2014

The Tidal Turbine is Equipped with FMGC Cast Iron Counterweights

All components of the tidal turbine Sabella D10 are finished and have arrived at the Brest commercial port. In later spring the set should be installed in the waters of Fromveur near Ushant to generate electricity through the tides by resisting the force of the sea currents. The tidal turbine is expected to cover 20% of the energy needs of the island. All components are designed and manufactured in France.

The robust base comprises 200 tons of FMGC tidal turbine ballast, made of gray cast iron.

Sabella is already looking forward to Sabella D15, which should be launched in 2018 and will cover not 20, but 70 % of the energy needs of Ushant.

FMGC is the European leader in the manufacturing of gray cast iron counterweights for  vehicles employed mainly in the material handling and construction industries. Relying on its 25 years of expertise in this field, the company never stops looking for new challenges and innovations. In the last 3 years FMGC has been actively working on new high-density ballast solutions to support the marine renewable energy sector. The pioneering tidal turbine foundation for Sabella D10, made of gray cast iron, is an important milestone in the company’s development towards the MRE sector.

Why cast iron?
Most of the existing gravity-based tidal turbines use concrete. Although it is a new material in this industry, gray cast iron provides better mechanical properties.  4 to 5 times denser than concrete, cast iron can achieve the target weight in less space. Its resistance to corrosion and strength are also proven better than those of concrete.

Read more in Le journal de l’éolien

More on Sabella D10 Gray Cast Iron Counterweights

Sabella Tidal Turbine D10 Is Ready

Gray Iron Counterweights for MRE

Held from 25 -28 November 2014 in Frankfurt/Main, Germany Euromold is one of the biggest and oldest world fairs for moldmaking and tooling, design and application development. The show has always been a proven platform for synergy effects and successful networking. Exhibitors can showcase their products, oriented mainly towards users in areas such as the automobile, subcontracting, electric and electronic industries household appliances, medical devices, consumer goods, air and space travel and leisure and sport. The cornerstone of Euromold concept is “From Design to Prototyping to Series Production”.

As a newcomer Spartacus3D has visited the event to meet customers and business partners. The team has evaluated the visit as highly successful and shared its highlights from the event. The first global impression was the presence of so many high-quality metal 3D printers, which says a lot about the transformation of traditional manufacturing. The most impressive printer was by far the Pro X400 by 3DSystems with building chamber 500x500x500, 2 lasers of 500 watts with mobile laser heads and internal automatic recycling & sieving system. This huge 3D printer has a removable chamber, which can be removed, prepared and/or post-processed outside.

Other interesting exhibitors were Concept Laser and Renishaw. Concept Laser presented its new M2 machine with 2 lasers and Renishaw revealed insights on their future developments with the EVO project – an upgrade of their AM250 printer. The quality DMLS printers from key players as SLM solutions and EOS received as usual a lot of attention. The new EOS M 400 has separate zone for preparation and cleaning, 1 KW laser and new sieving system with closed loop.

Spartacus3D is looking forward to Euromold 2015 to participate as an exhibitor and promote high-quality metal additive manufacturing.

The French start-up Emiota has developed a smart belt that can automatically adapt to the waistline according to the position of the body and the size of the belly. The revolutionary product was launched on October, 22 at the CES Unveiled event in Paris. This event is a preview of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las vegas, on January 6th 2015.

The belt of tomorrow consists of a 3d printed buckle and a leather waistband. The metal part of the buckle, manufactured by Spartacus3D, is a sophisticated piece with an assembled knurled shaft. Used to the production of aerospace parts, the additive manufacturing team was challenged with these components, that shouldn’t be only functional but also look smart and fashionable. But even caught between tight deadlines and unusual 3D printing process, the top engineers delivered excellent quality. Emiota has highly appreciated the collaboration with Spartacus3D.

In July, the forging subsidiary of Farinia Group – Setforge  made a takeover offer for 2 automotive manufacturing sites of the group Altia.
The offer concerns the entire staff of the site in Saint-Helene and 77 people in Saint-Etienne. The Commercial Court should take a decision on Monday, November 3rd, after 4 months of observation period – hard times  for staff and customers.

Setforge offer is supported by the management and the staff, but also by local politicians such as Jean François Barnier, the mayor of Chambon-Feugerolles.
 

Source : www.forez-info.com

The French association “Fondus de Curel” organized on October 11, 2014 the first mountain bike championship for people employed in the forging and casting industries. There were 7 FMGC participants. The difficult terrain and bad meteorological conditions couldn’t scare the brave engineers and the team finished third. The French association “Fondus de Curel”, founded in 2012, wants to establish a strong connection between mountain biking and discovering the metallurgical heritage of the region.

