Apprentice Life at Mecmesin 

Kara, Digital Marketing Apprenticeship

Kara working on product brochure assets

University isn’t for everyone and having worked within a digital marketing role for almost two years prior to joining Mecmesin I was keen not to be ‘pigeon-holed’ within the industry. In hope to grow and strengthen my skill-set I joined as an apprentice, which would not only give me a role to fulfil this but also a qualification I could take forward with me.  

Although on release to college one day a week, my role at Mecmesin was not limited. Throughout completing my apprenticeship training I was given the opportunity to get hands on experience in areas that coincided with my study. As a global company with multiple subsidiaries Mecmesin has given me the perfect foundation to work across a breadth of projects providing the varied role I’d been craving!

Responsibilities in the Marketing Department

The published work

Having now developed within my role, I am responsible for the contribution, maintenance, and development of digital projects and campaigns across; Email Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation, Pay-Per-Click, and Social Media. From these campaigns I am tasked with monitoring key performance indicators and producing reports to demonstrate effective return on investment – something I find very rewarding as it allows me to see exactly how my efforts are benefiting the company. 

Full time career

Product launch at Control 2017

Despite my apprenticeship programme being purely based on the digital aspect of marketing, I was also given the chance to assist with the organisation of exhibitions. This has introduced me to a whole new aspect of marketing, and really helped to build my confidence after I attended the launch of our new product range at the Control show in Germany May last year.  

Originally this role was a placement that allowed me to complete my Level 3 Diploma in Digital Marketing, but now it is a role that is growing with me and I am a happy full-time employee. 

Check out our careers page for apprenticeship opportunities!

Jennifer Colins, Software Test Engineer

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science day on Feb 11 2018, we asked Jennifer Collins, Software Test Engineer at Mecmesin about her career choice:

"A desire to understand how things work, a willingness to problem solve and an independent minded personality enabled me to achieve a career which encompassed Computer/Network Support and Software Testing.  

A Bachelor’s degree in an arts-related field, a career started in a traditionally defined gender role, even motherhood (twice!) has not placed insurmountable barriers to my moving into, and working in, Technology and Engineering departments where I have often started out as the only woman on the team.   

However finding my final chosen career would have been easier with greater opportunities and encouragement when choosing my educational path.  As a mother of young girls I encourage my daughters to challenge positively, question, problem solve and be independently minded however it is they themselves who have to challenge the stereotypes perpetuated by their own peer groups so that they can choose an educational path and a career which is one they find personally fulfilling."

Find out more about careers at Mecmesin.

Emily Swinburne, Mechanical Design Engineer

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science day on Feb 11 2018, we asked Emily Swinburne, Mechanical Design Engineer at Mecmesin about her career choice:

"As someone who has always been very good with numerical based subjects, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career was a logical choice. Engineering became a focus quite early on in my life after I found myself wondering how things work far more often than why. I was fortunate enough to have a family that actively encouraged my inquisitiveness, a primary school that sought to engage me intellectually far beyond the standard curriculum and, a very forward thinking all girls high school that placed a heavy emphasis on STEM subjects. The latter was greatly helped by its specialist status in engineering.

I recognise that despite my fortunate early experiences, the gender bias is still prominent in STEM fields. I studied on a vastly male dominated degree course and currently work in a male dominated department. However, the gap is closing and, more importantly, the attitude towards women in these fields is changing too.

At Mecmesin, I have been given the opportunity to work on a large number of projects in a very short span of time. The variety presented ensures no two days are the same and the company's use of both traditional machined solutions as well as 3D printed ones opens up design approaches that I would have never considered during my time at university."

Sussex Super Growth Award 2017 for Mecmesin

Top 50 place for Mecmesin

John Page receiving Mecmesin's award

From over 80,000 business in Sussex, Mecmesin is proud to have a top 50 place in the 2017 Sussex Super Growth Awards 2017.

The event hosted the top 60 shortlisted companies, from over 80,000 employing more than 650,000 in our region.

Mecmesin is celebrating its 40 year anniversary in 2017 and this recognition shows how our local business is continuing to drive rising demand, increase employment and generate prosperity in the Sussex area. 

