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Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) is proud to announce it has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation™ 2024 by Great Place To Work® UK. In parallel, the business has been officially recertified as part of the Great Place To Work scheme.

The UK’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation™ list highlights organisations that excel in creating exceptional work environments. At the heart of this recognition is the Trust Index© employee survey administered by Great Place to Work® UK. This research-backed survey gathers insights from employees, focusing on key areas such as work-life balance, job satisfaction, psychological safety, and professional development. The survey also evaluates how consistently organisations deliver a positive experience across all departments and levels of seniority.

The Great Place To Work scheme is recognised worldwide and is the only certification based entirely on employee feedback.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at CVE, commented: “We are incredibly proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation and to retain our Great Place to Work status. At CVE we know that investing in our employees’ growth and wellbeing is key to driving our company forward. This recognition affirms we are on the right path. Thank you to all of our employees for making CVE a truly great place to work.”

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work® UK, said: “It’s great to see so many examples on our new UK’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation list of organisations making their workplaces truly ‘great’. These companies know that investing in the development needs of their employees has a direct impact on employee wellbeing as well as organisational growth. Congratulations to CVE for making it onto this prestigious list.”

For more than 60 years, CVE has been supplying innovative welding solutions to some of the biggest names in aerospace, automotive, defence, nuclear, and oil and gas – helping them solve major engineering challenges. Demand for the company’s welding know-how is ramping up as industries seek to lower their carbon footprint and speed up the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and nuclear reactors.

To learn more about the UK’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation™ 2024 by Great Place to Work® UK, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/best-workplaces/manufacturing/2024

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Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) is delighted to announce further awards success after winning the prestigious ‘Innovation of the Year’ award at the inaugural Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024. The award win reinforces CVE’s track record in delivering huge advances in the world of welding and the calibre of its Ebflow welding technology, which is significantly faster, cheaper, and cleaner than conventional welding techniques.

The awards ceremony – held on Thursday 26^th September at the historic Great Hall of Kings College, Cambridge – brought together businesses from across the county to celebrate their achievements and contributions across various industries.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at CVE, said: “Being acknowledged in this inaugural awards program is immensely rewarding. At CVE, much of our work is global. Most of our welding machines are exported, but we are very much a Cambridge-based business, with the majority of our workforce based in and around the city. Being recognised locally on the Cambridge business scene is testament to the ongoing efforts of our team, who are continually pushing the limits of what is possible in welding to deliver cutting-edge solutions to some of the biggest names in manufacturing in the world.”

For more information about the Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024, or to view a list of all of the winners, please visit: https://www.iliffemediapromotions.co.uk/cambridge-business-awards/

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Max Nentwich, Head Laser Development Engineer at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), has been elected Vice-Chair of the International Institute of Welding’s Commission IV: Power Beam Processes. His appointment was ratified at the recent Assembly & Conference on Welding and Joining held by the International Institute of Welding (IIW) in Rhodes, and is a notable accomplishment, given his young age.

Max’s appointment underscores his expertise and contributions to the field of welding and joining. After graduating in 2020, he joined CVE in July 2023, following two years at Cranfield University as a Research Engineer. Since joining CVE, Max has built upon the hugely successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) he completed whilst at Cranfield University, enhancing welding options available to engineers worldwide. His project solved the undesirable optics contamination phenomenon associated with Laser in Vacuum welding, paving the way for full scale industrial exploitation of the technology.

With Max’s project awarded the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’ by Innovate UK, CVE is now building Laser in Vacuum welding machines featuring the technology for its customers in industry.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, said: “Max’s election to this esteemed position reflects his dedication and the innovative work being undertaken at CVE. His new role within the IIW will allow him to influence and drive advancements in power beam processes, further establishing his own and CVE’s reputation as leaders in the industry. Fantastic work, Max – congratulations.”

Max added: “I am honoured to be elected Vice-Chair of IIW Commission IV. This role provides a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the advancement of power beam processes on a global scale. I look forward to working with my peers to drive innovation and excellence in our field.”

CVE’s Director of Ebflow Research, Development and Applications, Chris Punshon, also continues in his role as Chairman of Commission IV B for Electron Beam Welding for IIW.

