TWI has been working with the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership to deliver a pilot project (GCGPEP-TT) of free engineering and manufacturing support to SMEs. Fifteen companies received support during the 12-month pilot, which covered everything from the fundamentals of welding engineering to advanced manufacturing technologies. Here we look at three examples of how the project helped small companies hoping to grow their businesses through the use of composites.
Testing and market analysis supports growth of bio-composites business
Kimbolton-based EcoTechnilin approached TWI for technical support to help it grow its bio-composites business into the aerospace sector.
The bio-composite materials produced by EcoTechnilin are made entirely using naturally occurring constituents, which match or outperform their synthetic equivalents. Believing its products had good potential to be used in the aircraft cabin interior segment, the company requested assistance through the GCGPEP-TT project in a number of areas to help it expand its business.
TWI responded with a programme of support encompassing testing the adhesive bonding performance of EcoTechnilin’s products, identifying the best surface treatment methods to enhance their adhesive performance, and carrying out a market survey of the passenger aircraft interior market to inform the company’s product development and marketing efforts.
Being a small organisation, EcoTechnilin lacked the in-house testing facilities and experience needed to maximise its chances of breaking into a new business sector. By leveraging TWI’s equipment and expertise, it is now both better informed and armed with valuable performance data to support its marketing and product development activities.
Manufacturing support for tier one supplier to rail companies
TWI provided support to a Huntingdon-based company wishing to develop a new method of fabrication for lightweight structures to be supplied to the rail industry.
TRB Lightweight Structures manufactures composite parts for cabin interiors – primarily in the aerospace and rail industries. With products ranging from magazine racks and partitions to fully assembled toilet modules and stock rooms, the company specialises in lightweight, installation-ready solutions.
The rail industry’s ongoing drive to reduce weight has seen composite parts replace metal equivalents in many cases, and growth in the use of hybrid sandwich structures: face sheets of aluminium sandwiching a light, high-strength thermoplastic foam core.
TRB wished to develop its business in this area, and approached TWI for help identifying suitable manufacturing techniques for these sandwich structures. TWI carried out an investigation into joining methods, experimenting with different heating procedures and surface preparation techniques.
At the end of the project TWI was able to provide TRB with valuable advice on the best fabrication method for the sandwich structures it wishes to manufacture, giving the company confidence in its product and performance data to help it develop its business in the rail sector.