A global local company

MultiTest-dV - one of our newest products

No doubt our unique blend of local knowledge matched with our global presence was a major attribute in bringing Mecmesin to the attention of the organisers.

We have launched several new products in 2016 and have plans for more in 2017 and beyond.

Our growing business often needs new recruits to continue our expansion - see our careers page for the latest vacancies.

Dedicated Expert Closure Testing Microsite

Closure testing microsite for users and manufacturers

Mecmesin has launched a new microsite, ClosureTesting.com, for manufacturers and end users of packaging closures, collecting our knowledge and experience in delivering quality testing solutions into one easily accessible resource.

Plastic, metal or cork? Torque, force or both?

Multiple devices for multiple closures

Visitors can select the closure material and test type relevant to their industry to be guided to the range of Mecmesin products suited to their application—from simple manual testers through to complete automated systems.

All of this expertise is available via a responsive design, equally accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop browsing devices. Closure testing products.

Customer success stories

Mecmesin has supplied test solutions to customers in all consumer packaging industries;

• drinks (including wines and spirits), 
• cosmetics and personal care, 
• food/dairy, 
• household/industrial, 
• medical/pharmaceutical.  

The site brings together how our closure testing capabilities have benefitted OEMs and producers of the final packaged product.

In-depth videos

ClosureTesting.com also collects together our informative and in-depth videos covering test standards related specifically to caps and closures, how to ensure the best possible accuracy and repeatability in measuring test data, plus product overviews.

Of particular importance in the measurement of screw cap removal or application torque, is consistent gripping of the closure, and we recommend using a mandrel to eliminate distortion and inaccuracy of results. See our video here.

PCB Copper Track 90 Degree Peel Test on State-Of-The Art Substrate Material

Cambridge Nanotherm Ltd. produce a unique, technologically-advanced substrate for the thermal management of electronic components, such as metal-backed printed circuit boards (MBPCB). The company can now perform IPC-TM-650 peel testing in-house with the Mecmesin MultiTest UTM and 90 degree assisted peel table.
Read more in our case study.

Meet Ben Goldthorpe from our UK sales team

Role At Mecmesin

Ben Goldthorpe is one of our team of technical sales professionals, based at Slinfold, UK. He is responsible for Scandinavia - Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland - with a view to developing Mecmesin's presence in these and additional countries in the future.

Past Experience

Ben is a highly motivated and professional Sales Representative with wide ranging experience of both field and office-based sales. He has a wealth of experience gained in manufacturing operations, involving Hydronic and electric heating systems and the Computer Software sectors.

Recent Activity at Mecmesin

• Supply of torque testers to the beverage industry (Tornado and  Orbis digital torque testers) for Quality Control departments checking drink bottles are tightened to the correct torque.
• Supply of motorised test stands (Vortex-d) for a pharmaceutical laboratory: testing closures for closing and opening of medicine bottles.
• Product training for Kyocera Unimerco staff (Mecmesin Distributor for Denmark).
• Working with LaboChema in the Baltics: Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia. 

Helixa at MTI Expo 2014

Helixa Debut at MTI Expo 2014

Mecmesin’s new Helixa range of precision torque testers makes its public debut at Med-Tech Innovation Expo 2014, taking place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry 2-3^rd April.

Take a quick virtual tour of our stand (number 129) taken by Oliver Albury – also making his public debut for the Marketing department!

Helixa is specifically designed and engineered for the precision torque measurement requirements of the medical industry - find out more.

Testing industry small-torque

Mecmesin has announced the Helixa precision torque tester range, which is a significant development in the torque testing of finely-engineered components. This new stand is designed to allow precise, concentric alignment of the test sample to the torque cell, resulting in an unparalleled accuracy of measurement down to just a few mN.m. The highest capacity torque cell available for the Helixa is rated at 6 N.m.

Additional key features include a counterbalancing mechanism to remove axial forces due to the torque cell and fixtures, plus if required, a top-load platen that can be used to apply a specific static axial force, should the test procedure require it.

