164-688: Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd ( NMUK ) is a British subsidiary car manufacturing plant in Sunderland . It is owned and operated by the European division of Japanese car manufacturer Nissan . Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is located in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, in North East England . It was built on the site of the former RAF Usworth airfield near the A19 and A1231 . The factory
328-661: A fishing village at the southern mouth of the river (now the East End) known as 'Soender-land' (which evolved into 'Sunderland'). This settlement was granted a charter in 1179 under the name of the borough of Wearmouth by Hugh Pudsey , then the Bishop of Durham (who had quasi- monarchical power within the County Palatine of Durham ). The charter gave its merchants the same rights as those of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , but it nevertheless took time for Sunderland to develop as
492-411: A port . Fishing was the main commercial activity at the time: mainly herring in the 13th century, then salmon in the 14th and 15th centuries. From 1346 ships were being built at Wearmouth, by a merchant named Thomas Menville, and by 1396 a small amount of coal was being exported. Rapid growth of the port was prompted by the salt trade. Salt exports from Sunderland are recorded from as early as
656-516: A second FA Cup . Shipbuilding ended in 1988 and coal-mining in 1993 after a mid-1980s unemployment crisis with 20 per cent of the local workforce unemployed. Electronic, chemical, paper and motor manufacturing as well as the service sector expanded during the 1980s and 1990s to fill unemployment from heavy industry. In 1986 Japanese car manufacturer Nissan opened its Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK factory in Washington, which has since become
820-498: A watch , and improve the market. In 1832 a parliamentary borough (constitutency) of Sunderland was created, covering the parishes or townships of Sunderland, Bishopwearmouth, Bishopwearmouth Panns, Monkwearmouth, Monkwearmouth Shore and Southwick. In 1836 Sunderland was reformed to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across
984-404: A cavity perpendicular to the draw direction, to form overhanging part features. When the mould is opened, the slides are pulled away from the plastic part by using stationary “angle pins” on the stationary mould half. These pins enter a slot in the slides and cause the slides to move backward when the moving half of the mould opens. The part is then ejected and the mould closes. The closing action of
1148-462: A charter in 1179 under the name of 'Wearmouth'. The original borough covered a relatively small area in the north-east corner of the old Bishopwearmouth parish, lying on the south side of the mouth of the River Wear. The borough was granted a further charter in 1634 which gave it the right to appoint a mayor and incorporated the town under the name of Sunderland rather than Wearmouth. The area of
1312-689: A company restructuring exercise in 2003, large parts of the Purchasing department were relocated to Cranfield . This angered many in the plant, but widespread industrial action was avoided. In 2005, parts of the Finance department were relocated to Budapest in Hungary. In both instances, NMUK adopted a policy of finding new jobs in other departments for those who did not want to relocate. NMUK relies heavily on information technology to function. Computer-controlled robots and other machinery, particularly in
1476-566: A different colour, is injection-moulded into those spaces. Pushbuttons and keys , for instance, made by this process have markings that cannot wear off, and remain legible with heavy use. Manufacturers go to great lengths to protect custom moulds due to their high average costs. The perfect temperature and humidity level is maintained to ensure the longest possible lifespan for each custom mould. Custom moulds, such as those used for rubber injection moulding, are stored in temperature and humidity controlled environments to prevent warping. Tool steel
1640-470: A hopper into a heated barrel with a reciprocating screw. Upon entrance to the barrel, the temperature increases and the Van der Waals forces that resist relative flow of individual chains are weakened as a result of increased space between molecules at higher thermal energy states. This process reduces its viscosity , which enables the polymer to flow with the driving force of the injection unit. The screw delivers
1804-483: A host of materials mainly including metals (for which the process is called die-casting ), glasses , elastomers , confections , and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed (using a helical screw), and injected into a mould cavity , where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer , moulds are made by
SECTION 10
#17327837788441968-433: A large variation in dimensions from cycle-to-cycle. More commonly used now is scientific or decoupled moulding, a method pioneered by RJG Inc. In this the injection of the plastic is "decoupled" into stages to allow better control of part dimensions and more cycle-to-cycle (commonly called shot-to-shot in the industry) consistency. First the cavity is filled to approximately 98% full using velocity (speed) control. Although
2132-720: A large, eager, manufacturing-skilled workforce to draw upon. The site, once the Sunderland Airfield (formerly RAF Usworth ), was close to ports on the Wear and Tyne , within easy driving distance of the international Newcastle Airport , and close to major trunk roads such as the A1 and A19, as well as major ports for the export of vehicles. The established company became known as Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, or NMUK. A ground breaking ceremony took place in July, and work began on
2296-693: A layer of clearcoat before being stoved in an oven. Casting shop Aluminium engine components such as cylinder heads are produced in the state-of-the-art Casting plant. Unit shop 1.2 turbo, 1.2 supercharged, 1.6 and 2.0 litre petrol engines are built on-site on the Unit Assembly line. The cylinder heads and camshafts are machined along the machining line before being shipped to the Assembly line. The Unit Shop contains its own engine testing areas. Diesel engines are no longer produced at NMUK. Axle shop A second welding facility costing over £5m
