Oxford company set to save automotive world millions

Citation

(2002), "Oxford company set to save automotive world millions", Industrial Robot, Vol. 29 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2002.04929aab.001

Oxford company set to save automotive world millions

Ford and Oxford University support new manufacturing process

Keywords: Ford, Oxford University, Automation

A new Oxford-based company has been launched, whose utilisation of innovative technology is set to reduce vehicle development time by as much as five months and save the industry millions of pounds. The organisation, Novarc Limited, is supported by the combined weight of Oxford University, Ford Motor Company and one of the country's leading merchant banks, Beeson Gregory.

In collaboration with its commercial partners, Novarc is leading the introduction of the rapid tooling process of sprayforming in Europe. Sprayforming is the method of creating dies and tools for the production of car. parts, as well as other objects, by the spraying of molten steel onto a mould. These leading edge technical developments in process control have taken place at Oxford University's department of materials in partnership with Ford Motor Company. Novarc has licensed key intellectual property from Ford Global Technologies Inc.

In addition to the support of Ford's development teams both in the UK and United States, Novarc benefits from the investment and expertise of Isis Innovation, Oxford University's technology transfer company and investment bank Beeson Gregory, specialists In high growth companies.

Dr David Field, managing director of Novarc Limited, is delighted to be spearheading the commercialisation of the technology and remarked: “This an exciting time for us all at Novarc. With the support of organisations such as Ford and Isis, we will be able to capitalise on the tremendous global opportunities for both finished tooling and the supply of integrated turnkey systems. In time, this will lead to the need for a larger workforce and therefore job opportunities in the Oxford area.”

He concluded: “The automotive industry is going through a period of intense change. With our development of sprayforming technology, we will be able to assist the needs of the car manufacturers, suppliers and the consumer in the reduction of lead times.”

The sprayforming process, which will eventually take over from other more traditional means of producing tools and dies, is both simple and economic. Once a design for a part has been completed and model taken – invariably via CAD/CAM – a ceramic cast is made and then placed in a chamber. From here, an automated robot sprays the cast with molten steel. This creates a thick. uniform shell which is then ready for use as a tool once the cast is removed.

For further information please contact: 8a Begbroke Business & Science Park, Sandy Lane, Yarnton, Oxford OX5 1PF, UK