Superior motorcycles still existed. The brand is regularly...
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Mastering difficult-to-cut aerospace materials
MTD Audiobook
Difficult-to-cut materials are defined as engineering materials with significantly lower machinability than typical. These materials are often referred to in shoptalk as ‘hard-to-machine,’ ‘tough-to-cut,’ or even ‘nasty.’ It is important to note that high hardness is not the only characteristic that makes these materials challenging to machine; several other factors contribute to their machining difficulties. Every industrial branch, in one way or another, must deal with such materials. However, the leading consumer of these materials is the aerospace industry. It is in this...
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Kennametal revs up innovation with 3D printed tools
MTD Audiobook
Building on the success of their award-winning 3D-printed stator bore tool for electric vehicle machining, Kennametal has developed an innovative 3D-printed transmission housing tool for Voith that cuts weight by approximately 45% and reduces machining time by approximately 50%. As transportation components become increasingly more sophisticated and the requirements more stringent, manufacturers need complex tooling solutions to machine those components. That poses a challenge as the weight of such tooling can become too heavy for efficient operation on machining centres, tool changers and...
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Incentives needed to ease bumpy ride along Electric Avenue
MTD Audiobook
The electrification transition and inflexible EV production quotas are taking a heavy toll on the automotive industry, but buses and commercial vehicles posted their best years since 2008. Will Stirling reports. MTD magazine is unwaveringly positive in its coverage of manufacturing news, but facts are facts: automotive manufacturing is on a downward slide. Combining cars and commercial vehicles (CVs), the UK produced 905,233 units in 2024, -11.8% from 2023, and slipping below the psychologically important one million units mark. Electric vehicles now comprise over one-fifth of all new car...
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hyperMILL lights up productivity gains for medical manufacturer
MTD Audiobook
Opening its doors with just four toolmakers 50 years ago, Smithstown Light Engineering Ltd is now a business with three manufacturing sites and over 165 employees. Working with the world’s leading medical device and orthopaedic companies, Smithstown extensively uses OPEN MIND Technologies‘ hyperMILL CAD/CAM suite to streamline its throughput and maximise efficiency. Initially a toolmaking business supplying plastic injection moulds to the electronics industry, the Shannon-based business transitioned to medical manufacturing in 1990—and it hasn’t looked back since. With two sites in...
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Fast, versatile machine wins
MTD Audiobook
Michael Phillips, joint owner with partner Wayne Robins of contract machining firm Atomic Precision, describes their recently purchased, Japanese-built Brother Speedio U500Xd1 as ‘a Swiss army knife of 5-axis machining centres.’ His comment is due to the 30-taper machine’s high quality, versatile functionality, compactness, and ability to complete an extensive range of jobs quickly and efficiently. Brother machines are sold and serviced in the UK and Ireland by Whitehouse Machine Tools, Kenilworth. Founded in East Hendred, Oxfordshire, in 2020 by the two time-served mechanical...
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Engineered in record time
MTD Audiobook
Engines were already being built at the site in Zafra in 1875, where DEUTZ today has its main factory for processing engine components. Around 500 employees in modern manufacturing facilities produce engine blocks, cylinder blocks, connecting rods, and gears for the Group’s assembly lines in Cologne and Ulm. DEUTZ’s new 3.9-litre diesel engine is mostly used in agricultural and construction machines. It is designed for long service life as an industrial engine and will be built until at least 2035. Series production will start in the coming year after the current prototype phase....
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Automation delivers results
MTD Audiobook
Mills CNC has recently supplied Ayrshire Precision, a subcontract specialist based in Ayrshire, with two new SYNERGi systems. The systems, both derivations and highly customised versions of Mills’ standard SYNERGi ‘SPRINT’ solutions, were installed at Ayrshire Precision’s 14,000sq/ft site. In 2023, the first system was retrofitted to a Puma 2600SY lathe, and six months later, the second was retrofitted to a Puma 2100SY. SYNERGi Sprint automation systems are compact, flexible, and cost-effective. Mills’ dedicated automation experts can integrate them with DN Solutions’ lathes,...
info_outlineEdging closer to its 50th anniversary, the Progressive Technology Group has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last decade. Founded in 1977, the relocation to larger premises in 2013 was one of the many catalysts for the Newbury company’s decade-long growth.
Opening multiple new divisions and branching into new markets, the company now employs more than 250 staff. Among its accolades are many prestigious awards from AMG Petronas and Rolls-Royce, to name a few. However, this pedigree cannot be bought; it is embedded in the company’s culture, with Progressive Technology opening its Apprentice Academy in 2015. In this bedrock for developing the talent of tomorrow, Tooling Intelligence Ltd has just donated a SmartDrawer® vending solution.
The impressive Apprentice Academy at Progressive Technology enlisted 18 apprentices as part of its 2024 cohort, and this production line of talent nurturing has contributed significantly to the business’s ongoing success. Aiming to mirror the high-tech manufacturing facilities, the Apprentice Academy has a complete range of technologies, from simple two and 3-axis manual machines to high-end 3 to 5-axis multi-functional machine tools. Three full-time trainers and a classroom with PCs support academic and computer-based training. Part of this progression from apprentice to a skilled engineer in an advanced manufacturing facility includes using high-end cutting tools and the associated inventory management systems.
With technical partner Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC), Tooling Intelligence installed its first vending solution at the ISO:9001 and AS:9100 subcontract outfit in 2014. The success of this first SmartDrawer® system led to a second installation in 2016 and a third in September 2024.
The versatile SmartDrawer® system from Tooling Intelligence is a drawer system that is completely configurable to the end user’s requirements. Using smart technology, the SmartDrawer® can dispense single or multiple items with reliable, accurate, and monitored inventory control, giving the end user complete visibility and control of its supply chain. The benefits of the SmartDrawer® were evident at Progressive Technology, and this is why the company rapidly adopted additional systems when shop floor inventory management required them.
The SmartDrawer®, which comprises individually locked compartments controlled by a user-friendly touchscreen interface, provides ‘self-serve’ access to consumables, equipment, and cutting tools. This has enabled Progressive Technology to manage, monitor, and control its cutting tool consumption with greater visibility while automatically re-ordering stock to ensure the right tool is always available. With a complete audit trail, the SmartDrawer® provides visibility regarding which employee uses which specific item and where and when it is used. With apprentices destined to enter the advanced production facilities in the future, understanding the inventory management process at the West Berkshire company is essential. This is why Tooling Intelligence has made such a generous contribution.
The December 2024 arrival of the SmartDrawer® in the Apprentice Academy was installation number four, with the fifth SmartDrawer® being installed simultaneously on the shop floor of the 24/7 manufacturing site. As part of Tooling Intelligence’s donation, ITC has supported the installation with a selection of regularly used cutting tools for the Apprentice Academy. Included are a complete selection of solid carbide and indexable milling and turning tools. The apprentices now have access to the consumables they require as and when they need them from a single source system.
Commenting upon the installation, Tooling Intelligence’s Managing Director, Richard Swaffield, says: “We are delighted to support such a valuable customer in their growth journey over the last 10 years. An industry-leading subcontract manufacturer’s repeat business for over a decade is a testament to how our SmartDrawer® system delivers an inventory management system that is bespoke to the demands of each customer. Since investing in its first SmartDrawer®, Progressive Technology has witnessed cost savings, improved inventory management and control, and complete visibility over what products are used and when. This level of insight is essential for the future of any modern manufacturing business. This is why we have donated a SmartDrawer® to the Apprentice Academy at Progressive – the talent of tomorrow needs a complete understanding of the benefits of effective inventory management as well as the implications of not managing your supply chain.”