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 

      

Using cryo-SEM to perfect your food product

Hummus

This time its the turn of the wider food industry to see what electron microscopy can do for your business at our next free Industrial Solutions event, funded by ERDF, on Wednesday 12 November 2014 (e.g. improve quality, test new ingredients, develop new products).

As well as ice cream, we will also be looking at other food products; hummus, cheese, bread, pastry, to name but a few.





We have speakers from the University giving practical examples of how food companies have used electron microscopy to benefit their business and how they have successfully applied for grant funding through GAIN to develop their company's capacity.  Technical experts from the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre (PEMC) and also Mike Wombwell from Quorum Technologies Ltd (equipment supplier) will also be on hand to explore how your company can use electron microscopy to improve your products.

Ice cream

There will also be the opportunity to look around the University's food development lab with Dr Victor Kuri, a leading food scientist, to gain an insight into the sort of product development work he has carried out with companies over the last few years, including Roddas Cream and Kerry Ingredients (UK) Ltd.

Stilton fungi

To join us, simply follow this link to register:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EMC_workshop_12thnovember

Or contact the Events Team on:
t: 01752 586005
e: events@plymouth.ac.uk

Broccoli floret

Or contact Claire to discuss what the PEMC can do for your company:
t: 01752 588908
e: emc@plymouth.ac.uk

MTI '14 Takes Shape - and the PEMC will be there!

Having exhibited and spoken at this vibrant and successful event for the last three years, the PEMC is now proud to sponsor MTI '14 as we approach the final five months of our ERDF project, offering companies 12 hours of free use of the PEMC equipment.


The conference aims to bring together key industrial leaders, decision makers and investors, highlighting the excellent strength and depth of our advanced electronics, photonics, advanced engineering and manufacturing companies and excellent supply chain links with companies across the UK.

We are also showcasing GAIN's free Business Engagement Service, which is part of the new Peninsula City Deal Growth Hub, providing business support, financial options, expertise and facilities to businesses in the south west.

To register for the event, go to:
MTI '14

and then make sure that you visit us on Stand 12! If you haven't yet made use of your 12 hours of free support, now is the time ...,