A metallurgy consultancy service that aims to help firms save costs by giving them advice on smarter manufacturing solutions is now available at Kuka’s UK sub-contract friction welding facility.

Kameel Sawalha has moved his independent laboratory business — Aston Microscopy & Engineering — to the site at Halesowen, where Kuka joins components for manufacturers in a wide variety of industries (www.astonmicroscopy.co.uk).

Professor Sawalha has a BSc degree in mechanical and production engineering (Napier University), an MSc in manufacturing system engineering (Warwick) and a PhD in materials engineering (Aston).

His expertise covers not only metallurgical and corrosion investigation but also failure analysis and materials selection. He has published numerous scientific papers and has been a visiting professor of material at a number of academic institutions.

The addition of the metallurgy consultancy means that Kuka can offer a full suite of laboratory amenities, such as EDX analysis for assessing weld integrity and failure, as well as associated services including heat treatment and prototype manufacture and development.

Among its ‘state of the art’ equipment is an electron microscope for high-resolution imaging.

Jayne Shimwell, Kuka’s technical services manager, said: “Professor Sawalha’s consultancy enhances our ability to offer a comprehensive resource for manufacturers on all aspects of friction welding metallurgy and weldability.”

According to Kuka (www.kuka.com), more component makers in industries including aerospace, automotive, construction machine and mineral exploration are choosing friction welding, because it is a cost-effective, accurate and 100% repeatable technology.