2460-492: A material hopper, an injection ram or screw-type plunger, and a heating unit. Also known as platens, they hold the moulds in which the components are shaped. Presses are rated by tonnage, which expresses the amount of clamping force that the machine can exert. This force keeps the mould closed during the injection process. Tonnage can vary from less than 5 tons to over 9,000 tons, with the higher figures used in comparatively few manufacturing operations. The total clamp force needed
2624-470: A method in which the box is stored at an optimum height, within easy reach of the line-worker. Kaizen teams are based in every department. The emphasis is on small, manageable improvements, although large Kaizen projects have been undertaken, e.g. platforms that follow the vehicle down the line to prevent workers from having to walk alongside it while working. Just in Time (JIT) The JIT philosophy, encourages
2788-502: A mould-maker (or toolmaker) from metal , usually either steel or aluminium , and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels of cars. Advances in 3D printing technology, using photopolymers that do not melt during the injection moulding of some lower-temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection moulds. Injection moulding uses
2952-554: A new plastic layer to form around the first part. This is often referred to as overmoulding. This system can allow for production of one-piece tires and wheels. Moulds for highly precise and extremely small parts from micro injection molding requires extra care in the design stage, as material resins react differently compared to their full-sized counterparts where they must quickly fill these incredibly small spaces, which puts them under intense shear strains. Two-shot, double-shot or multi-shot moulds are designed to "overmould" within
3116-679: A pair of gun batteries were built (in 1742 and 1745) on the shoreline to the south of the South Pier, to defend the river from attack (a further battery was built on the cliff top in Roker, ten years later). One of the pair was washed away by the sea in 1780, but the other was expanded during the French Revolutionary Wars and became known as the Black Cat Battery. In 1794 Sunderland Barracks were built, behind
3280-579: A passenger service from Sunderland to Seaham Harbour. In 1886–90 Sunderland Town Hall was built in Fawcett Street, just to the east of the railway station, to a design by Brightwen Binyon . By 1889 two million tons of coal per year was passing through Hudson Dock, while to the south of Hendon Dock, the Wear Fuel Works distilled coal tar to produce pitch, oil and other products. The 20th century saw Sunderland A.F.C. established as
3444-575: A passenger terminus there in 1836. In 1847 the line was bought by George Hudson 's York and Newcastle Railway . Hudson, nicknamed 'The Railway King', was Member of Parliament for Sunderland and was already involved in a scheme to build a dock in the area. In 1846 he had formed the Sunderland Dock Company , which received parliamentary approval for the construction of a dock between the South Pier and Hendon Bay. Increasing industrialisation had prompted residential expansion away from
SECTION 20
#17327837788443608-546: A physical link with Monkwearmouth following the construction of a bridge, the Wearmouth Bridge , which was the world's second iron bridge (after the famous span at Ironbridge ). It was built at the instigation of Rowland Burdon , the Member of Parliament (MP) for County Durham , and described by Nikolaus Pevsner as being 'a triumph of the new metallurgy and engineering ingenuity [...] of superb elegance'. Spanning
3772-515: A policy of '1 worker -> 3 jobs, 3 workers -> 1 job'. In other words, a worker should be competent in at least three different jobs, and at least three people should be capable of doing each job. This principle ensures that each job can be covered in the case of absence. It also means that jobs can be regularly rotated to prevent a worker from becoming bored in a particular role. In accordance with its Investors in People responsibilities, NMUK has
3936-548: A reputation for producing reliable cars. The success of Datsun came at a time when the British car industry, particularly British Leyland , was blighted by strikes as well as reports of disappointing build quality and reliability of many of its cars. In February 1984, Nissan and the UK government signed an agreement to build a car plant in the UK. The following month a 799-acre (3.23 km) greenfield site in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear,
4100-415: A result of the single-union agreement, its workforce is much more flexible than at other plants, and it points to the fact that not a single minute has been lost to industrial disputes at the factory in more than 30 years of production – a stark contrast to the strikes which hit the likes of British Leyland during the 1970s. In December 1985, McAlpine handed over the completed factory building to Nissan for
4264-473: A semi-clean environment using solvent-based paint. Shells are dipped in chemical tanks to cleanse them of any oils picked up on the panels during their manufacture in Body Shop. Once bodies have been dipped and cleansed, they are then immersed in an anti-corrosion paint dip called ED (Electrocoat Dip). This 'dip' coats the entire body, both inside and outside, and is the first paint coating it will receive. Once
4428-404: A single moulding cycle and must be processed on specialised injection moulding machines with two or more injection units. This process is actually an injection moulding process performed twice and therefore can allow only for a much smaller margin of error. In the first step, the base colour material is moulded into a basic shape, which contains spaces for the second shot. Then the second material,
4592-410: A small shot weight and fills gradually until the mould is 95 to 99% full. Once they achieve this, they apply a small amount of holding pressure and increase holding time until gate freeze off (solidification time) has occurred. Gate freeze off time can be determined by increasing the hold time, and then weighing the part. When the weight of the part does not change, the gate has frozen and no more material
4756-422: A solidified thermoset component. After the part has solidified, valves close to isolate the injection system and chemical precursors , and the mould opens to eject the moulded parts. Then, the mould closes and the process repeats. Pre-moulded or machined components can be inserted into the cavity while the mould is open, allowing the material injected in the next cycle to form and solidify around them. This process
