Project Extension Approved - 30 June 2015!

Due to the success of our ERDF project to date, we've been given a project extension to 30 June 2015 to offer small-medium sized companies 12 hours of free support.

We have just 14 more places (this number is changing weekly!) available for companies to get involved, so if you haven't yet used your 12 hours, please do get in contact.

How could it help your company?

Through this project over the last four years, 99 companies have been supported to:

• Develop new products – e.g. Langage Farm used the information about the micro-structure of one of their product’s to enhance that product; it is now stocked on the shelves of Sainsbury
• Confirm product quality – e.g. Peter Day Precision Engineering used the precision measurements provided by the PEMC to confirm the consistency of their product’s plating thickness to their customers, down to 34 micro-meters,
• Identify the source of defects - e.g. Artemis Optical Ltd used the analysis information to identify and isolate the cause of an unknown defect
• Produce promotional images – e.g. Dartmoor Zoo used the stunning images of tiger fur, wolf hair and tarantula legs for educational purposes in the zoo.

From exploratory investigations to in-depth analysis, our many business customers have all learnt something new about their products, thanks to the power of electron microscopy.

From aerospace to food manufacturers, micro-electronics to precision engineers, we have explored how electron microscopy can make a real difference to a company’s product quality and general operations.

So what’s next for PEMC?

Now that PEMC is established as a world-class centre for materials analysis and characterisation within the South West, we will continue to offer companies of all sizes access to these facilities, as well as linking them to other complimentary services at the University. 

We are already working with a number of our ERDF-funded customers again, on a commercial basis, but we’re also investigating other ways for our customers to fund their ongoing work with us – e.g. programmes such as KTP.

If you would like the opportunity to see how electron microscopy could help your company, for free, contact Claire Pearce for an initial exploratory conversation:

• 01752 588908
•  claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk

WEAF Annual Conference 2015 - SMEs and the 21st Century Supply Chain

We are pleased to be exhibiting at this year's WEAF Annual conference at The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, which promises to be a busy event, with speakers from Airbus, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty UK, Trackwise, BGC, Third Dimension, Deloitte, Achieving the Difference and Pentathlon GB! To find out more, and to book your place, go to the WEAF website.

We'll be on Stand 37, right next to LIMA, the Lab for Integrated Metrology Applications, so please do pay us both a visit - and if you haven't made use of your 12 hours of free support using electron microscopy yet, now is the time ...,

If you can't make it, but are interested in find out  more about the PEMC, and the free support you may be entitled to, thanks to ERDF, please contact Claire direct on:

• Email: claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk
• Mob: 077901 56343

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.

Bringing big company technology to SMEs - Thursday 12 February (11.30 - 16.00)

Plating thickness and integrity - 34um

This joint event, being held at Plymouth University with WEAF (the West of England Aerospace Forum) is your opportunity to come and see first-hand the cutting edge PEMC facilities and discuss how you can use this outstanding capability for FREE until the end of March 2015 to help increase your company's competitiveness. There will also be the opportunity to meet and hear from large multi-national companies in the aerospace industry.

During the event, we will explore the relevance and use of electron microscopy in precision engineering, aerospace, defence and manufacturing businesses. Not only will you get the opportunity to have a look around the PEMC and meet companies from across the region involved in the aerospace supply chain, but you will also hear from our experienced speakers who include:

• Simon Young - Chief Executive of WEAF
• Victor Arghyrou - UTC Aerospace Systems (why we use the PEMC)
• Professor Neil James - Plymouth University (aircraft materials and accident investigations)
• Kim Larsen - Oxford Instruments (using EBSD to make a difference to your company)

In addition, if you are a small or medium sized company based in the South West, you may be able to get 12 hours of FREE support from the PEMC between now and the end of March 2015, thanks to European funding; so please bring along a sample/component on the day for us to analyse for you - we can help with:

• improved quality control - objectively confirm precision measurements (e.g. plating thickness above) and precision finishes
• product improvement - examine the performance of a new material in your existing product / optimise material use
• process improvement - examine the effect of a new process on your components at high magnification
• reverse engineering - what exactly is that metal component made of?
• supply issues - how do these four stainless steel samples differ in their composition - which is best for our purposes?
• identification of contaminants - what is that black spec on our component?
• reduction of waste - by identifying and eliminating component and process failure
• capturing high quality images for your use in promotional materials.

Please note that there will be a small charge to attend the event (£25 WEAF members, £35 non-WEAF members).

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

 If you can't join us on the 12th, but would still like to discuss how you could use your 12 hours of free time with the electron microscopes, please feel free to contact me direct on:

• T: 01752 588908 or 07738 858494
• E: claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk

A metal fracture - using the EBSD technique

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