N E W S - I N D U S T R Y M A T T E R S
12 March 2020
Wisk and New Zealand Government to partner
in world’s first autonomous air taxi trial
The New Zealand Government and Wisk,
an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) company,
have announced a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to establish a
passenger transport trial in Canterbury,
New Zealand. Wisk’s self-flying, allelectric
air taxi, called Cora, is the
aircraft selected for the trials.
In October 2019, the Government
announced that it was establishing
an industry-wide Airspace Integration
Trial to work with leading, innovative
domestic and international industry
partners to safely test and demonstrate
unmanned aircraft. Wisk, based in the
United States and New Zealand, was
announced as the first industry partner
to join this program.
Wisk ceo, Gary Gysin, says: “We
are delighted to now have a signed
New tooling system provides speed and accuracy
Dormer Pramet has launched a high
precision, quick-change tooling
system for a variety of internal and
external turning applications.
Ideal for use on multi-task
machines, the polygon shank
coupling (PSC) is a spindle interface
which promotes higher productivity
through reduced set-up time and
faster, more precise machining.
It achieves this with a unique
tapered polygon cone shank and
flange surface, which supports
a high degree of rigidity. With an
accuracy in X, Y, Z directions of +/-2
μm, the PSC holders provide a high
level of repeatability.
In addition, a reduced overhang
length minimises vibration and
runout inaccuracy for a high-quality
surface finish, making it ideal for
aerospace and general machining
agreement with the New Zealand
Government, which will propel Cora’s
entry to the air taxi market. We see this
agreement as a sign of confidence in
our product and abilities to develop
and deliver a safe and reliable air taxi
service, starting in New Zealand. As
the Minister of Research Science and
Innovation Hon. Dr. Megan Woods said
in her announcement: “This trial is the
first of its kind and Wisk’s innovative
technology and commitment to New
Zealand make them an ideal partner for
advancing the future of travel in New
Zealand and the world.
“Wisk has been working with the
Government and people of New Zealand
since 2017, said Gary Gysin. We are
excited about what this agreement and
trial represents in our journey to bring
applications.
Connected by a triangular conical
structure and cross section, which
uses 1/20 taper, the PSC features
internal coolant channels and a
safe everyday flight to everyone. New
Zealand values innovation, excellence
and technology that is safe for people
and the environment. Being selected as
the partner for this program is an honor
and testament to our hard work and
steady progress.”
Around the globe, Urban Air Mobility is
an emerging, high-value industry and
New Zealand is an attractive location
because of its thriving innovation
ecosystem with unique expertise,
people and technology
With the agreement now in place, the
planning for a passenger transport trial
in Canterbury is now underway. The
passenger route is a world’s first and
will commence after Cora’s certification
by the New Zealand Civil Aviation
Authority.
steel toolholder for high toughness.
More than 130 different items are
available, including a variety of
tool holder styles, internal tools,
interface types and shank sizes.
Lantek: sheet
metal software
specialist can
transform
business
Lantek, a leader in sheet metal
manufacturing software, will be
demonstrating how working with
an industry specialist will give you
the ability to automate and control
the whole of your business, by
analysing your machinery and
customer KPIs and digitizing
your factory in partnership with
engineers that really understand
the industry, at MACH Trade Show
in April in Birmingham.
Lantek has 23,700 clients
worldwide, using its ‘Expert’
software to drive their CNC
machinery and, internationally, it
has seen a 25% increase in its
digitalisation business over the
last 12 months as companies
realize how much difference
starting on the path to a Smart
Factory can make to profitability
and efficiency. In the UK alone,
2019 saw an increase in turnover
of 14.1% and a significant rise in
interest in KPI analysis and digitalisation.
The Lantek Expert and Lantek
Flex3d CAD/CAM solutions give
companies the ability to automatically
create CNC programs
for virtually every sheet metal
machine on the market and its
advanced nesting software
ensures that material utilization
is maximized. Building on the
technology and capabilities of this
software, companies can start by
adding Smart quotation modules
to quickly and accurately generate
quotations for customers. They
can then move on to Lantek MES
which keeps track of scheduling
and machine OEE and then to
Lantek’s cloud-based analytics
software which will help them
to understand the KPIs that are
important to their company for
both customer and manufacturing
management.
LOADS OF
EXTRA
MULTIMEDIA
CONTENT
SIGN UP FOR
YOUR FREE eMag