4920-406: A special-purpose machine that has three parts: the injection unit, the mould and the clamp. Parts to be injection-moulded must be very carefully designed to facilitate the moulding process; the material used for the part, the desired shape and features of the part, the material of the mould, and the properties of the moulding machine must all be taken into account. The versatility of injection moulding
5084-467: A standard 39-hour week. While Office staff work on a fixed day shift basis, manufacturing staff work alternating morning and evening shifts . Morning shifts run from 7 am to 3:18 pm. Evening shifts run from approximately 4:35 pm to 12:53 am. Shift times can vary depending on requirements. When required, overtime is worked, although it balanced out during the year with planned downtime. A 3-shift system has been introduced at times of high demand, meaning that
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK - Misplaced Pages Continue
5248-552: A steam-powered hemp-spinning machine which had been devised by a local schoolmaster, Richard Fothergill, in 1793; the ropery building still stands, in the Deptford area of the city. Sunderland's shipbuilding industry continued to grow through most of the 19th century, becoming the town's dominant industry and a defining part of its identity. By 1815 it was 'the leading shipbuilding port for wooden trading vessels' with 600 ships constructed that year across 31 different yards. By 1840
5412-453: A strong Training department and offers a wide range of on and off the job training. The Flexible Learning Centre established on-site is open to all staff and allows them to take part in over 300 courses. Technical on-the-job training is available to all staff, and most of the courses are given on-site by qualified trainers. People-development courses (e.g. presentation skills) are also provided. NMUK spends more per head on staff-development than
5576-513: A term which came into common use in the 1970s. Its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal. The term is also applied to the Sunderland dialect, which shares similarities with the other North East England dialects. In c. 674 , King Ecgfrith granted Benedict Biscop a "sunder-land". In 685 The Venerable Bede moved to the newly founded Jarrow monastery. He had started his monastic career at Monkwearmouth monastery and later wrote that he
5740-418: A timely manner, chemical crosslinking may occur causing the screw and check valves to seize and potentially damaging the injection moulding machine. Injection moulding consists of the high pressure injection of the raw material into a mould, which shapes the polymer into the desired form. Moulds can be of a single cavity or multiple cavities. In multiple cavity moulds, each cavity can be identical and form
5904-482: Is 38–45 on the Rockwell-C scale . Hardened steel moulds are heat treated after machining; these are by far superior in terms of wear resistance and lifespan. Typical hardness ranges between 50 and 60 Rockwell-C (HRC). Aluminium moulds can cost substantially less, and when designed and machined with modern computerised equipment can be economical for moulding tens or even hundreds of thousands of parts. Beryllium copper
6068-428: Is a Japanese word meaning Continuous Improvement. NMUK encourages all of its workforce to seek out areas in which improvements in their working environment, no matter how small, can be made. For example, a line-worker may have to bend down to pick a part out of a box as each vehicle goes past. This could have health and safety implications, as well as wasting time. Kaizen teams would then investigate, and possibly introduce
6232-469: Is a function of the resin being used, and can be relatively predictable. To prevent spikes in pressure, the process normally uses a transfer position corresponding to a 95–98% full cavity where the screw shifts from a constant velocity to a constant pressure control. Often injection times are well under 1 second. Once the screw reaches the transfer position the packing pressure is applied, which completes mould filling and compensates for thermal shrinkage, which
6396-611: Is adjacent to the UK Nissan Distribution Centre (NDS) and has a number of on-site suppliers. The landscaped NMUK site incorporates conservation areas , such as ponds, lakes and woodland, and currently has 10 onsite wind turbines of the Vestas V47/660 type, producing up to 10% of the energy required for the plant. The site is located 5 miles (8 km) from the Port of Tyne where international distribution
6560-563: Is also based. Nissan had been importing cars from its native country Japan to the UK since 1968, under the Datsun brand (which was phased out between 1982 and 1984, when the Nissan brand took over completely). After a steady start, its market share rose dramatically from just over 6,000 car sales in 1971 to more than 30,000 a year later, and reaching 100,000 a year before the end of the decade, aided by competitive prices, good equipment levels and
6724-832: Is currently being built to ease demand on the Axle Shop for Qashqai. Trim & chassis There are two parallel assembly lines in NMUK: Line 2 currently handles the Juke and Qashqai after recently ceasing to make the Q30 and the QX30 ;; Line 1 handles the Qashqai and Leaf. Painted bodies are stored in a large holding area called PBS (Painted Body Store), and are released in a specific scheduled sequence. They are brought into Trim & Chassis on suspended cradles. Each body moves through
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK - Misplaced Pages Continue
6888-412: Is dealt with in the next section.}) Some extremely high production volume moulds (like those for bottle caps) can have over 128 cavities. In some cases, multiple cavity tooling moulds a series of different parts in the same tool. Some toolmakers call these moulds family moulds, as all the parts are related—e.g., plastic model kits. Some moulds allow previously moulded parts to be reinserted to allow
7052-452: Is determined by the projected area of the part being moulded. This projected area is multiplied by a clamp force of from 1.8 to 7.2 tons for each square centimetre of the projected areas. As a rule of thumb, 4 or 5 tons/in can be used for most products. If the plastic material is very stiff, it requires more injection pressure to fill the mould, and thus more clamp tonnage to hold the mould closed. The required force can also be determined by