We already have customers taking advantage of Helixa’s leading-edge features, which make it an ideal solution in a range of industries where the measurement of low to medium torque values is paramount. Example products and components in the medical, cosmetics, electronics and precision engineering fields include:

• Luer fittings (slip and lock)
• dosage-dial drug delivery devices (e.g. insulin pens)
• light and miniature torsion springs
• electronics rotary controls and components
• fine and high-performance bearings
• child-resistant closures (CRCs)
• cosmetics twist-dispensers (e.g. lipsticks)

The Helixa-i is the PC-controlled version, driven by Mecmesin’s powerful Emperor™ software, and the Helixa-xt is the stand-alone model controlled from an integral touch-screen console.

Find out more from the Helixa video

An Automated Test System to Celebrate

There are few sounds as evocative as the "pop" of a cork coming out of a wine bottle.  It instantly conjures up images of fine dining, celebration and generally good times.  Diam, a major manufacturer of cork wine bottle closures knows this and they want the cork to emerge from the bottle with a satisfying "pop" every time and the wine to be in perfect condition: TCA taint-free.  Using cleaned granulated natural cork they make superior closures manufactured to close dimensional tolerances that will keep the wine in perfect taint-free condition.  As part of their quality control standards, Diam need to test large numbers of corks to quantify how they will retain their resilience after being compressed.  So Mecmesin developed a fully automated testing system that retrieves a sample from a carousel, compresses the cork to a specified load, then measures the return force as the cork relaxes.  At the same time the temperature of the cork is measured by a non-contacting infra-red sensor as recording the temperature is critical for this test.  With a testing cycle time of several minutes for each sample, an automated system made perfect sense, allowing hundreds of corks to be force tested overnight completely unattended.

Take a look at the following video to see the solution developed by Mecmesin.

 À votre santé!

http://www.mecmesin.com/automatic-cork-tester

Orbis product video

 

 

Orbis is our manually operated torque tester with digital display.  Being battery powered you can use it anywhere you need an accurate measurement of clockwise or anti-clockwise torque.  To see what the Orbis could do for you, follow the link to Mecmesin TV where you can find a short video.

http://www.mecmesin.com/orbis-digital-torque-tester-product-overview-video

 

Making the right connections

 

 

 

"Simply attach line A to terminal B...."  Connecting electrical contacts is not exactly rocket science is it?   But how easily do they go together?  And once they are fitted together, how easily do they come apart when needed, or do they fall apart just when you didn't want them to.

If you make electrical connectors, or use large numbers of them in critical applications, you would want to know how the connectors fit together.  To help, there are some international standards concerned with the maximum and minimum forces involved to ensure correct, reliable performance.

Mecmesin offer a system that can measure the insertion and withdrawal forces in accordance with the international standards, and tell you if the batch of connectors is good or bad.  One less thing to worry about.

We have a short video that shows the system in operation, you can see it and our other videos on Mecmesin TV at:
http://www.mecmesin.com/testing-electrical-connectors

New video on the MultiTest-i

Follow this link to see a new video on the  MultiTest-i, our top of the range computer controlled force testing system.  At the heart if the system is the powerful Emperor software which controls the movement of the stand, collects and stores the data, and performs any calculations needed.

The link will take you to Mecmesin TV where you see all our other videos



http://www.mecmesin.com/multitest-i-product-overview-video

MultiTest-xt videos

 Mecmesin TV is our own video channel where we post all our productions.  Here you can see some videos of our products and how they are used.  We have recently added a guided tour of the MultiTest-xt force testing stand.  In fact there are two videos, a long one, and a shorter version if you are in a hurry.  Either way, they both showcase the MultiTest-xt and the sort of testing it can do to help you improve the quality of your own products.

For the short video follow this link:

http://www.mecmesin.com/mecmesin-multitest-xt-short-product-overview-video

And for the longer version:

http://www.mecmesin.com/multitest-xt-force-testing-system-in-depth-product-overview-video

Hope springs eternal...

 

Hope springs eternal...¹

Well, if not actually forever, but it can seem like an eternity when you have a large number of springs to test.  Take a look at the video on Mecmesin TV and see how the MultiTest-xt can make light work of spring testing.

