Bringing Big Company Technology to SMEs

It is with regret that the ‘Bringing Big Company Technology to SMEs’ event on Thursday 12 February at the PEMC has been cancelled - however, we will be having an exhibition stand at the WEAF Annual Conference 2015 at the Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare on Wednesday 25 February, so if you're thinking of attending, do pay us a visit.:

The 12 hours of free support that is available for SMEs in Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire currently ends in March 2015, so if you haven't yet used your time fully, please contact Claire to explore what can be done:

- Tel: 01752 588908

- Mob: 07738 858494

- Email: emc@plymouth.ac.uk

New speaker announced - Centrax Industries Ltd

We are pleased to confirm that Richard Bartlett, Materials Engineer at Centrax Industries Ltd, will be joining our panel of speakers on Thursday 12 February, for our joint event with WEAF at the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre.

The day's programme is shaping up as follows:

11.30 - Arrival and networking
12.00 - Welcome - Simon Young, Chief Executive, WEAF
12.10 - PEMC - practical examples of how we support business -and FREE support until 31 March 2015 - Claire Pearce, Project Manager, PEMC
12.20 - Using the technique of EBSD to make a difference to  your company - Kim Larsen, Oxford Instruments
12.40 - Precision micro-electronics for the aerospace and defence sctors - how we use electron microscopy for quality control - Victor Arghyrou, UTC Aerospace Systems
13.00 - What else we can do for you (funding, KTP) - Catherine Parnall, Plymouth University
13.10 - Lunch
14.10 - Turbine engineering for aerospace - how we use electron microscopy to analyse our materials - Richard Bartlett, Centrax Industries Ltd
14.30 - Aircraft material and accident investigations - Professor Neil James, Plymouth University
15.00 - Tour of the University technical facilities (PEMC, Materials Characterisation Lab) - Dr Roy Moate, Plymouth University
16.00 - Event close

To book your please, place to go the WEAF website.

Aerospace Event Postponed

Advanced Materials Characterisation – WEAF and the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre (PEMC)

Unfortunately, we have postponed next Wednesday’s joint event with WEAF at Plymouth University until the New Year - watch this space for details!

However, if you haven't already done so, please contact Claire Pearce to find out how electron microscopy could work for your company. The PEMC has funding up until March 2015 to give small companies in the south west 12 hours of free support – so please use your 12 hours to try us out!

• Tel: 07738 858494
• Tel: 01752 588908
• Email: claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk 

      

Ice cream, as you've never seen it before ...,

The fourth 2014 Industrial Solutions Event at Plymouth University's Electron Microscopy Centre was a great success!

We welcomed 16 ice cream producers to the University, with their ice cream samples, to find out how using electron microscopy could help their business by looking at their products' micro-structure and therefore understanding their ice cream product better.

Steve Furzeland, former Plymouth University student, and now working for Carl Zeiss, spoke about his time at Unilever, where he spent two years looking at the Magnum ice cream range with electron microscopy to help improve taste, texture, the aging process and stabilisation.

Following a mid-morning coffee, we visited the PEMC to see some live ice cream images, courtesy of the PEMC team; Pete Bond and Dr Roy Moate

and then went onto the University's Food Science department, where Dr Victor Kuri gave us an insight into his work with a range of food companies, including Burts Crisps, Rodda's Cream and Langage Farm, using KTP.

We even had a visit from Fitz of BBC Radio Devon and were featured on drive-time at 17.20 - listen again here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p021n0th

Due to the success of this event, we are planning to hold a repeat event for ice cream and other food producers on Wednesday 12 November 2014 - just in time for planning the 2015 product range. Please contact Claire if you would like a place at this free event:

• e: claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk
• t: 01752 588908
• m: 07738 858494

Ice cream at x250 magnification

Delegates Enjoy Composite Fracture Event

On the 27th June the EM Centre once again opened its doors to regional companies keen ot learn more about failure analysis of composites. 23 delegates from 13 different organisations from around the South West listened to academic and industrial speakers to gain knowledge about how Electron Microscopy fits into the toolbox for analysing the failure of compiste components.

Delegates had the chance to see their own samples analysed with experts on hand to give on the spot results and images.

Talks were given by Composite Innovations, the National Composite Centre, the Advanced Composite Manufacturing Centre and the Electorn Microscopy team. With the South West composite Gateway also in attendance, delegates had a great chance to talk to a wide range of composite support availble within the region all for free.

Keep an eye open on our events pages to hear about future Industrial Solutions events.

Programme for Composite Event Annonuced

On the 27th June the Electron Microscopy Centre is opening its doors to composite and plastics manufacturers. They are going to learn about failure modes in composite use and methods to help identify the failure causes. There are a last few places available so please email emc@plymouth.ac.uk to reserve your place. Please find travel details on our webpage.