7216-436: Is facilitated by this breadth of design considerations and possibilities. Injection moulding is used to create many things such as wire spools , packaging , bottle caps , automotive parts and components, toys, pocket combs , some musical instruments (and parts of them), one-piece chairs and small tables, storage containers, mechanical parts (including gears), and most other plastic products available today. Injection moulding
7380-401: Is immersed in paraffin oil (kerosene). A voltage applied between tool and mould causes spark erosion of the mould surface in the inverse shape of the electrode. The number of cavities incorporated into a mould directly correlate in moulding costs. Fewer cavities require far less tooling work, so limiting the number of cavities lowers initial manufacturing costs to build an injection mould. As
7544-443: Is injected into the part. Gate solidification time is important, as this determines cycle time and the quality and consistency of the product, which itself is an important issue in the economics of the production process. Holding pressure is increased until the parts are free of sinks and part weight has been achieved. Injection moulding is a complex technology with possible production problems. They can be caused either by defects in
7708-424: Is known as insert moulding and allows single parts to contain multiple materials. This process is often used to create plastic parts with protruding metal screws so they can be fastened and unfastened repeatedly. This technique can also be used for In-mould labelling and film lids may also be attached to moulded plastic containers. A parting line , sprue , gate marks, and ejector pin marks are usually present on
7872-430: Is maintained to compensate for material shrinkage. In the next step, the screw turns, feeding the next shot to the front screw. This causes the screw to retract as the next shot is prepared. Once the part is sufficiently cool, the mould opens and the part is ejected. Traditionally, the injection portion of the moulding process was done at one constant pressure to fill and pack the cavity. This method, however, allowed for
8036-428: Is often used. Mild steel, aluminium, nickel or epoxy are suitable only for prototype or very short production runs. Modern hard aluminium (7075 and 2024 alloys) with proper mould design, can easily make moulds capable of 100,000 or more part life with proper mould maintenance. Moulds are built through two main methods: standard machining and EDM . Standard machining, in its conventional form, has historically been
8200-417: Is quite high for thermoplastics relative to many other materials. The packing pressure is applied until the gate (cavity entrance) solidifies. Due to its small size, the gate is normally the first place to solidify through its entire thickness. Once the gate solidifies, no more material can enter the cavity; accordingly, the screw reciprocates and acquires material for the next cycle while the material within
8364-449: Is repeated. For a two-shot mould, two separate materials are incorporated into one part. This type of injection moulding is used to add a soft touch to knobs, to give a product multiple colours, or to produce a part with multiple performance characteristics. For thermosets, typically two different chemical components are injected into the barrel. These components immediately begin irreversible chemical reactions that eventually crosslinks
SECTION 50
#17327837788448528-475: Is the administrative centre of the metropolitan borough of the same name . Sunderland was once known as 'the largest shipbuilding town in the world' and once made a quarter of all of the world's ships from its famous yards, which date back to 1346 on the River Wear. The centre of the modern city is an amalgamation of three settlements founded in the Anglo-Saxon era : Monkwearmouth , on the north bank of
8692-417: Is the most common modern method of manufacturing plastic parts; it is ideal for producing high volumes of the same object. Injection moulding uses a ram or screw-type plunger to force molten plastic or rubber material into a mould cavity; this solidifies into a shape that has conformed to the contour of the mould. It is most commonly used to process both thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers , with
8856-423: Is used in areas of the mould that require fast heat removal or areas that see the most shear heat generated. The moulds can be manufactured either by CNC machining or by using electrical discharge machining processes. The mould consists of two primary components, the injection mould (A plate) and the ejector mould (B plate). These components are also referred to as moulder and mouldmaker . Plastic resin enters
9020-402: Is used to fill the mould cavity, compensate for shrinkage, and provide a cushion (approximately 10% of the total shot volume, which remains in the barrel and prevents the screw from bottoming out) to transfer pressure from the screw to the mould cavity. When enough material has gathered, the material is forced at high pressure and velocity into the part forming cavity. The exact amount of shrinkage
9184-513: The Crimean War ; nonetheless, sailing ships continued to be built, including fast fully-rigged composite -built clippers , including the City of Adelaide in 1864 and Torrens (the last such vessel ever built), in 1875. By the middle of the century glassmaking was at its height on Wearside. James Hartley & Co. , established in Sunderland in 1836, grew to be the largest glassworks in
9348-527: The National Glass Centre a new University of Sunderland campus on the St Peter's site were also built. The former Vaux Breweries site on the north west fringe of the city centre was cleared for further development opportunities. After 99 years at the historic Roker Park stadium, the city’s football club, Sunderland AFC moved to the 42,000-seat Stadium of Light on the banks of
9512-645: The River Tyne , crippling the Newcastle coal trade, which allowed a short period of flourishing coal trade on the Wear. In 1669, after the Restoration , King Charles II granted letters patent to one Edward Andrew, Esq. to 'build a pier and erect a lighthouse or lighthouses and cleanse the harbour of Sunderland'. There was a tonnage duty levy on shipping in order to raise the necessary funds. There
9676-646: The civil war and with the exception of Kingston upon Hull , the North declared for the King. In 1644 the North was captured by the Roundheads (Parliamentarians), the area itself taken in March of that year. One artefact of the civil war in the area was the long trench; a tactic of later warfare. In the village of Offerton roughly three miles inland from the present city centre, skirmishes occurred. The Roundheads blockaded