CVE is headquartered in Waterbeach and has regional offices in Beijing, China and Massachusetts, USA, as well as a global network of agents.

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Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) is proud to announce its selection as a finalist in the inaugural Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024. CVE has been recognised in the highly competitive ‘Innovation of the Year’ category, highlighting its commitment to pioneering advancements in the welding industry.

Winners will be revealed at a grand gala awards ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday 26^thSeptember at the historic Great Hall at Kings College, Cambridge. The event will bring together the best and brightest businesses from across the region to celebrate their achievements and contributions to various industries.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at CVE, said: “We are honoured to be named as a finalist in the Innovation of the Year category in this brand new local awards programme. We continually strive to drive innovation forward in our sector, so to be recognised by a third party is gratifying. It underscores our dedication to pushing the boundaries of technology and delivering exceptional solutions to our customers. We look forward to the ceremony.”

To find out more about the Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024, please visit: https://www.iliffemediapromotions.co.uk/cambridge-business-awards/

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Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) – a specialist in power beam welding technologies – has been shortlisted for a prestigious Engineering & Manufacturing Award for its ground-breaking Ebflow™ technology, which is fast emerging as a key enabler in the transition towards a net-zero future.

Showcasing the very best that UK engineering has to offer, the Engineering & Manufacturing Awards celebrate game-changing and disruptive technologies within the sector.

CVE is shortlisted in the ‘Manufacturing Technology Innovation’ category for its cutting-edge Ebflow™ technique. This category recognises innovative manufacturing techniques that are having a tangible impact across industry. CVE’s Ebflow™ technology, which is currently making waves across the energy sector and helping to speed up construction of key infrastructure components such as wind turbines and small modular nuclear reactors, clearly impressed the judges with its capabilities.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, said: “Being shortlisted for this national award is testament to the ground-breaking nature of our Ebflow™ technology and the outstanding results it is delivering. Faster, leaner, and cleaner, Ebflow™ can help accelerate manufacturing across an array of applications, and in the case of the energy industry, could be the key to speeding up the drive toward a new era of sustainable energy production. We eagerly anticipate the outcome of the awards ceremony in September.”

Ebflow™ was recently used to fast track the production of a monopile foundation for an offshore wind turbine for Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The monopile transition piece, created using Ebflow™, was part of RapidWeld – a ground-breaking project funded by Innovate UK and led by a consortium including SSE Renewables, CVE, DNV, Sif Netherlands B.V, Agile NDT and The Welding Institute (TWI). The RapidWeld project team achieved welding speeds at least 25 times faster than the current default manufacturing method. Production required 90% less energy, cost 88% less, and produced 97% less CO₂ emissions.

Ebflow™ also recently helped Sheffield Forgemasters cut the amount of time needed to weld a small modular reactor (SMR) pressure vessel demonstrator from more than a year, to less than 24 hours – a move that could help reshape the future of nuclear reactor production worldwide and bridge the gap in the UK’s energy market.

The Engineering & Manufacturing Awards will take place on Wednesday 4^th September 2024 at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

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Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) – a leading provider of electron beam and laser welding systems – and Ford, today announced that they have won a £430,000 research grant from UKRI’s Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge, which is delivered by Innovate UK. Together the two companies have been awarded a share of a £5.8 million fund to explore the automation and scale up of electron beam welding for the joining of copper and aluminium components used to power electric motors for the automotive industry.

Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, is investing heavily in electrification technologies – including power electronics, machines, and drives (PEMD) – which can support the UK’s push towards a net zero carbon economy and the development of cleaner technology supply chains.

Under a project entitled EB-eDrive, CVE and Ford are seeking to reduce the time it takes to manufacture hairpin stators, the electromagnet system central to the smooth running of electric vehicle engines. Speeding up this process could help increase the production of electric vehicles in the UK – supporting the Government’s net zero targets. It would also help reinforce the country’s position as a global leader in the research and development of advanced manufacturing technologies.

Electron beam welding is significantly faster than conventional laser welding techniques. The technology is already making a major difference in other clean energy applications – significantly accelerating the pace at which wind turbines and nuclear reactors can be produced while also reducing the amount of energy used and cutting the carbon footprint of associated processes.

