Calling all those in Mining, Geology and Recycling

We are delighted to announce that our second EMC Industrial Solutions Breakfast will be held at Plymouth University on Tuesday 18 February. We will be running a number of breakfast events throughout 2014, each one aimed at demonstrating the relevance and value of Electron Microscopy to a particular business sector or group of sectors.

This event is designed particularly for those in Mining, Geology and Recycling businesses, and will feature the following keynote speakers:

• James Strongman - Co-Director of PetroLab and prolific electron microscopy user
• Keith Taylor - Sales Engineer of Oxford Instruments, with particular expertise in electron microscopy

We will be looking at business issues such as:

• troubleshooting production issues
• improving quality control
• identifying contaminants
• verifying product composition
• checking waste residues

... and the use of electron microscopy as an essential tool to help resolve these and other issues affecting your business.

There will also be an opportunity to:

• look around our facilities and speak to our technical staff
• bring along your company's samples for analysis
• start your 12 hours of free support from the EMC (part-funded by ERDF).

To book, please register online:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EMC_workshop_18thFeb

Alternatively, please contact:
events@plymouth.ac.uk or 01752 586005

Industrial Solutions Breakfasts update

We held our first 2014 Industrial Solutions breakfast last week, aimed at demonstrating the relevance of electron microscopy to the engineering and manufacturing sector - thank you to all those who attended and contributed to our first event; it went extremely well.

Delegates enjoyed a hearty breakfast of breakfast-rolls, danishes and fruit in our Rolle Conference Suite, followed by our two key-note presentations from Dr Cameron Pleydell-Pearce (Tata Steel) and Richard Bartlett (Centrax) who focussed on how they have used electron microscopy in business to increase quality and reduce waste, amongst other benefits (for a copy of the presentations, please contact Claire Pearce - claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk) .

Delegates then took a tour of the Materials Characterisation Lab and the Electron Microscopy Centre, which has seen £1.3 million of investment over the last two years, supported by Plymouth University, JEOL and the ERDF Competitiveness programme, with networking continuing throughout.
  

Two companies brought samples for analysis on the day and others signed up for our ERDF-supported use of the Electron Microscopy Centre for 12 hours over the next year.

Our next Industrial Solutions breakfast will take place at Plymouth University on Tuesday 18 February, starting at 08.00;  the focus will be electron microscopy in MINING, RECYCLING AND GEOLOGY.  Watch this space for more details ...,

Speaker details for Wednesday 15 January - have you booked your place yet?

We're pleased to give you a brief summary of our two speakers for next Wednesday’s breakfast. As you can see they have a great deal of practical experience in using electron microscopy to make a difference in the companies they have worked with; this success could be applied to your business, with the support of the PEMC:

Dr Cameron Pleydell-Pearce - Tata Steel Lecturer at Swansea University
Before undertaking his current role, Cameron trained as a materials engineer at Swansea University in an environment of strong industrial–academic collaboration, particularly with Rolls-Royce plc. During this time he developed a strong interest in electron microscopy and micro-analysis. Following his PhD, which was focussed on novel joining techniques for Rolls-Royce, he accepted a post-doctoral position in their Swansea University Technology Centre, in 2007. Here he worked on a variety of projects from fundamental studies on titanium alloys in partnership with Timet UK to material validations for the Trent 1000 and XWB series engines.

Cameron has used his experience in electron microscopy to benefit a wide range of companies on a consultancy basis from the power generation, aerospace and automotive sectors. In his current position Cameron works within the South Wales metallurgical industry on a daily basis and continues to employ electron microscopy techniques to solve a wide range of manufacturing and maintenance issues.  Cameron is currently directing the construction of a multi-million pound electron microscopy facility that will be based on a new £250M innovation campus in South Wales.

Richard Bartlett - Materials Engineer at Centrax
Richard joined Centrax Turbine Components Ltd in 2012 as the Materials Engineer where he is responsible for materials testing and process validation for precision machined turbine components for aerospace engines and industrial gas turbine engines.

Upon graduating from Loughborough in 2002, he joined Perkins Engines Ltd in Peterborough, a diesel engine manufacturer, before moving to the south west in 2005 to join Alcoa Howmet Ltd in Exeter, working on the investment casting of turbine components for industrial gas turbine engines.
In 2010, he joined Fine Tubes Ltd in Plymouth, a precision tubing manufacturer and whilst there, introduced a new degreasing process using a non-chlorinated solvent.

Richard has worked with scanning electron microscopes since the start of his career at Perkins where he found it an absolutely fundamental part of their materials investigations; saving thousands of pounds per year is warranty claims alone. He has continued to add value through SEM ever since.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/EMC_workshop_15thJan