9840-447: The 'dipped' body has been stoved in the ED oven, the body progresses to the 'Sealing' Booth. In this booth, the body has its interior panel joints, floor, tailgate, hood and door edges sealed with a PVC based sealant to prevent water ingress and corrosion as the car is driven on the road. Also within this zone, sound pads are added to the floor and boot to reduce road noise (standard practice in
10004-591: The 'finest book in the world', was created at the monastery and was likely worked on by Bede , who was born at Wearmouth in 673. This is one of the oldest monasteries still standing in England. While at the monastery, Bede completed the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) in 731, a feat which earned him the title The father of English history . In
SECTION 60
#173278377884410168-404: The 13th century, by 1589 salt pans were laid at Bishopwearmouth Panns (the modern-day name of the area the pans occupied is Pann's Bank, on the river bank between the city centre and the East End). Large vats of seawater were heated using coal; as the water evaporated, the salt remained. As coal was required to heat the salt pans, a coal mining community began to emerge. Only poor-quality coal
10332-482: The 1940s because World War II created a huge demand for inexpensive, mass-produced products. In 1946, American inventor James Watson Hendry built the first screw injection machine, which allowed much more precise control over the speed of injection and the quality of articles produced. This machine also allowed material to be mixed before injection, so that coloured or recycled plastic could be added to virgin material and mixed thoroughly before being injected. In
10496-495: The 1970s, Hendry went on to develop the first gas-assisted injection moulding process, which permitted the production of complex, hollow articles that cooled quickly. This greatly improved design flexibility as well as the strength and finish of manufactured parts while reducing production time, cost, weight and waste. By 1979, plastic production overtook steel production, and by 1990, aluminium moulds were widely used in injection moulding. Today, screw injection machines account for
10660-401: The 2nd largest UK manufacturer behind Jaguar Land Rover. JLR reportedly produced 544,401 cars during the same period. No breakdown of figures to illustrate volumes per model have been published yet. NMUK is split into three logical areas: Body Assembly, Paint and Final Assembly. Each is further broken down into areas known as 'shops'. Press shop The first shop in the manufacturing process,
10824-410: The 3rd shift from Jan 2010 until December 2019. This was removed due to the volatility of the car market. Staff at NMUK use a number of methods to ensure productivity remains high. Three of the main ones are Kaizen , Just in Time and Job Rotation. In July 2011, Nissan announced that it would be recruiting a further 200 jobs at the plant to deal with "record" levels of production. Kaizen Kaizen
10988-623: The Baltic and elsewhere which, together with locally available limestone (and coal to fire the furnaces) was a key ingredient in the glassmaking process. Other industries that developed alongside the river included lime burning and pottery making (the town's first commercial pottery manufactory, the Garrison Pottery, had opened in old Sunderland in 1750). By 1770 Sunderland had spread westwards along its High Street to join up with Bishopwearmouth. In 1796 Bishopwearmouth in turn gained
11152-617: The Bluebird and going into production that summer. By 1991, despite the recession , the plant turned its first profit of £18.4 million, and was awarded 'British Manufacturer' status by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Around this time, Nissan ended its relationship with Octav Botnar and the Automotive Financial Group (AFG), which had been its UK import concessionaire since 1970, and brought
11316-689: The British industry average. Sunderland Sunderland ( / ˈ s ʌ n d ər l ə n d / ) is a port city in Tyne and Wear , England . It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea , approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne . The built-up area had a population of 168,277 at the 2021 census, making it the second largest settlement in North East England after Newcastle. It
11480-631: The Europe region, including NMUK's sister plant, NMISA , based in Barcelona , Spain. The mainframe is located within the European Data Centre (EDC), which houses and maintains the mainframe and over 50 servers . NMUK is one of the most productive car plants in Europe, producing more cars per worker than any other factory. There are 7000 staff directly employed by NMUK, and approximately 500 contracted, indirect staff. Employees at NMUK work
11644-535: The Juke, Qashqai and the Leaf. This development forms part of plans to create 6,000 new jobs in Sunderland at Nissan and among its suppliers, under a blueprint announced by the company earlier in July as it invests £1bn to develop an electric vehicle manufacturing hub in the United Kingdom. According to Richard Aucock of Motoring Research, NMUK produced 507,444 cars at their Sunderland plant during 2016, making it
11808-626: The Plastics shop are painted in the Plastic Paint shop which directly feeds Trim & chassis. The shop uses a combination of manual sprayers and robots to coat up to 900 bumper sets per shift. The process in Plastic Paint is similar to body paint, the parts are washed in a Powerwash facility before being masked (dependent on trim level). From here the parts are painted with primer, then basecoat, some colours get two coats of basecoat at different stations (Pearlescent effect). Then all part receive
11972-536: The Press Shop is responsible for pressing the outer and inner body panels of the vehicle. NMUK houses a 5,000 tonne press capable of pressing two panels simultaneously – one of only two in use in any Nissan plant. Body shop Linked directly to the Press Shop, the Body Shop is a highly automated section of the factory with over 500 robots in operation. Pressed-panels are welded together to create complete body shells. Body Paint shop Body shells are painted in
12136-517: The River Wear at North Hylton , including four stone anchors, which may support the theory that there was a Roman dam or port on the River Wear. Recorded settlements at the mouth of the Wear date to c. 674 , when an Anglo-Saxon nobleman, Benedict Biscop, was granted land by King Ecgfrith, founded the Wearmouth–Jarrow ( St Peter's ) monastery on the north bank of the river—an area that became known as Monkwearmouth. Biscop's monastery