Bob Nicolson, CEO of Aquasium Technology – the parent company of Cambridge Vacuum Engineering – said: “We are delighted that EB-eDrive is one of twelve projects awarded a grant by Innovate UK. It’s exciting to be working with Ford Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering and collaborating on such an important research initiative. The potential benefits that electron beam welding can bring to the production of motor stators is huge. As well as looking to reduce manufacturing time, we’ll also be seeing what we can do to improve the quality of hairpin welds to reduce the risk of electrical shortcuts and the production of non-functioning stators. With the funding granted by Innovate UK our aim is to demonstrate how electron beam welding – as an advanced manufacturing technique – can accelerate the green transformation of the UK automotive industry and keep the country at the forefront of global vehicle production and innovation.”

Work on EB-eDrive has already started with CVE and Ford agreeing a scope of works, drawing up preliminary designs and welding some small samples.

CVE has been the recipient of previous Innovate UK grants. In February 2023 the business received funding under UKRI’s Faraday Battery Challenge, which is delivered by Innovate UK and supports the research and development of the most promising, innovative, and sustainable battery technologies for the propulsion of electric vehicles in the automotive sector. The EB-Bat project is a collaboration with Delta Cosworth and TWI to design, build and test an electron beam welding machine that can weld battery busbar components.

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

For further information about EB-eDrive, please contact: sales@camvaceng.com

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An advanced electron beam (EB) welding technology, developed by Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) has the potential to transform the speed at which small nuclear power stations can be built. In a trial conducted by Sheffield Forgemasters, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering’s Ebflow technology was deployed to cut the amount of time needed to weld a small modular reactor (SMR) pressure vessel demonstrator from more than a year, to less than 24 hours – a move that could help reshape the future of nuclear reactor production worldwide and bridge the gap in the UK’s energy market.

As part of a Government-funded project, Sheffield Forgemasters incorporated Ebflow, operating under local vacuum, into a bespoke, large-scale EB facility at its Brightside Lane site to complete four thick nuclear grade welds on vessels with a diameter of three meters and a wall thickness of 200mm. As well as reducing welding time by an astounding 99%, Ebflow also delivered the superior quality and precision of welds needed to ensure SMRs operate safely – setting a new standard for weld-joining thick-walled components.

Ebflow is a highly advanced fusion welding process with applications across a wide range of industries from oil and gas to nuclear power generation to ship building and more. The technology utilises a focused beam of high-velocity electrons to join metal components together. The main difference to traditional welding methods is that no third-party material is introduced to make the join. This technique enables unparalleled levels of accuracy and efficiency, making it ideal for the intricate welding requirements of primary components used in mission-critical energy applications – including mini nuclear reactors.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at CVE, said: “Our partnership with Sheffield Forgemasters demonstrates the power of Ebflow and proves – beyond doubt – the benefits it can deliver when it comes to driving sustainable advancements in the energy sector. We all know the clock is ticking when it comes to climate change. As more governments worldwide sign up to net zero emissions by 2050, the energy industry must embrace technologies – like Ebflow – that can help speed up the deployment of low carbon energy production.”

Sheffield Forgemasters is the only company in the UK with the capability to manufacture the large forgings required for SMRs, and now – thanks to Ebflow – it has years of developmental lead on global competitors in welding thick-walled assemblies.

Dr Michael Blackmore, Senior Development Engineer and Project Lead at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “The implication of industrialised Electron Beam Welding technology within the nuclear industry is monumental, potentially taking high-cost welding processes out of the equation.”

Professor Jesus Talamantes-Silva, Research, Design and Technology Director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We are delighted to have reached a significant milestone in assembling a nuclear vessel demonstrator, using electron beam welding for the first time at this scale, with 100 per cent success and no defects.”

Dr Jacob Pope, Development Engineer and LEBW machine tool installation lead at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: We thank the Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for enabling the project through its Nuclear Innovation Program. We also thank our esteemed partner, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, for their invaluable support throughout this endeavour. Their remote and on-site assistance played an instrumental role in the success of this project.”

