News & Updates Archives | Page 26 of 76

One million patients are seen every 36 hours by the NHS with 40% more operations undertaken in recent years. Sanandco and their MonitorMe product, with springs supplied by European Springs & Pressings, is working on easing this NHS headache.

Sanandco brings healthcare monitoring to the masses, taking advantage of cloud storage and big data. They develop simple to use, reliable and clinically proven devices which both users and healthcare professionals can rely on and the MonitorMe product, supported with engineering excellence and spring production from the Beckenham factory of European Springs & Pressings, is designed to reduce the £120+bn budget of the NHS.

MonitorMe is a vital-signs monitoring device and telephone. The telephone handset is equipped with sensors, sending temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation and a proxy for blood pressure, together with symptom-based health questionnaire responses, via telephone lines, to a patient’s digital record.

Well-being can be monitored from home, reducing the likelihood of serious health exacerbations and alleviating the need for long post-operative stays in hospital. This improves patient’s quality of life and benefits society by freeing up bed space and focussing NHS staff on those most in need.

Julian Holmes, CEO of Sanandco says: “Our vision is to transform the way healthcare is delivered and managed, improving quality of life and reducing the burden on the NHS.

“Our health and well-being can be transformed by wide spread deployment of low cost integrated medical devices, able to collect granular patient data and transfer it to cloud based centres for analysis. The analysis by MonitorMe, compares the vital signs with previous records from a patient and can raise an alert to a medical professional in the event that changes are identified. This is highly effective, confident monitoring but from home, surrounded by friends and family, in an environment that can only encourage a quicker recovery.

“This truly is the future of medical healthcare monitoring and we’re delighted to have European Springs & Pressings as a key player of the team.”

Stuart McSheehy, Managing Director of the Beckenham office of European Springs & Pressings concludes: “Our production processes not only enable us to supply multiple sample options at the prototype stage but also allow for small and high volume production levels and it was this methodology that won MonitorMe. So often the work we do for the medical sector is hushed by confidentiality agreements so, it is wonderful to share the success of MonitorMe. The impact of their technology cannot be undervalued and we’re really proud to be part of their incredible team. Playing a very small role in the NHS 70^th year, in our own 70^th year of operation is a synergy no doctor could have prescribed.”

Spring manufacture is rarely glamorous. However, all that changed when European Springs and Pressings were invited to design a bottle top for probably the most beautiful gin in the world.

Tinkture, a new drink manufacturer focused on delivering a purer, clean element to beverages, approached the Redruth company to create a signature bottle top like no other. The family firm, led by Hannah and Sam Lamiroy, developed a world first using the finest organic roses to create a rose gin which is now gracing the bars of some of the most exclusive drink establishments across the UK.

Director, Hannah Lamiroy explains: “For a long time I’ve been really conscious of the food I eat, the ingredients I cook with and the best way to keep my body healthy – however I never really paid much attention to the provenance of my drinks on a night out. Until a couple of years ago. Once I really started looking for answers I just could not find what I was looking for, so my experiments began.”

Tinkture is the result, a personal journey into the drinks that should always have been. The finest alcohol, organic ingredients, nothing nasty, amazing flavours and all distilled by hand in copper pot stills at their distillery on the Cornish coast.

“We knew we had an incredible product and to complete this new approach to drink manufacture, wanted to ensure the packaging achieved exceptional results too and that’s when we discovered the team at European Springs & Pressings. They understood exactly what we were looking for, were dedicated to achieving everything we wanted and wonderfully, have produced a stunning bottle top that embodies our uniqueness.”

Michael Gibbs, Managing Director of European Springs & Pressings says: “Working with innovators like Tinkture is everything we love about engineering and manufacturing. To be part of their passion, to be part of a family so focused on achieving exceptional results, helping bring to market a new way of thinking about how we drink, has been a true privilege. Our bottle top design seals an extraordinary journey that simply gets every element right from the clean, organic contents to the processing, right through to the reusable packaging, environmental refills and of course, the taste! Tinkture and their rose gin really is something very special – I drink nothing else now.”

To discover more about Tinkture, please visit www.wearetinkture.com

For further information, please visit www.europeansprings.com

Despite the healthy growth of many industries in the UK, the manufacturing sector remains an integral part of the UK’s economy and a significant contributor to our country’s growth. The scope of manufacturing is changing, however, with an increasing number of companies turning to automation in their production.

This suggests that despite manufacturing being one of the most highly automated industries, there is still huge potential for further change. As a result, many predict both the pace and coverage of automation will increase in future years.

Automation is associated with a variety of benefits, and springs continue to play an important role in the process that continues to advance the way we manufacture.