Follow the link to see how to measure spring rate and free-height at the same time.

http://www.mecmesin.com/compression-spring-testing-video

 

¹. Alexander Pope,  "An Essay on Man"

Now, this won't hurt a bit....

Testing the operation of medical syringes

 

I am not saying that I faint at the sight of a hypodermic needle, but having an injection is not my idea of a good time out.  In order to make the process as easy as possible, the manufacturers of medical syringes want to know that the force needed to start the plunger moving is just right, and that it will travel to the end of the syringe smoothly without jerking.  This makes receiving the injection as trauma-free as possible,  a situation I, for one, am all in favour of.

Mecmesin TV is our house video channel and on it you can see some helpful short videos of the ways in which Mecmesin's products can help to maintain the quality of your own products.

The syringe testing video is on this link:

http://www.mecmesin.com/syringe-testing-plunger-actuation-force

Solenoid testing made simple

Another short video shows how to measure the magnetic force developed by a solenoid as part of a Quality Control process.  Emperor software captures not just the peak force, but also records the characteristic decline as the plunger is withdrawn from the coil.  Emperor can plot multiple traces as the coil current is altered to verify the solenoid's performance over its operational range.


"Mecmesin TV" is the video channel where you can find all sorts of useful short videos on Mecmesin's products and how they can be used to help improve the quality of your own products.

Follow the link to see the video on solenoid testing:

 http://www.mecmesin.com/solenoid-testing-video

A Rocket man?

Send a colleague into space?

"But all this science - I don't understand,  Its just my job five days a week..."

(Rocket  Man     B Taupin,   E John)

Dr. Pat Collins, Mecmesin's Technical services manager, has entered a competition to win a place on the space tourism company's SPACEXC  flight into space.  Taking off from an extended runway like a conventional aircraft, the lucky winner will be breaking the sound barrier in 60 seconds.  The special craft climbs rapidly  to a altitude of 103 km, and by following a parabolic flight-path will experience a short period of weightlessness.  During the return to earth, there will be a rapid acceleration resulting in 10-20 second spent at high "g" force.  Well, Pat knows all about force, but "Feeling the Force will be an entirely new experience. 

I think this would beat Pat's normal daily commute to the Mecmesin group headquarters in Slinfold West Sussex where only the cost of petrol is stratospheric.

Please help Pat by following this link and register a vote at:

https://www.lynxapollo.com/en_GB/28514/patrick-collins

 

Of course if Pat were to win the competition he would still have to pass the physical.

"And I think its gonna be a long, long time..." 

Handbook of Measurement

Can't put this book down?  Gripping stuff?   Uncertain about how it all stacks up?  Then turn to chapter 10 where Mecmesin's own Dr. Pat explains everything you need to know about the measurement of force.  Wow! - I'm Hooked.

 Handbook of Measurement in Science and Engineering.       Ed.  Myer Kutz  Published by Wiley  ISBN: 978-1-118-38463-3

Twist and Shout...

Is there anything more frustrating than not being to open your beer bottle?

 Here's a nightmare scenario for you.  You twist the top-cap on your bottle of beer, but it just will not open. - Each time you turn the screw cap the plastic tamper-evident ring refuses to break and you have what's known in the trade as a "spinner". Bad enough if you have the one bottle to contend with, but what if you are the quality manager in a bottling plant filling hundreds of bottles each hour?  You need a way of checking that the caps are put on just right - not too loose, and not too tight.  What you need is a Vortex torque testing system.  By testing bottles from the production line at regular intervals you can be sure that the capping machine is doing its job.

As a secondary thought, how can you be sure that the PET bottle is strong enough to withstand the rigours of capping, handling and being stacked as it makes its way from the bottling plant to the shop and finally to the consumer arriving intact?  This time you need a MultiTest force testing system to apply a standard top-load to the empty bottle and accurately measure how much it compresses. Then you will know if the bottles have been formed with exactly the right amount of polymer. So you save money on materials and don't get the headache of underperforming bottles.

Follow this link to see the case study.

http://www.mecmesin.com/pet-beer-bottles