Ebflow is the result of years of research and development by specialists at CVE, which is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and has regional offices in Beijing, China and Massachusetts, USA, as well as a global network of agents. For more information about CVE go to www.camvaceng.com

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About Cambridge Vacuum Engineering:

Aquasium Technology Ltd, trading as Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (“CVE”), design and build process solutions and has more than 60 years’ experience manufacturing electron beam (EB) systems in a range of industrial sectors including aerospace, nuclear, automotive, oil and gas, and sensors. The company exports around 95% of its systems with primary markets in USA, China, India, and Europe. CVE’s range of EB welding equipment includes systems ranging from 50-200kV with beam powers up to 100kW. CVE has a team of designers and engineers to enable them to design and build bespoke manufacturing equipment to meet their customer’s requirements.

https://camvaceng.com/

For more information please email: sales@camvaceng.com

About Ebflow:

Ebflow is a local vacuum electron beam welding system, which can be readily transported and operated on-site and applied to structures significantly larger than those that can be accommodated in a vacuum chamber. Ebflow eliminates the need for a vacuum chamber through a local, coarse vacuum, which is established and maintained only where it is needed. Ebflow facilitates very high joint completion rates in thick-section metals and is 20-30 times faster than conventional submerged arc welding: achieving 200mm per minute in 150mm thick steel – allowing for the fastest thick-section rates ever.

https://camvaceng.com/machine/ebflow/

Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) – a renowned specialist in power beam welding technologies – triumphed at the Energy Institute’s International Energy Awards in London on Thursday 29th February, winning a prestigious industry award for its involvement in the ground-breaking RapidWeld project. CVE and the partners it worked with on RapidWeld were crowned overall winners in the ‘Technology Award’ category, fending off competition from five other shortlisted businesses to reach the coveted top spot.

Every year, the highly anticipated International Energy Awards recognise companies and technologies that are supporting the transition to net zero and / or extending universal access to energy.

The award-winning RapidWeld project saw CVE work alongside industry partners including SSE Renewables, DNV, Sif Netherlands B.V., Agile NDT and The Welding Institute. Together, the consortium fast tracked the production of an offshore wind turbine monopile foundation destined for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm* by harnessing CVE’s innovative Ebflow technology.  During RapidWeld, CVE demonstrated that it is possible to weld monopiles far quicker than current methods. It also proved that Ebflow uses 90% less energy, costs 88% less, and produces 97% less CO2 emissions.

Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, said: “Along with our partners, we are delighted to have been recognised by the Energy Institute.  The success of RapidWeld is testament to the relationships we forged across the consortium; the power of our Ebflow technology; and CVE’s dedication to developing ground-breaking welding systems that can address the complex challenges faced by the energy industry. RapidWeld was an exciting project to work on and we look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of technological advancements in the energy sector with many more projects to come.”

Now in its 25th anniversary year, the International Energy Awards attract entries from businesses across the world that are championing more sustainable ways of working. Winners were decided by an elite judging panel including some of the biggest names in the energy sector such as Dame Angela Strank DBE FRS FREng FIChemE HonFEI. The 2024 International Energy Awards took place at The Grosvenor House, London, on 29^th February 2024.

The Energy Institute is the chartered membership body for professionals working globally across the energy sector. A registered charity, the Energy Institute provides the skills, knowledge and good practice needed to protect the environment during operations and to advance the global energy transition required by the climate emergency.

CVE is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and has regional offices in Beijing, China and Massachusetts, USA, as well as a global network of agents. For more information about CVE go to www.camvaceng.com

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Footnote:

*The Ebflow welded monopile was installed at Dogger Bank Wind Farm in late February 2024.

About Cambridge Vacuum Engineering:

Aquasium Technology Ltd, trading as Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (“CVE”), design and build process solutions and has more than 60 years’ experience manufacturing electron beam (EB) systems in a range of industrial sectors including aerospace, nuclear, automotive, oil and gas, and sensors. The company exports around 95% of its systems with primary markets in USA, China, India, and Europe. CVE’s range of EB welding equipment includes systems ranging from 50-200kV with beam powers up to 100kW. CVE has a team of designers and engineers to enable them to design and build bespoke manufacturing equipment to meet their customer’s requirements.

https://camvaceng.com/

For more information please email:

sales@camvaceng.com