Emtelle is the global leader in ducted network solutions and air blown fibre solutions. It produces small, lightweight and robust underground cabling systems, pioneering the next generation of broadband network solutions for FttH (Fibre-To-The-Home)
Recent communications contracts have included cabling the communications infrastructure to 7600 homes in Nuenen, in The Netherlands and for the Olympic Village in Athens in 2004.
The Business Challenge
A particular problem of underground cable management is the presence of water and moisture in the tubing which houses the fibre optic cables and Emtelle’s R&D team in Hawick has been looking to develop the next generation of polyethylene tubing with a greatly reduced water permeability rate. To do this, Emtelle required a recognised specialist working in the area of semi-permeable membrane technology.
“One of my colleagues had been sent a leaflet about Interface and the benefits for us were immediately apparent. We required a specific expertise and, based on our criteria, we contacted Interface who put us in touch with the School of Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University,
Interface was the ideal catalyst in helping bring both parties together. Having previously worked with Heriot-Watt and Napier Universities on knowledge transfer partnership projects, we were aware that the external expertise we required probably existed within academia, but crucially, needed to find ways of uncovering the correct academic partner for this very distinct engineering project.” commented Phil Clayton, technical manager of Emtelle
The Solution
Interface identified that this area of expertise was available through The Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Engineering and more specifically the Centre for Research on Indoor Climate and Health.
The centre’s Chris Sanders takes up the story.
“The contact that Interface made for us with Emtelle led to an interesting series of discussions and allowed us to develop a relationship with a new industry sector This enabled us to bring our expertise on moisture transport into a novel field. Interface plays a very valuable role in establishing contacts between specialised University groups and industrial organisations working in areas outside their usual field.”
A short-term consultancy project was agreed, enabling Emtelle to begin developing a superior product with ultra low water permeation rates. In short, Interface gave Emtelle access to knowledge outside the core expertise of its business that helped it onto the next stage of our product development cycle.
Phil Clayton added, “I believe that Interface is the perfect ‘trouble-shooter’. I would urge more companies and businesses to look closely at Interface to help cement the bond between academic talent and companies looking to further their product development. It really is a great opportunity to have Interface at your disposal.
The relationship made between universities and organisations have an important role to play particularly where complex problems and issues have to be resolved.”
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Kanthal is the world’s leading manufacturer of resistance heating elements offering a broad spectrum of products for use in domestic home appliances to large high temperature furnaces. The company has a production unit in Perth and forms part of the multi-national Sandvik Group, a high-technology engineering group and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of resistance and electrical heating element materials.
Kanthal has manufactured silicon carbide heating elements for many years with two types – recrystallised silicon carbide and reaction bonded silicon carbide – dominating its product range.
The Business Challenge
Industrial users of silicon carbide heating elements place a great emphasis on the strength, and in particular, the bending strength of silicon carbide heating elements to offer greater robustness and versatility within the manufacturing process.
Stan Moug, Product Development Manager, Kanthal explains, “bending strength plays a key selling point for the company, particularly when vying for international business against strong competition in the USA and Japan.”
Strength of product is not just a requirement in the manufacturing process, but also in the global transportation and shipping of the product. For example, increasing demand for display glass used for applications such as plasma display panels, require longer and larger element lengths – anything from 2.5 to 3 metres are the norm, but longer rods, up to six metres in length are being demanded as the size of the panels used increases. Therefore, we have to be in a position to offer products that withstand the rigours of transportation and reach the manufacturer or specifier in one piece.”
Whilst Kanthal was able to carry out some areas of testing capability in-house, the company needed to conduct specific bending trials which measured the accuracy in three and four point bending strength of silicon carbide rods with diameters ranging between 20mm and 55 mm. This required fully calibrated materials testing equipment which gave accurate results. The fact that the measurements could be seen as impartial and independent was also seen as an advantage.
Kanthal initially contacted Scottish Enterprise Tayside, who referred the enquiry to Interface – The knowledge connection for business.
The Solution
Interface sourced assistance from across the Scottish academic community and made recommendations to Kanthal. The company opted to work with the School of the Built Environment at Napier University.
The academic, Alan Davidson, Lecturer in Materials Engineering, worked with Stan at Kanthal to evaluate the bending strength of the silicon carbide rods. A number of tests on over 300 rod samples were carried out and both Alan and Stan believed the results gave Kanthal encouragement to conduct further research into the manufacturing process of future silicon carbide rods.
Stan concluded, “Our industry is continually evolving and we need to look at ways of keeping ahead of our competition. Working with Napier University, with the help of Interface, has been a very worthwhile exercise and the working partnership we now have with Alan Davidson is proving very successful.”
“Personally, I found Interface very helpful. They asked the right questions and made sure they captured our specific requirements. Our search criteria can be very specialised and Interface managed to identify the best solution, on our behalf, before we commenced our partnership with Alan Davidson at Napier. This saved us a lot of time”.