June 2019

THE SCHAEFFLER GROUP has agreed to sell the Plymouth-based bearings-maker The Barden Corporation (UK), to another German bearings manufacturer, HQW, for an undisclosed sum. The Plymouth plant will continue to operate without significant changes for employees or customers, and Barden will remain a supplier to Schaeffler as well as to third-party customers. Schaeffler had originally planned to shut the Barden plant with the loss of 350 jobs as part of a major reorganisation of its UK activities, announced last November and aimed at halving its UK workforce. It had originally proposed closing two of its three UK plants, relocating their production, and combining its two UK logistics centres in Hereford. The closure of one of the plants in Llanelli, Wales, was confirmed in January and the merger of the two logistics centres is on schedule for July. Under the sale agreement, HQW will use the Barden brand worldwide except for America, where it will continue to be used by Schaeffler. At present, the Plymouth site mainly produces spindle bearings and machine parts for Schaeffler’s industrial division, as well as super- precision bearings for the aerospace and defence industries. Barden UK will continue to be a supplier to Schaeffler under a separate supply agreement. Schaeffler sale saves its UK bearings subsidiary Barden from closure FERRARI HAS CHOSEN the UK electric motor manufacturer Yasa to supply the motors for its first series production hybrid sportscar – the 340km/h SF90 Stradale. Each vehicle will contain three motors, with a combined capacity of 162kW, helping to propel the  four-wheel-drive vehicle to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, and 200 km/h in 6.7s. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’s main power source will be a 4-litre, V8 internal combustion engine rated at 574kW and capable of producing 800Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm. Together, the motors and engine will deliver 1,000 horsepower. The on-board 7.9kWh lithium-ion battery will be able to achieve an electric-only range of 25km at speeds of up to 135km/h, via the front wheels. Two of the motors are located on the front axle and control the torque delivered to the front wheels independently, using torque vectoring to manage traction when cornering. The third motor, located between the engine and gearbox at the rear, uses Formula 1 kinetic technology. The motors and their inverters are cooled by a dedicated circuit with its own radiator at the front of the car, and an intake on the front bumper. Under normal braking, energy recovery via the motors will be the priority, but under hard braking, an hydraulic system will join in. Yasa has produced a customised version of its axial-flux motor technology for Ferrari, with a “world-leading” power density of 14kW/kg. The motors will be built at its plant in Oxford. “We’ve worked closely with Ferrari over the past 2½ years to develop a custom solution that meets their unique performance requirements,” says Yasa CEO, Chris Harris. “Through this long- term collaboration, we are helping to set the bar for high-performance electric driving experiences.” Ferrari picks UK motors for its 340km/h hybrid sportscar Ferrari’s SF90 Stradale hybrid electric sportscar will be partially powered by three UK-built axial-flux motors n NEWS 4 June 2019 www.drivesncontrols.com p The Variohm Group has acquired the Gloucester-based sensor-maker, Positek , for an undisclosed sum. Positek, becomes the fifth member of the Variohm Group, taking its total headcount to more than 190. Positek, which was established more than 25 years ago, designs and makes linear, rotary and tilt sensors. It has developed a patented non-contact inductive position sensor technology. As well as standard products, it offers customised sensors. Positek’s commercial director Mark Spreadbury and production director Robert Munn will continue to manage the team. p Hitachi is buying the US-based robotic systems integrator, JR Automation Technologies , for $1.425m. JR, founded in 1980, builds production lines and logistics systems that use industrial robots. It claims to be North America’s largest independent supplier of custom automation systems, and employs more than 2,000 people at 23 locations worldwide. It has been growing by more than 20% a year for the past three years to achieve revenues of $603m in 2018. p Bournemouth-based Motion Control Products has been appointed UK distributor for the US-based servodrive specialist Advanced Motion Controls (AMC). p The Manufacturing Growth Programme , which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, has been extended until September 2021, helping a further 2,400 UK companies to tackle barriers to growth, and potentially creating 2,500 new jobs. The £11.8m of extra funding will be used create action plans, as well as providing improvements grants starting at £1,000. www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk p Two Brazilian companies, the motor-maker WEG and the aircraft-builder Embraer , have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop technologies for electric propulsion of aircraft. After developing and testing technologies in the lab, they will install them in a single-engine aircraft which they hope to start flying next year. p Murrelektronik has opened a new 3754,38m² r&d centre at its headquarters near Stuttgart, Germany. The centre includes a workshop for trainees and students. p A Scottish company has beaten off competition from 445 entries from 32 countries to win this year’s €5,000 manus award for innovative uses for plastic bearings. Aberdeen-based ToolTec received the award from igus for a device that allows operators of offshore platforms to clean and inspect risers and pipelines remotely, without using divers. ToolTec’s device wraps around the pipe and moves on rollers, cleaning the pipeline and inspecting it for weaknesses as it goes. p The Manufacturing Technology Centre has launched a team of manufacturing experts and research engineers to help UK businesses to improve productivity, processes and efficiency. The System Architecture team will identify bottlenecks, and find areas where technology could help cut costs, increase safety, save time or improve productivity.