Programme : Room Rolle 605a

  9.30              Coffee and Registration

  9.45              Welcome and Introduction – Dr Clare Tremlett, Plymouth University

10.00              Electron Microscopy Overview – Roy Moate, PEMC

                        Composite Failure Modes – Dr John Summerscales, ACMC

11.00              Coffee/Networking

11.20              Industrial Applications Presentations:

- Tim Searle – Composite Innovations

                        - Dr John Summerscales – Structural Composite Fracture Investigation

12.30                   Phase 2 National Composite Centre – Nigel Keen

            ERDF support for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises – Clare Tremlett

                                South West Innovation Vouchers – Richard Knight

12.35              Lunch/Networking

13.30              Lab Demonstrations and ACMC Tour. Delegates will be split into groups

You are welcome to bring a sample for analysis by prior arrangement.

Please note this programme is subject to change.

Composite Failure Analysis Seminar

27th June 2013

The subject of composite analysis has been widely requested among our industrial users. So to respond to this demand we are holding a Seminar on the 27th June 2013 to concentrate on this topic. We will be having a number of speakers in the morning from both the Electron Micrscopy Centre and the Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre; with delegates being split into groups for faciltity tours and analysis, after a networking lunch, in the afternoon.

The cost is free, but places are limited to 2 delegates per company, except by prior arrangment. To reserve your place, please email your contact details to emc@plymouth.ac.uk.

We will shortly be releasing news of more events centred around other uses of the technology, so please visit regularly for updates.

Automated Mineralogy Analysis at Plymouth EMC

On the 28th November, Oxford Instruments and the EMC are holding a demonstration of Oxford's new automated mineral identification and analysis software. With an overview in the morning and a practical demonstration on the new Electron Microscopes at Plymouth, INCA Mineral aims to demonstrate how the rapid automated software can identify, quanitfy, determine liberation amounts and particle sizes in geological samples.

For registration details, invite and programme for the day, please follow the relevant link.
If you are a Plymouth academic or researcher, please find details of a separate session being held on the morning of the 29th November by following the link here.

Please check back regularly for news of other forthcoming events. We will soon be announcing a day specifically aimed at the frozenn food and ice cream industry schedualed for the end of January 2013.

For further information or help, please email emc@plymouth.ac.uk, or ring the Enterprise Solutions Gateway on 0800 052 5600, and ask to speak to someone in the Electron Microscopy Centre.

Industrial Open Day attracts over 15 local businesses

On the 28th June 2012, the Electron Microscopy Centre opened its doors to local industry in the engineering and micro-electronics sectors.

As well as a short technical seminar from technique experts, delegates were given the opportunity to look at their own samples on the day, to find out directly how the technology could help them in their industrial sector.

More open days are being planned to cover composites, cryogenic (frozen) applications and others. Please check back regularly for updates.

Postponed - Biomedical Applications Event

Due to unforseen circumstance we are cancelling the event 'Biomedical Applications of Electron Microscopy' schedualed for the 29th June 2012. Please accept our sincere aplogies.

Continue to revisit this site regularly for information on the new date, or email
emc@plymouth.ac.uk subject: mailing list, to be added to the mailing list to be informed of future events.

Industrial Users Day

Thanks for everyones support in attending a very successful ‘Industrial Users Day’.

Following on so closely from the December event I was delighted to see over 45 delegates with representation from a wide variety of local businesses across the Advanced Engineering, Electronics, Marine and other sectors, and to welcome colleagues from a number of support organisations / sector groups including: SWMAS, CDC, Business Link, Tamar Science Park, Cornwall Marine Network and the Cornwall Manufacturers Forum.

Special thanks go to our guest speakers Richard Offer (Barden Aerospace & Super Precision) Victor Arghyrou (Atlantic Inertial Systems) Chris Boleman (X-Fab UK) and Janardhan Saithala (Fine Tubes Ltd), and to the companies (Heathcoat Fabrics, CENTRAX and Vygon UK) who presented posters.

The event clearly demonstrated the EMC’s role and value as a local resource supporting industry in areas such as failure analysis, materials properties and investigations of manufacturing processes. It was also clear that we must now plan for the future; enhancing our services, and ensuring we continue to develop the infrastructure needed to help both existing and new clients to strengthen their competitiveness.

We will continue to develop closer links with the industrial community and its representatives, and we look forward to working together with you in the future.

Dr R.M. Moate
Manager,Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre
University of Plymouth
Plymouth PL4 8AA
Tel: (01752) 584535 Fax:(01752) 233095