What is Automation?

Automation is when a process within a company is developed to become automatic with the aid of a specifically designed machine. Automation technology monitors and controls the production of products, executing tasks that were previously performed by humans.

Independence is a key aspect of automation, as software must be able to operate on its own without periodic interference. Automation is also being used in several areas outside of manufacturing, including transport, defence and IT; a commonality in every industry is that control systems are able to operate equipment and applications autonomously.

Benefits of Automation

Many companies are opting for automated machines for a variety of reasons, each of which enhances the profitability of operations.

One considerable incentive for companies in adopting automation is its cost-effectiveness. Machines may often represent a sizeable initial investment, but over time, the cost of operating the technology is relatively low in comparison to labour. Spreading the fixed cost over a large number of units produced, combined with lower variable costs makes automation the cost-effective option in the long run.

Automated machinery not only tends to be cheaper; it’s also significantly less prone to making errors than humans perform. Reducing mistakes can speed up the manufacturing process and simultaneously improve production quality, which is a leading reason why more companies are opting for automated machines.

Fewer errors often correlate to greater output levels as well as improved quality. More output can be produced with the same or even fewer inputs, leading to an overall increase in productivity.

Springs in Automation

Case Study – The Potato Industry

With today’s technological advances, potato processing plants rely heavily on automated machinery to meet the ever-growing demand for potato-based products.

In the production process, the potatoes are fed through various machines to the sorting stage. It is during this stage that springs are utilised; the potatoes are fed into a compartment that monitors the weight. Once the desired weight is achieved, the potatoes are dropped through a hatch separating them into desired amounts.

Springs are used in providing enough force to prevent the trap doors from opening whenever the slightest bit of pressure is exerted. With tension springs holding the door in place until the desired weight is achieved, the automated machinery ensures that the same amount consistently is weighed out and distributed.

The Future of Automation

Automation is already a prominent manufacturing process, and it is set to continue growing in popularity over the coming decades due to advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Factories can currently be run by just a small team of individuals with the majority of operations performed by automated machinery. However, some predict that in the not too distant future, factories will be 100% automated due to continued advancements in AI technology. The predicted progress in AI may allow manufacturing machinery to comprehend complex goals. However, it is perhaps slightly unrealistic to suggest 100% automation, as even the most finely-tuned machines will require human correction and maintenance.

Plummeting robotics prices could act as the catalyst for even greater use of automation in manufacturing. Costs have fallen as robotics production has expanded and, as robotics manufacturing shifts to developing countries, robots are likely to become cheaper still. In addition, people with the necessary skills required to design and operate automated manufacturing systems are becoming more widely available. Robots and robotics engineers are no longer prohibitively expensive, and if costs continue to decrease as predicted, this will only lead to further automation in manufacturing.

As well as their increased affordability, the quality of robotics will undoubtedly improve as technologies continue to advance. AI will enable automated machinery to cope with a greater degree of task-to-task variability while responding to changes in their environment. Robots are already incredibly accurate, but their precision will certainly advance in the coming years, which may increase their use in carrying out delicate tasks and almost certainly will make them more ubiquitous in manufacturing.

Even though many suggest we are heading towards a future in manufacturing where humans are of little importance, this is a claim that is not necessarily true. Advancements in safety systems will enable robotic automation to take up positions next to human colleagues.

Automation has had a major impact on the manufacturing sector, and it is expected to become a key part of many other industries in the future. With springs being an integral part of automation, we at European Springs are proud to supply various manufacturers with the right springs for their production systems.

[button url=”https://www.europeansprings.com/backup/spring-catalogues/” class=”scbutton”]View Our Catalogue[/button]

Springs play an integral part in all forms of motorsport. Revered globally, motorsports comprise some of the biggest sporting events around the world, with Formula 1 being a particular highlight. Different springs have different uses in motorsport depending on their properties and here we look at how spring technology is a vital part of a racing car’s performance.

The Importance of Compression Springs in Motorsports

Despite simply being a coil of metal, compression springs are a vital component in some of the most advanced machinery, especially in the motoring industry.

Sports cars in particular are extremely intricate and precisely built machines, with no margin for error in their entire construction. The highest performing race cars, retailing for hundreds of thousands of pounds, take months or even years to design and build. Take away any component, including the springs, and the vehicle will simply not work.

The use of compression springs in sports cars centres around suspension devices, which stabilise and protect the entirety of the vehicle, as well as the driver. The higher quality the suspension of a car, the smoother, and consequently faster, it will perform as handling will be significantly improved.

