Earlier this month, at the AMB 2024 exhibition in Stuttgart, Matthew Farnsworth, commercial director at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), announced that 4- and 5-axis machining centres manufacturer Heller has become its latest Tier 1 member.

As part of the partnership agreement, a Heller F 6000 5-axis mill-turn horizontal machining centre (HMC) will be installed at the AMRC Factory of the Future in June 2025, to further the development of aerospace-related applications, especially those involving the machining of titanium structural and aero engine components. 

The implementation of a research and knowledge transfer will see key themes of digitalisation, automation and alleviation of the skills shortage prevalent in engineering and manufacturing across Europe and beyond.

Dr Thorsten Schmidt, CEO of Heller commented: "Our company brings decades of experience from many very demanding sectors, including the mechanical engineering and automotive industries, where high reliability and maximising machine availability and uptime are critical. 

"With the aerospace industry now moving in a similar direction due to increasing production rates, our expertise is perfectly positioned to meet the demands. That is why we are delighted to be collaborating with the AMRC, which has been ongoing informally for the past 15 months."

Matt Farnsworth added: "The strategic partnership with Heller is already making an important contribution to aerospace research for our members, which include primes such as Airbus and Boeing, OEMs such as Collins Aerospace, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Siemens, and a host of SMEs in their supply chains. 

"In particular, Heller's in-depth knowledge of machining the difficult materials frequently found in aviation and space exploration, as well as its hardware and software solutions for deskilling machine operation, will prove invaluable to our research and development activities going forward.

“Their Heller F 6000 5-axis mill-turn HMC machine, which will be installed at our facility next year, will form a key part of our new autonomous tool room demonstrator and will become a vital piece of equipment to aid our digital manufacturing environment."