Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

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:

Thursday, 5 February 2015

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



Monday, 9 June 2014

Do my ice crystals look big in this?





Wednesday 9 July - 10.00 - 14.00 - Plymouth University

We're extremely pleased to confirm that the next Industrial Solutions event will be focusing on using electron microscopy to analyse and image the micro-structure of ice cream. With speakers from the industry and the University, we will demonstrate what electron microscopy can tell you about your ice cream product's texture and eating experience by looking at its structure.


Find out how your company could then get free support from us following the event, which you can use to develop your ice cream product further.

We will be joined by two experienced speakers on the 9th:

Steve Furzeland of Carl Zeiss worked at Unilever for two years, where he worked with ice cream, predominantly observing the relationship between air and ice phases and how this can affect the stability of the formulations during transport to customers. He particularly focussed on the Magnum range of luxury ice creams.


There will be also be the opportunity to look around the University's food development lab where Dr Victor Kuri, a leading food scientist, will take delegates through emerging formulations, links between hydrocolloids in formulations, structure and eating quality.



To join us for this exciting event, simply follow this link to register:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EMC_workshop_9thJuly

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


Wednesday, 9 April 2014

The bottom line was boosted ...,


Last month’s third Industrial Solutions Breakfast was a well-attended success, with delegates remarking on not only the quality of the University facilities available for their use, but also the relevance of the speakers from locally-based companies Barden Corporation (UK) Ltd and Fine Tubes Ltd.


Starting with a networking breakfast, attendees, who varied from manufactures to metallic specialists to a cosmetics company, had the opportunity to meet and exchange details. Claire briefly welcomed the group, explained the background to the event and the opportunity to receive 12 hours of free support from the Electron Microscopy Centre (EMC); an opportunity available to all eligible small-to-medium sized companies in the South West (excluding Cornwall) throughout 2014.

Abdul Saeid from Fine Tubes and Gary Hughes from Barden then introduced their respective companies, giving a valuable insight to their approach to quality engineered products, their markets and their companies' objectives.


Each described how they have worked with the EMC for a number of years as an essential, readily-available 'out-sourced' part of their business, particularly looking at:
  • surface quality - essential when finish-quality is intrinsic to the performance of the product
  • contaminant identification - effectively reducing waste
  • pressure test - identifying failures (above)
  • plating consistency and thickness (right)
  • new process development, validations and control
  • materials and defect investigations
  • new product development 
Sally Sharpe of the University's Enterprise Solutions team, highlighted other subsidised support available for business, including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), Santander graduate placements and the broader GAIN Growth Hub, which was launched on 1 April 2014 (www.gaininbusiness.com) and which is part of the Plymouth and Peninsula City Deal.



To complete the event, delegates had the opportunity to visit the EMC and the University’s Materials Characterisation Lab, viewing tensile testing, electro-polishing, rapid prototyping and other optical and laser microscopy equipment.

The next event in our Industrial Solutions series will be aimed at Ice-Cream and other dessert producers and the product development/improvement opportunities offered by using electron microscopy (e.g. identifying the size of your product’s ice-crystals) – Wednesday 9 July 2014.

If you want to find out more, then please contact Claire on:
·         07738 858494
·         01752 588908
·         claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Boost Your Bottom Line - Industrial Solutions Breakfast - Thursday 3 April 2014



Due to popular demand following our January breakfast, we are pleased to confirm the speakers for our third free Industrial Solutions Breakfast, aimed particularly at manufacturers, precision and electrical engineers, on Thursday 3 April at Plymouth University, part-funded by ERDF - to demonstrate the relevance of electron microscopy to industry.

- Gary Hughes, The Barden Corporation (UK) Ltd
- Abdul Saeid, Fine Tubes Ltd

Starting at 08.00 with breakfast and networking, Gary and Abdul will talk about how using electron microscopy in their respective companies has aided the bottom line; giving practical examples of how this technology can help to solve real issues that they face, from quality control through to new product development, using high-magnification images and in-depth materials analysis, to name but two approaches.

Delegates will then have the opportunity to look around the University's facilities, including the Electron Microscopy Centre (EMC) and find out how they can use this for free during 2014, if they are an eligible SME.


If you're new to the EMC, you're also welcome to bring along a sample for analysis - just tick the relevant box when you register for the event:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/EMC_workshop_3rdApril

Or feel free to contact Claire Pearce for more details about the event, the free support we can offer to eligible businesses or the EMC in general:
- 01752 588908
- 07738 858494
- claire.pearce@plymouth.ac.uk



Friday, 28 June 2013

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.

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

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.

Monday, 25 March 2013

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.

Monday, 4 March 2013

EMC at WEAF Annual Conference


The EMC was proud to be amongst some of the world's best aerospace and defence companies at this year's West of England Aerospace Forum's Annual Conference at the Winter Gardens in Weston Supermare. And best of all they were all South West companies.

Over 200 hundred delegates attended to hear speakers from Augusta Wesland, EADS, Flybe, and others present. Over 40 companies joined us exhbiting. Year on year the event and group grows

Follow the QR code to our events page to find out information on events we are holding or attending.

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

EMC to Exhibit at WEAF Annual Conference

Come and join many technology and engineering companies at WEAF's Annual conference at Weston Super Mare's Winter Gardens. On the 27th February, the Electron Microscopy Centre will be exhibting to promote the free access for qualifying SME organisations and the new capabilities of the recently installed equipment.

Augusta Westalands, EADS and GKN Aerospace are among the speakers so far annouced. For more details then please follow the web link.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Seasons Wishes

With the closing of another exciting year for the EM Centre, we have finally installed the 3rd new JEOL electron microscope, a 1400 TEM. We are very much looking forward to inviting you to come and visit to take a look at its capabilities. With further plans to increase our capabilties, next year looks to be just as exciting. So continue to visit the website for updates and notifications of events.

So this just leaves me to thank everyone for their support and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

from all the team at the EM Centre.

Monday, 22 October 2012

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.

Monday, 15 October 2012

EMC Tour after iNet Breakfast meeting

On the 19th October, Plymouth plays host to the Microelectronics iNet. The breakfast meeting is being held to promote and explain the new funding competition for regional SME's. Afterwards there be the opportunity to tour the Electron Microscopy Centre to see how the facility can help support projects.

Core areas in microelectronics, phontonics and digital communications that the iNet is looking to support include
  • Power management, and energy efficient sustainable technology
  • Smart grids
  • Transport, including marine
  • Healthcare, wellbeing and medical electronics
  • Smart communities
  • Test and verification
  • Industrial, instrumentation
  • M2M communications
  • Security
For more information or to book a place please follow the link.

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Invitation MTI'12 - Torquay's Riveria Centre

Come and meet the EM Centre at the MTI exhibition on Stand 16 at the Manufacturing, Technology and Innovation Conference at the Riveria Centre on the 18th October. Places are Free to delegates so book your place by registering here.
Find out about free support from centre to qualifying SME's.