Upgrading suspension is one of the most common ways to improve a car’s performance, as high-quality parts really can make an incredible difference in terms of handling. The highest quality suspension modifications on supercars can easily cost in the region of a few thousand pounds. But even the highest-grade suspension systems rely on one key component: springs.

How Vital Are Springs in a Suspension Device?

Within a suspension device, the spring is the part which works to cushion contact with uneven road surfaces, converting impact into vibrations that can be buffered by shock absorbers. The spring is a vital element, as it enables the transfer of energy to be passed through the various suspension components.

Given the key role springs play within a suspension device, any component above the level of suspension – which is everything apart from the wheels, brakes and lower suspension – is classed as a sprung mass. The rule is that the smaller the ratio of the unsprung mass to sprung mass, the greater the comfort and ease of the ride.

With competition being so fierce among high-performance racing cars, the smallest discrepancy in the ratio between sprung and unsprung mass can make or break overall vehicle performance. The extra speed that having just the right mass ratio enables could set the car apart from competitors, even if it’s by a matter of seconds.

Greatest Technological Advancements in Formula 1

Formula 1 is the biggest stage in motorsport and is known around the world for pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible. With the stakes being even higher than the incredible speeds, the race car springs demand the absolute pinnacle of technology, which is field-tested in some of the most demanding racing conditions.

The following technologies are utilised in motorsports such as Formula 1.

Disc Brakes

Disc brakes first began to be used back in the early days of Formula 1 for their ability to consistently stop cars from high speeds safely. Nowadays, almost every car currently in production around the world utilises disc brakes as they are far more durable and effective than the ‘drum’ style brakes that were once the norm.

Adaptive Suspension

Initially known in the sport as adaptive suspension, this technology allows a car’s height and spring rate to be constantly adjusted to improve grip and lap times. Despite being banned from F1 in 1994, car manufacturers are now introducing this technology to consumer cars in order to improve their performance, a move that Formula 1 teams hope will bring about the return of active suspension in racing.

Tyre Technology

With them being the vital last part of control between driver and road, there is no overestimating the importance of quality tyres. Formula 1 has always been at the forefront of research for tyre technology and is constantly developing new compounds and treads to improve grip in all weather conditions. This technology is usually adopted by commercial tyre manufacturers and developed for consumer car tyres.

With other F1 technologies, such as KERS (kinetic energy recovery systems), now gradually making their way into consumer cars, Formula 1 is sure to continue creating cutting-edge technology that can improve the performance of all cars.

As one of Europe’s leading spring manufacturers, we at European Springs are always interested in seeing the next big engineering achievement. Who knows, maybe it will be another breakthrough from the racetrack. We provide compression and torsion springs of all sizes and designs for a huge array of uses.

[button url=”https://www.europeansprings.com/backup/contact/” class=”scbutton”]Get In Touch[/button]

As we have previously discussed in recent blog posts, springs can be anywhere. From the more obvious industries, such as manufacturing and the automotive sector, to the less obvious, including the fashion industry.

Another sector that is lesser-thought about, however, is the toy industry. At first thought, this may seem an unlikely area for springs to pop up. But spring-loaded toys have a rather long and dynamic history, with springs being used in children’s toys as far back as the 16^th century!

But what is it about springs that make children’s toys so enjoyable? Could it be the element of surprise, as the toy recoils rapidly, or bounces backwards and forwards? Whatever the case, they are still a main player in the manufacture of some of the most successful toys available today.

The Slinky

No list of children’s toys including spring technology is complete without mentioning the iconic slinky! The idea for this iconic toy was born in 1943, when a naval engineer accidentally pushed a tension spring off of his desk.

By the Slinky’s official release, two years later, all 44 units had sold in a matter of minutes. Take a look at a previous blog post, the slinky success story, to find why it has stood the test of time.

Jack in the Box

Before the invention of television or video games, the ‘Jack in the box’ was one of the most popular children’s’ toy, dating right back to the 16^th century!

This simple toy consists of a spring pushed down inside a box, held by a catch on the lid. When the catch is released, the force of a spring causes the lid to burst open, allowing a clown figure to pop out.

Trampolines

Coiled springs are to thank for our childhood favourite: the trampoline. The trampoline mat is held taut and given elasticity through several springs that connect the fabric to the frame and store potential energy.

With the growing popularity of the trampoline industry, the fun of trampolining does not have to be a distant childhood memory, but a fun activity for all ages.

Ride on Toys

Ride-ons, such as the much-loved rocking horse or the outdoor spring rocker, are timeless toys still loved by children today.

The spring rocker was invented in Denmark in the 1970s, and is commonly found in playgrounds today.

The toy utilises a singular large metal spring beneath a wooden or plastic structure, often designed to look like an animal or a motorbike.

