Author: European Springs

Allow Me to Break the Ice…

Villainous gadgets have played a key part in keeping us entertained for generations and it looks like one of science fiction’s greatest fictional gadgets has finally come to life. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you: the freeze-ray.

University of Washington researchers have successfully cooled water down by 36 ⁰F with the aid of an infrared laser. Senior author Peter Pauzauskie says that:

“This is the first example of a laser beam that will refrigerate liquids like water under everyday conditions.”

The laser operates by shining an infrared laser onto a microscopic crystal which in turn creates a visible light. All this requires energy which the crystal steals from the water it’s aimed at, therefore cooling the water rather than heating it up. Though this huge step forward in science and mechanical engineering hasn’t given us an ice blasting freeze-ray (well, not yet), it’s definitely taken a step towards making our childish dreams come true.

This device, however, is only the tip of the iceberg (so to speak). Recently we’ve seen an explosion in a dynamic aviation invention: the jetpack.

The Truth is… I am Jetpack Man

We’d love to contain our excitement at this but it simply can’t be done. Another of our childhood dreams is slowly coming to life. David Mayman, an Australian entrepreneur, demonstrated what 10 years of hard work can do.

Cleared for flight by the FAA and US Coast Guard, Mayman’s JB-9 jetpack runs off 2 kerosene-fuelled engines, and can reach the staggering height of 3,048 meters and breathless speeds of 160 kph!

We’d love to say that this amazing show of mechanical engineering is the only one of its kind, but across the world in Dubai, officials have ordered 20 jetpacks to make first responders’ jobs in their towering skyscrapers a little bit easier. These works of wonders travel at a respectable 74kph, reach heights of up to 1,000 meters and are made from carbon fibre and 3D printed components (we’ve got to applaud that 3D printing!).

With these works of wonders out and about, 2015 has proved to be a very productive and inventive year. Putting the Mr Freeze and Ironman inventions aside for the minute, what else can we expect to see in the future?  How about the robot cops Dubai are looking to place on their streets in 2020?

We believe that there’s always room for improvement, no matter what project you may be working on. So, while there’s space for our villainous gadgets to swoop into the world, there’s also room for some of our superhero’s favourite toys too. If you’re looking to create the next Batmobile, we’re the spring suppliers for you!

Contact us today on 0208 663 1800 or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and updates in the engineering industry!

European Springs

However, this doesn't automatically mean that every engineering graduate will be able to walk straight into a job. Students still need to work hard and rise above the competition to secure top paying jobs. Whilst the results are promising, they still need to show these companies why they should hire them over someone who has been in the industry for a long time.

As a company who works closely with the engineering industry to supply high quality products such as torsion and die springs, we thought we would put together some top tips on securing that dream job after you graduate.

Start Early – Stay Ahead of Everyone Else

It might be tempting to leave the frustrating task of job hunting until after graduation, but you'll only be making things a lot harder for yourself. Looking for a job after graduation means that it's unlikely that you'll find one by next Christmas – and you'll be competing with everyone else that left it until then.

It's best to start looking ASAP – we suggest starting your search after this Christmas. It's never too early to secure a job – a lot of employers will be happy to offer you one that starts after completion of your course.

Work Experience, Work Experience, Work Experience

There is nothing more valuable than work experience. In fact, it's probably just as important as the degree that you get. Whilst employers may want to employ graduates, they will prioritise those that have sufficient and relevant experience.

What sets you apart from all the other graduates who received a 1st or 2:1? You need to have something that sets you apart from everyone else, and work experience is the best way to do this.

It doesn't matter if it's paid or unpaid – every bit counts. Some courses offer placement years (definitely worth doing), whilst other companies will offer internships alongside your studies.

Use The Resources at University

Universities have some brilliant careers resources available which you should definitely utilise. Sadly a lot of people miss the chance to do so whilst still at university, as they are too preoccupied or don't even know that such help exists. The people within your careers sector will be more than happy to help search for specific jobs, provide information on all available jobs, as well as help you tailor your CV for different jobs.

