Game changer

Photo by Gaius Cornelius

For this week’s Fun Fact, we head back to 1452. A Hungarian engineer, Orban, offered to sell a mighty cannon to the Roman Emperor. He refused, so Orban instead sold the cannon to the Ottoman emperor, who used it to breach the walls of Constantinople in 1453. This brought the end to the Roman Empire.

Why this fact? Well, two reasons. Firstly, delving into the engineering side of things. A screw mechanism made the cannon a game-changer by allowing easier transportation. This will have evolved, but the need to design parts to improve functionality and performance remains. Our experience in providing solutions includes test rigs and fixtures, inspection equipment, and medical devices, to name but a few. Not cannons, but we’ve worked on some screws too!

Secondly, it seems a lack of materials and funds resulted in the Romans turning down the cannon. Even now, these two things can be major influencers on projects. With this in mind, it’s been great to have been recommended for new work this month. As always I’m enjoying the variety of enquiries received and pleased others find us effective.

Alongside some longer projects, we’ve also recently completed some quick turnaround jobs. Having versions of SolidWorks 2014 onwards to hand comes into its own for these kinds of jobs. Being able to provide compatibility between our and the client’s systems is a real-time saver. The level of detail we use to create the drawings is impressive, and software advances make it even more intuitive for all to use. Please take a look at the software in action on our website. A ‘Thank you to those who have put us forward for new opportunities.

As we approach the end of the month, it’s been a good start to the year on the work front. Following the unexpected (and welcomed) snow at the beginning of the week, I ventured to the office for a photo shoot. As the saying goes, “a picture speaks a thousand words,” and I think this case with some of what we do. I’m keen to capture and share some of the work we do, the equipment used, and the services we provide. The shoot was a great start.

Heywood House looked very picturesque with some hints of the white stuff still around. I look forward to being at the office full-time again when restrictions are eased. We’ll use the images on our website and social media, so please keep an eye out and let us know what you think. We hope to inspire your next project as well as showcase what we do. Please get in touch to find out more.