12300-408: The River Wear in 1997. At the time, it was the largest stadium built by an English football club since the 1920s, and has since been expanded to hold nearly 50,000 seated spectators. On 24 March 2004, the city adopted Benedict Biscop as its patron saint . In 2018 the city was ranked as the best to live and work in the UK by the finance firm OneFamily. In the same year, the city was ranked as one of
12464-561: The Sunderland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (at Hudson Dock) both closed in the 1920s, and other yards were closed down by National Shipbuilders Securities in the 1930s. By 1936 Sunderland AFC had been league champions on six occasions. They won their first FA Cup in 1937 . With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Sunderland was a key target of the German Luftwaffe bombing. Luftwaffe raids resulted in
12628-571: The Sunderland area were Stone Age hunter-gatherers and artifacts from this era have been discovered, including microliths found during excavations at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth . During the final phase of the Stone Age, the Neolithic period ( c. 4000 – c. 2000 BC), Hastings Hill , on the western outskirts of Sunderland, was a focal point of activity and a place of burial and ritual significance. Evidence includes
12792-591: The Surfacer coating. Next comes the 'Topcoat' Booth, where the body receives its final coats of paint, these being Topcoat and Clearcoat layers. After being stoved in the Topcoat oven, the body then enters the 'Touch-up' Booth where the body has its final inspection for any imperfections picked up in the Topcoat process. Once the body leaves here, it then moves on to the PBS (Painted Body Store) above Trim and Chassis to await
12956-453: The U.K. government. 2013 saw the introduction of the second-generation Note and Qashqai. Nissan's Sunderland plant in northeast England will play an important role in the firm's future, executives said in May 2020, despite plans to downsize elsewhere in Europe. In July 2021, Nissan announced plans to create 400 jobs at the Sunderland factory site to build a new electric vehicle and models such as
13120-479: The UK's largest car factory. Sunderland received city status in 1992. Like many cities, Sunderland comprises a number of areas with their own distinct histories, Fulwell , Monkwearmouth, Roker , and Southwick on the northern side of the Wear, and Bishopwearmouth and Hendon to the south. From 1990, the Wear’s riverbanks were regenerated with new housing, retail parks and business centres on former shipbuilding sites;
13284-493: The Wear Flint Glassworks (which had originally been established in 1697). In addition to the plate glass and pressed glass manufacturers there were 16 bottle works on the Wear in the 1850s, with the capacity to produce between 60 and 70,000 bottles a day. In 1848 George Hudson's York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway built a passenger terminus, Monkwearmouth Station , just north of Wearmouth Bridge; and south of
13448-424: The Wear, and Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth on the south bank. Monkwearmouth contains St Peter's Church , which was founded in 674 and formed part of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey , a significant centre of learning in the seventh and eighth centuries. Sunderland was a fishing settlement and later a port, being granted a town charter in 1179. The city traded in coal and salt , also developing shipbuilding industry in
13612-619: The Wearside area's greatest claim to sporting fame. Founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. by schoolmaster James Allan , Sunderland joined The Football League for the 1890–91 season . From 1900 to 1919, an electric tram system was built and was gradually replaced by buses during the 1940s before being ended in 1954. In 1909 the Queen Alexandra Bridge was built, linking Deptford and Southwick . The First World War increased shipbuilding, leading to
13776-400: The article using pins, sleeves, strippers, etc., may cause undesirable impressions or distortion, so care must be taken when designing the mould. The standard method of cooling is passing a coolant (usually water) through a series of holes drilled through the mould plates and connected by hoses to form a continuous pathway. The coolant absorbs heat from the mould (which has absorbed heat from
13940-400: The assembly line and is fitted with interior (Trim), and exterior (Chassis) components. At one point in the process, the bodies are 'married' to a sub-assembled engine and subframe. Completed vehicles are sent down a Final Line, where all aspects of the car, from brakes to waterproofing, are tested. The car is then driven off-line to a holding area, ready to be distributed to a dealer. Although
14104-400: The battery, close to what was then the tip of the headland. The world's first steam dredger was built in Sunderland in 1796-7 and put to work on the river the following year. Designed by Stout's successor as Engineer, Jonathan Pickernell jr (in post from 1795 to 1804), it consisted of a set of 'bag and spoon' dredgers driven by a tailor-made 4-horsepower Boulton & Watt beam engine. It
14268-677: The body proceeds into the Undercoat Oven. The next zone is 'ED Sanding' booth where the body is inspected for any minor imperfections received in the ED Coat. The next zone is the 'Surfacer' Booth, where the body receives its second coat of paint, this being the Surfacer Coat, then into the Surfacer Oven. Next is 'Surfacer Sanding' Booth: the same as ED Sanding, this zone inspects the body for any imperfections picked up within
14432-419: The body shop, are vital to production. These machines are maintained and controlled by specialist engineering teams. Other functions, such as the complex scheduling of vehicles, parts control and ordering, vehicle tracking, etc. are managed by software written in-house. Most of the software resides on an IBM mainframe computer. This mainframe is not just responsible for NMUK; it controls business functions across
14596-399: The borough was made a separate parish from Bishopwearmouth by an act of parliament in 1719. The ancient borough's powers were relatively modest. Unlike most such boroughs, it did not hold its own courts, nor did it have any meaningful municipal functions. A separate body of improvement commissioners was established in 1810 with responsibilities to pave, light and clean the streets, provide