Toy Car Launchers

A brilliant way to make toy cars travel further, launchers are cleverly designed and have provided great entertainment since their invention. For those that became car enthusiasts see how race car springs are used for their real counterpart or how springs are used for other automotive pressings.

There are two main types of launchers – gravity powered and spring powered. Both propel the toy car further than you would think.

Pull Back Toys

A spring unwinds fifteen times faster than the time it took to be wound. Along with Newton’s Third Law of Motion that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, this acts as the basis of how a pullback toy operates. Energy is stored quickly during the pullback action but then gets released during the forward motion.

A pull-back toy typically uses a coil spring, specifically torsion springs, as the primary mechanism for its action. When the toy is pulled back, the torsion spring is wound up. Upon release, the spring rapidly unwinds, transferring stored energy to the toy’s wheels or mechanism, propelling it forward. The spring’s ability to store and release mechanical energy allows the toy to move without the need for batteries or external power sources.

But, as kids, we don’t know this… So, watching a toy car travel 10 feet forwards after we only pull it back a couple of inches backwards leaves us feeling sheer joy and amusement.

Pin Ball Machine

Compression springs are known for their ability to store and release energy, making them suitable for applications that require repetitive and controlled motion, such as in a pinball machine.

Earlier versions of the pinball machine involved the player using a wooden cue stick to shoot a ball onto the playfield. Now they utilise spring-loaded knobs, or ‘plungers’, instead. Once pulled back and released, these small compression springs will send a ball flying around the playfield through an array of potential hazards.

To align the ball perfectly into the goal, and avoid these hazards, players can choose from a number of springs, ranging in strength, to create the perfect amount of tension – It’s not just a game of luck!

These machines are commonly found in arcades and now online, after the 80s and 90s saw a rise of pinball into the digital age.

Toy Cash Register

Toy cash registers gave us that amazing feeling of owning a whole till’s worth of our very own money, and coiled springs are integral to the register operating effectively.

In a toy cash register, several types of springs may be used depending on the specific mechanisms and features of the toy. Some common types of springs found in toy cash registers include:

Torsion Springs: Torsion springs are used to provide rotational force and are often found in mechanisms such as the cash drawer, coin dispenser, or buttons that need to return to their original position after being pressed.
Extension Springs: Extension springs are commonly used to provide tension and extension forces. They may be used in mechanisms like the cash drawer release mechanism or the printer mechanism, allowing for smooth and controlled movement.
Compression Springs: Compression springs may be used in various parts of the toy cash register to provide resistance or compression forces. They can be found in buttons, dials, or other components that need to be pressed or depressed.

The specific types and sizes of springs used in a toy cash register can vary depending on the design and functionality of the toy.

All these amazing uses of springs demonstrate just how incredibly versatile they are. Here at European Springs, we have plenty of experience in creating bespoke spring solutions for a huge variety of clients and industries.

Every parent can relate to the sleepless nights and exhaustion of a new born. Every parent struggles with late night feeds. However, not every new parent innovates a new product in the middle of the night, solving these issues, which is then recognised as one of the top 10 British inventions of the decade.

Inspired whilst frustrated at heating up bottles in the early hours, Jim and Farah Shaikh came up with the concept of a self-warming bottle which warms milk to perfect breastmilk temperature.

From conception to reality, working alongside Kent based European Springs & Pressings, yoomi was born – the fastest warming bottle system in the world.

Stuart McSheehy, Managing Director of European Springs & Pressings says: “Being part of the yoomi innovation has been such an exciting journey. To take an idea and see it succeed as it has makes us all a bit like proud parents.”

European Springs & Pressings developed a number of clicker spring stamping prototypes, evolving the design whilst working closely with Jim and Farah to ensure the engineered solutions met every exacting standard for this demanding market.

The resulting revolutionary self-warming technology is the only bottle design able to protect the essential nutrients in every drop of milk.

The first order saw 3,500 clicker spring stampings produced which has now exploded to 250,000 as the yoomi product sold out within 10 days in John Lewis stores. Today it is stocked in major national and international stores, across 24 countries around the world, with sales increasing by 60% in 2017.

Dr Jim Shaikh, CEO of yoomi concludes: “Looking back, we could never had forecast that our early days of working with Stuart and his design team would lead to the international success we have today. Our yoomi range has grown as we’ve grown. Whether parents choose to breastfeed, formula feed or combination feed, our range will support parents in giving their baby the best possible start and we’re very proud to design and manufacture in the UK.”

[button url=”/contact/” class=”scbutton”]Enquire Now[/button]

Category: News & Updates