Individual ranking of the FMGC employees who participated in the race:

Pascal Gourhand  - 6th place
Pierre-Yves Michel - 12th place
Loic Pepion -  13th place
Daniel Gicquel – 14th place, despite a puncture in the second round
Franck Michel - 19th place
Stéphane Peigné - 30th place
Thierry Madiot – dismissed because of a tire failure

On October 2, 2014 in Soudan, France, FMGC welcomed key-players connected to the renewable marine energy on the first summit, organized by the company. There were more than 60 external participants, among them the most important actors of the sector: EDF, RTE, Orange Marine, STX Europe, CETEAL, SABELLA etc.. FMGC officially revealed the company’s capacity, knowledge and willing to cooperate with the marine energy sector.

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The main projects that were presented at the summit were a short study, concerning sizing of iron ballast for the tidal energy and the latest innovative product of the company - counterweights manufactured for SABELLA - a well-known tidal turbine manufacturer.

About FMGC:
FMGC is a subsidiary of the industrial group Farinia and is specialized in gray iron casting. With its 110.000 tons of manufactured cast metal capacity and 330 employees, FMGC is one of the undoubted leaders in this field.  Equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and tooling, we provide a large scale of cast metal parts, whereby our main expertise is the manufacture of ballast solutions. Cast metal counterweights applications are used on heavy equipment for material handling, construction, agriculture or on off-highway vehicles. These include forklifts, excavators, front loaders, mobile cranes and tractors. Thanks to our know-how, a result of long experience and permanent improvement, we supply some of the most famous brands as Manitou, Toyota, Pinguely-Haulotte, Dufour, JLG, Komatsu, Liebherr, Manitowoc, Demag Terex, Linde, Nissan, MCI and Volvo.

We are an engineering company with a vision. Our dedication to create a better world inspires the tireless search for new innovative solutions. Therefore FMGC had decided to actively cooperate with the Marine Renewable Energy Sector in the following projects: tidal power, subsea cable protection, fixed and floating offshore wind power, mooring, and wave power.
 

The biggest financial daily newspaper in France Les Échos took interest in Farinia’s commitment to continuous growth and innovation in today’s tough economic times. Founded in 2002 by Frédéric Guinot, the group consists of two main subsidiaries and three promising start-ups. The casting division FMGC is the European leader in manufacturing of gray cast iron counterweights. In 2009 Farinia acquired Setforge – a forging subsidiary composed of nine production companies located in France. With the support of Bpifrance, a trusted partner for entrepreneurs, Farinia could accomplish this important, but risky step. 

Other important investments are the start-ups Safir (cloud computing and big data) Setforge Engineering (forging and robotics) and Spartacus3D (additive manufacturing technology).

Farinia's turnover tripled in the last 12 years and is now 250 million euros. The company employs 1,200 people in ten plants. Frédéric Guinot, says: “Our goal is to reach 500 million euros in the next five years.”

Source: Les Échos

A couple of months after Farinia Group have announced its investment in the company SABELLA, the production of the tidal turbine D10 has entered its final phase.

The revolutionary project of SABELLA is supported by ADEME (The French Environment and Energy Management Agency) and is based on highly innovative marine energy solutions. D10 will be placed in the waters of Fromveur near Ushant to generate electricity through the tides by resisting the force of the currents. The tidal turbine is 17 meters high, with a base 20x20 meters. Its entire weight is 450 tones, including ballast. The tidal turbine counterweights, ensuring its stability on the seabed, are manufactured by FMGC. The casting division of Farinia Group is a well-known provider of high-quality ballast solutions.

Source: ouestfrance-enterprises.fr

Spartacus3D, the newly established additive manufacturing division of Farinia Group, has started production. After the purchase of the selective laser melting machine EOS M280, two furnaces and other state-of-the-art equipment the team is working on the first 3D printed aerospace components. Thanks to our close collaboration with established material producers, Spartacus3D uses best metal powder for selective laser melting. Combining best expertise in additive manufacturing with its solid engineering know-how, the Spartacus3D team is ready to deliver high-quality 3d printed parts.

For now the team will mainly support the automotive and aerospace industries in the development and production of innovative solutions. Nevertheless we have the capacity to become a strategic partner of any other industry in manufacturing, prototyping and selling of 3D metal parts. Our final mission is to establish a highly reliable global industrial supply chain in metal additive manufacturing.

On October 2, 2014, FMGC the casting division of Farinia Group, welcomes all professionals, connected to the marine renewable energy to discover innovative and effective high-density ballast solutions. Many key-players have already confirmed their participation. The registration for the event will start in July, 2014.

For more than 15 years FMGC is specialized in the manufacturing of cast iron counterweights for material handling equipment, mobile cranes and boat keels. Thanks to our long experience and expertise, we are today one of the leaders in the European market.  Our counterweights are highly appreciated from big groups as Manitou, Toyota, Liebherr .

In the last 3 years FMGC has been actively working on new solutions for high-density ballast to support the marine renewable energy sector. The company has even become a participant in the Windindustry 2.0 program launched by the Union of Renewable Energies, which has led to collaborations with major industrial players in France and Europe (STX, DCNS, Siemens, Areva, Alstom, Voith, etc..).