14760-419: The chemical precursors are minimised in the injection unit. The residence time can be reduced by minimising the barrel's volume capacity and by maximising the cycle times. These factors have led to the use of a thermally isolated, cold injection unit that injects the reacting chemicals into a thermally isolated hot mould, which increases the rate of chemical reactions and results in shorter time required to achieve
14924-453: The conventional process description above, there are several important moulding variations including, but not limited to: A more comprehensive list of injection moulding processes may be found here: [1] Like all industrial processes, injection molding can produce flawed parts, even in toys. In the field of injection moulding, troubleshooting is often performed by examining defective parts for specific defects and addressing these defects with
15088-410: The core and cavity of moulds further influences cost. Rubber injection moulding process produces a high yield of durable products, making it the most efficient and cost-effective method of moulding. Consistent vulcanisation processes involving precise temperature control significantly reduces all waste material. Usually, the plastic materials are formed in the shape of pellets or granules and sent from
15252-451: The cost of design, fabrication , processing , and quality monitoring. The skillful mould and part designer positions these aesthetic detriments in hidden areas if feasible. In 1846 the British inventor Charles Hancock, a relative of Thomas Hancock , patented an injection molding machine. American inventor John Wesley Hyatt , together with his brother Isaiah, patented one of the first injection moulding machines in 1872. This machine
15416-554: The council was based at the Civic Centre on Burdon Road, which had been built in 1970. Sunderland has the motto of Nil Desperandum Auspice Deo or Under God's guidance we may never despair . The borough's population (at the 2021 Census) was 274,200. The original settlement of Sunderland was historically part of the ancient parish of Bishopwearmouth in County Durham. It was an ancient borough , having been granted
15580-556: The country and (having patented an innovative production technique for rolled plate glass ) produced much of the glass used in the construction of the Crystal Palace in 1851. A third of all UK-manufactured plate glass was produced at Hartley's by this time. Other manufacturers included the Cornhill Flint Glassworks (established at Southwick in 1865), which went on to specialise in pressed glass , as did
15744-475: The country. The municipal boundaries were enlarged at the same time to match the constituency, although later that year the municipal boundaries were reduced to remove Southwick and the parts of Bishopwearmouth and Bishopwearmouth Panns which fell more than one mile from the centre of Wearmouth Bridge. The improvement commissioners were wound up in 1851 and their functions transferred to the council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Sunderland
15908-439: The county borough was replaced by a larger metropolitan borough within the new county of Tyne and Wear. The borough gained Hetton-le-Hole , Houghton-le-Spring , Washington , Burdon , and Warden Law . Injection moulding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding ) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold . Injection moulding can be performed with
16072-468: The deaths of 267 people and destruction of local industry while 4,000 homes were also damaged or destroyed. Many old buildings remain despite the bombing that occurred during World War II. Religious buildings include Holy Trinity Church, built in 1719 for an independent Sunderland, St Michael's Church, built as Bishopwearmouth Parish Church and now known as Sunderland Minster and St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth, part of which dates from 674 AD, and
16236-435: The design of the mould or the characteristics of the process itself. Trials are often performed before full production runs in an effort to predict defects and determine the appropriate specifications to use in the injection process. When filling a new or unfamiliar mould for the first time, where shot size for that mould is unknown, a technician/tool setter may perform a trial run before a full production run. They start with
16400-424: The direction that the mould opens, unless parts of the mould are designed to move from between such overhangs when the mould opens using components called Lifters. Sides of the part that appear parallel with the direction of draw (the axis of the cored position (hole) or insert is parallel to the up and down movement of the mould as it opens and closes) are typically angled slightly, called draft, to ease release of
16564-406: The factory is active 24 hours a day. This is something that is only introduced if NMUK officials can be sure demand is high enough. Line 1 ran three shift production from August 2008 to the start of January 2009 to meet unprecedented demand for the Qashqai, however due to the credit crunch and falling orders the third shift was suspended and people released by voluntary redundancy. Line 1 reintroduced
16728-406: The final part. None of these features are typically desired, but are unavoidable due to the nature of the process. Gate marks occur at the gate that joins the melt-delivery channels (sprue and runner) to the part forming cavity. Parting line and ejector pin marks result from minute misalignments, wear, gaseous vents, clearances for adjacent parts in relative motion, and/or dimensional differences of
16892-407: The first soluble forms of cellulose acetate in 1903, which was much less flammable than cellulose nitrate . It was eventually made available in a powder form from which it was readily injection moulded. Arthur Eichengrün developed the first injection moulding press in 1919. In 1939, Arthur Eichengrün patented the injection moulding of plasticised cellulose acetate. The industry expanded rapidly in
17056-477: The former presence of a cursus monument. It is believed the Brythonic -speaking Brigantes inhabited the area around the River Wear in pre- Roman Britain . There is a long-standing local legend that there was a Roman settlement on the south bank of the River Wear on what is the site of the former Vaux Brewery, although no archaeological investigation has taken place. Roman artefacts have been recovered in