As you can see, there are plenty of steps to take when it comes to securing that dream engineering job. Keep checking back as we will be posting part two very soon!

In the meantime, if you're an individual or company looking to purchase some of the best springs and pressings in Europe, we can definitely help you out.

We specialise in the design and manufacture of springs in a range of different materials – just contact us  for more information.

You can give us a call on 0208 663 1800 and we will be more than happy to help.

European Springs

The Need for Engineers Has Increased

Believe it or not, the future’s looking particularly bright for graduate employability. In the coming years we’re looking at improving our renewable energy. The world is slowly coming to terms with greener living and accordingly we need our engineers to turn their sector specific skills to the creation and maintenance of cutting-edge green technology and energy saving buildings. For that, the UK needs more than 87,000 graduate level engineers between now and 2020!

This is great news for new, bright eyed engineers as it offers them far more job opportunities after graduation.

What Does This Mean For Our Graduates?

With such a high demand our graduates can look to their future with a smile on their faces. Prospect’s annual article on What do graduates do? has taken a look into the lives of 8,420 full and part-time engineering graduates from January this year.

The report showed a very satisfying and encouraging report of increased employability for graduate engineers, despite the devastating lack of employability the industry suffered almost 5 years ago.  To paint a picture for you, civil engineering graduates have seen an amazing 81.6% of graduates in jobs this year while 77.2% of Electrical engineers and 78.6% of engineers found themselves in relevant jobs straight out of university.

These figures see the industry hitting above average in the overall employment of 2015 graduates and that, ladies and gentlemen, we love to see!

What’s Next For Our Young Engineers?

There’s been a great movement since the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s president took centre stage in encouraging more women to join the industry, yet to further improve the number of sector specific engineers, more needs to be done. Changing how people see the industry, for a start, can greatly help bring in more bright eyed and creative minds, not to mention offering yet more employability possibilities.

Here at European Springs we like to help our industry when and where we can. Offering engineering opportunities for young engineers is one way we can help ensure our industry is a thriving and exciting community.

If you’d like to find out more about our engineering opportunities, or about our diverse and comprehensive work, don’t hesitate to contact us today on 0208 663 1800 or, alternatively, you can check out the latest news and updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter!

European Springs

It’s a nuisance isn’t it? Not only does it cost you your hard earned money to fix but, even after your new shock absorbers have been fitted, there’s no improvement to the design- no way to prevent your driving habits from wearing down and ruining your suspension again; until now.

As specialists in motor spring manufacturing, we like to keep keyed in to the engineering world for new and improved spring designs. Springs have been around for decades and, though they’ve worked wonders for us in the past, there’s always room for improvement. That improvement has come in the form of improved suspension.

New, Improved System to Change the Face of Suspension!

Abigail Carson, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student from Lancaster University, has developed an improved method of suspension never before seen, according to The Engineer.

Currently, if the damping system of a suspension design needs to increase, then it’s simply made longer and bigger. Though this system has worked in the past, it has meant that more space is needed to accommodate the suspension design. Carson’s design rectifies this problem.

The 20-year-old’s new and improved design involves a series of interacting mobile and fixed pivoted components which will help in the damping of any suspension system whilst compressing the entire design.

How Does Carson’s System Work?

By delaying the compression and expansion, as well as including a stop mechanism, Carson has been able to potentially extend the life-span of current shock absorbers as well as reducing maintenance costs. That’s great news for you and your vehicle!

That’s what we call a big improvement and just think of the possibilities! The design claims to suit any suspension system saving bikes, cars and the like around the world. After creating her design through a module on vibration isolation, Carson has set her sights on a career in Formula 1 with her design currently in a patent pending.

Now that’s what we call a step forwards. There’s always room for improvement, no matter how old or how trusted a system may seem. Here at European Springs we’re constantly looking for ways to better our services so, while you’re waiting for Carson’s influential design to hit the markets, we can help you create custom springs for your individual projects. Contact us today on 0208 663 1800 or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest in spring news!

