EAME 09 at the Hethel Engineering Centre

22nd September 2009

With a weak economy and industrial growth almost at a standstill its all the more invigorating to visit an engineering exhibition like EAME 09. Held annually at the Hethel Engineering Centre, itself a centre of excellence for high tech training, advanced engineering technician development courses and starter units for training the engineers of tomorrow, the exhibition attracts some interesting companies from around the region and beyond. On a bright very warm day about 10 NES members attended the first day of EAME09. On the day that we attended there were so many visitors that most of us had to park in the overflow area which was at the end of the Lotus test track. For the energetic it was a brisk healthy walk to the exhibition halls. For the less energetic the organisers had laid on electrically powered buses to transport guests to the Hethel Centre.

As you might expect from an exhibition held within sight the Lotus Engineering complex, the automotive influence at EAME 09 was very strong, it was difficult to avoid the Lotus presence, not that I for one would wish to do so. But having said that EAME 09 was anything but a car show, its aim is to demonstrate the diverse skills of the engineering companies based in East Anglia, an aim it achieved remarkably well. Needless to say computer driven technology was everywhere, its difficult to find anything which is not controlled in some way by some clever software, and I’m told that this is just the beginning, apparently we are just on the threshold of another technological revolution.

After a demonstration of what a seven axis milling machine is capable of doing, small beer I'm told in machine control terms, I can well believe it. High levels of technical expertise was everywhere, it never ceases to amaze me how many high tech companies exist in what is essentially an agricultural region, all succeeding in these very competitive times. However, life is not easy at present, many exhibitors said that they recognised that times are hard and are likely to remain so for the forseeable future.

Having said that EAME 09 is not a Motor Show, the Lotus influence was very strong, I was particularly interested in the way in which Lotus and presumably other manufacturers are looking for ways to make silent electric vehicles conform to minimum noise safety standards. Whilst silent vehicles can present serious problems to all road users, particularly the blind and partially sighted, they can also pose problem to sighted people, especially when the vehicle moving away from from a standstill- mainly because it gives no aural indication that it is about to do so. To combat the problem Lotus Engineering have come with the idea of effectively replacing the exhaust pipe with a speaker system to replicate engine noise. On their demonstration car you could select any engine noise from a selector mounted on the dashboard, great for boy racers. Can you make my clapped out Golf sound like a Ferrari please mister!!!