Big Ben! Parliament! Advanced Manufacturing!
The Rolls-Royce Trent 900 aircraft engine, which made its debut in the Advanced Manufacturing Center display at IMTS 2010, was recently displayed in front of the House of Parliament as an example of high-value manufacturing.
Recently, visitors to the Houses of Parliament in London were presented with an outdoor display of high-value manufacturing technology. The display included the front-fan assembly from the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 aircraft engine, shown here in front of the landmark clock tower that holds the famous bell, “Big Ben.” Attendees at IMTS 2010 may remember this fan assembly, which made its debut appearance at the show in the Advanced Manufacturing Center display.
The Trent fan assembly contains a number of key components manufactured with innovative methods pioneered at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in partnership with Boeing. The fan set and AMRC’s MANTRA truck, a mobile showcase for advanced engineering, were parked within the grounds of the Palace of Westminster to celebrate the AMRC’s 10th anniversary. Members of Parliament and other visitors could inspect the high level of craftsmanship and engineering capability these displays represent. The AMRC also presented its work at an exhibition and seminar at the Palace, alongside displays from Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Boeing and other research partners working with the AMRC in the new High Value Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre. The event aimed to highlight the importance of high-value manufacturing to the UK economy.
To learn more about the AMRC and a similar facility that will soon to be added to this network in the United States—the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) in Petersburg, Virginia—read this article, Making Research Real, which was featured in Modern Machine Shop magazine.
Related Content
-
Digital Twins Give CNC Machining a Head Start
Model-based manufacturing and the digital thread enable Sikorsky to reduce lead times by machining helicopter components before designs are finalized.
-
Best Practices: Machining Difficult Materials
Cutting hardened steel, titanium and other difficult materials requires picking the right tools, eliminating spindle runout and relying on best practices to achieve tight part tolerances.
-
How to Turn Machine Shop Downtime Into Process Expertise
To take advantage of a lull in business, JR Machine devised a week-long cutting tool event that elevated the shop’s capabilities with aerospace alloys.