European Springs

Most recently, it's been announced that these drones will soon be able to map the whole world – in 3D! They will be able to do this through using reality capture software, which is when technology is used to capture and document reality in the 3D form.

How is this Reality Capture achieved?

Reality capture is achieved through using laser scanning or photogrammetry. This is when a set of images that have been taken at multiple locations and angles, are stitched together to create one 3D model.

The information that is gathered is then stored in point clouds – these contain millions of individual points of information.  They are often huge files that can be very hard to manage – which is why a drone is needed.

Important software

Bentley Systems are a company who specialise in software for the design, construction and operations of infrastructure. When they bought the 3D modelling company Acute3D, they utilised their plans to use their software: Smart3DCapture. This captures information in what is referred to as a “reality mesh.” This is built like a geometric engineering model, which means that it aligns itself with real-world context through photographs. It produces a form of photogrammetry that can generate 3D representations from photos taken with a digital camera.

The software can scale its representations anywhere from one building to a whole city. This means there is a possibility of it being used for large-scale 3D mapping.

So why is the drone needed?

The drone will allow the technology to capture huge plots of land in a time efficient manner. These can then be used as observations of existing conditions for design and building information modelling – this will improve accuracy.

The aim is to fit the drones with Leica's RCD30 Oblique camera to carry out urban mapping. They will also be fitted with Acute3D's ContextCapture software – producing high quality 3D models from photographs. This can all be carried out without any human interference.

The reality capture drones will be capable of collecting information on a larger scale than ever before. In fact, they will be doing something that was previously referred to as being impossible. The portability of a drone, paired with the brilliant reality capture software, could be a valuable tool used to map the world.

Here at European Springs, we are proud to be leading spring suppliers. Our products are used by a number of different industries, especially in engineering environments around the world.

For more information on how our products could be useful for you, please contact us by ringing 0208 663 1800 and a member of our team will be happy to help.

European Springs

So far, in our series about objects that couldn’t be made prior to 3D printing we’ve analysed transport and  body parts. For the final instalment, we’re going to lump together the rest of the mindboggling innovations that have arisen to give you an overview of everything else!

Surgical Stents
Although stents have been around for some time, 3D printing has made them more versatile and customisable and at a much lower cost. For those who aren’t quite sure what a stent is, it’s a miniscule tube that surgeons can place in blood vessels or arteries to hold them open and allow them to function properly.

Prior to 3D printing, stents were made from mesh. However, now it is possible to create them from flexible polymers that can be dissolved safely into the bloodstream within a couple of years.

To give an example of how this has proven to be highly successful, doctors at the University of Michigan implanted a 3D printed stent above an infant boys’ lung to open his airway and help him to breathe. The technology available allowed doctors to create a customised stent that would fit the little boy’s anatomy.

Other doctors have used 3D printing to “create models of a patient’s heart to know whether stents will fit and where to put them.

Buckyballs
Prior to 3D printing, creating complex models of molecules was more than likely a result of an arts and crafts project. However, teachers across the world can now rejoice because 3D printers are capable of producing big, accurate models of molecules. Plastic models could have been made with injection moulding, but nothing as complex as the Buckminsterfullerene molecule aka a Buckyball.

Furthermore, 3D printing isn’t just limited to creating models; it can actually help to make the molecules themselves. Dr Martin Burke and his team at the University of Illinois created a machine that fuses small, organic molecules and then prints billions of combinations. In the future this could be used to speed up the testing of new drugs.

Moulds of Your Jaw
For many years, people have had to endure having a cement-like substance in their mouth so that their dentist could accurately see what their jaw looks like. However, 3D printing has now allowed dentist’s to view inside a patient’s mouth through Computer Aided Design and 3D printing. It’s good news all round!

To keep up to date with our latest news about the engineering sector, “follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Alternatively, get in touch with a member of our friendly and expert team if you have any questions about our springs by calling 0208 663 1800.

European Springs