17220-430: The fourteenth century and glassmaking industry in the seventeenth century. Following the decline of its traditional industries in the late 20th century, the area became an automotive building centre . In 1992, the borough of Sunderland was granted city status . Sunderland is historically part of County Durham , being incorporated to the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in 1974. Locals are sometimes known as Mackems ,
17384-493: The hot plastic) and keeps the mould at a proper temperature to solidify the plastic at the most efficient rate. To ease maintenance and venting, cavities and cores are divided into pieces, called inserts , and sub-assemblies, also called inserts , blocks , or chase blocks . By substituting interchangeable inserts, one mould may make several variations of the same part. More complex parts are formed using more complex moulds. These may have sections called slides, that move into
17548-451: The import and distribution business in-house, basing it at the Sunderland plant. In August 1992, the plant began to produce two models, with the introduction of the highly successful Micra , which was the first car of a Japanese brand to be voted " European Car of the Year ". The Micra proved particularly popular with British and continental buyers, and was in production for a whole decade until
17712-404: The injection and clamping cycles; however, aluminium moulds are cost-effective in low-volume applications, as mould fabrication costs and time are considerably reduced. Many steel moulds are designed to process well over a million parts during their lifetime and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fabricate. When thermoplastics are moulded, typically pelletised raw material is fed through
17876-595: The installation of machinery and factory components, ahead of schedule. Phase 1 of the plant construction was completed in July 1986, consisting of a body, paint and final assembly Line. The first Bluebird was produced shortly after and is on display at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens . Official opening of the plant by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Nissan President Yutaka Kume took place in September 1986. By February 1987, NMUK had become
18040-665: The introduction of the Note model, and a year later came the demise of the Almera and the introduction of the Qashqai . At this point, NMUK had built a reputation for being the most efficient plant in Europe. The Primera five-door model had the distinction of being the first model built at NMUK to be exported to the Japanese market. By 2008, however, falling sales led to its demise (UK sales had finished two years earlier). The Qashqai became
18204-465: The late 8th century the Vikings raided the coast, and by the middle of the 9th century the monastery had been abandoned. Lands on the south side of the river were granted to the Bishop of Durham by Athelstan of England in 930; these became known as Bishopwearmouth and included settlements such as Ryhope which fall within the modern boundary of Sunderland. In 1100, Bishopwearmouth parish included
18368-457: The launch of the next generation Micra. The early 21st century was a period of growth for the plant, with the plant being awarded contracts to build the updated Almera from the end of 1999, becoming a three-model plant, and continuation of the Micra and Primera model changes. The Micra C+C was also produced there after the introduction of a new Micra hatchback at the end of 2002. Late 2005 saw
18532-457: The main model for the plant, with such high demand that a night shift was introduced to keep up. Nearly 5,000 workers were employed at the plant by this stage; albeit 1,200 of them were made redundant in January 2009 as a result of the recession which saw demand for new cars slump. Despite a temporary suspension of the third shift due to the automotive industry crisis of 2008 , the third shift
18696-411: The material into a single connected network of molecules. As the chemical reaction occurs, the two fluid components permanently transform into a viscoelastic solid. Solidification in the injection barrel and screw can be problematic and have financial repercussions; therefore, minimising the thermoset curing within the barrel is vital. This typically means that the residence time and temperature of
18860-488: The material used and the size of the part. Larger parts require higher clamping force. Mould or die are the common terms used to describe the tool used to produce plastic parts in moulding. Since moulds have been expensive to manufacture, they were usually only used in mass production where thousands of parts were being produced. Typical moulds are constructed from hardened steel , pre-hardened steel, aluminium, and/or beryllium-copper alloy. The choice of material for
19024-548: The melting surfaces contacting the injected polymer. Dimensional differences can be attributed to non-uniform, pressure-induced deformation during injection, machining tolerances , and non-uniform thermal expansion and contraction of mould components, which experience rapid cycling during the injection, packing, cooling, and ejection phases of the process. Mould components are often designed with materials of various coefficients of thermal expansion. These factors cannot be simultaneously accounted for without astronomical increases in
19188-407: The method of building injection moulds. With technological developments, CNC machining became the predominant means of making more complex moulds with more accurate mould details in less time than traditional methods. The electrical discharge machining (EDM) or spark erosion process has become widely used in mould making. As well as allowing the formation of shapes that are difficult to machine,
19352-464: The middle of the century the town was probably the premier shipbuilding centre in Britain. Ships built in Sunderland were known as 'Jamies'. By 1788 Sunderland was Britain's fourth largest port (by measure of tonnage) after London, Newcastle and Liverpool; among these it was the leading coal exporter (though it did not rival Newcastle in terms of home coal trade). Still further growth was driven across
19516-412: The mold is not only based on cost considerations, but also has a lot to do with the product life cycle . In general, steel moulds cost more to construct, but their longer lifespan offsets the higher initial cost over a higher number of parts made before wearing out. Pre-hardened steel moulds are less wear-resistant and are used for lower volume requirements or larger components; their typical steel hardness
19680-485: The motor industry). The next booth it enters is the 'Underbody' Booth. In this booth, similar to 'Sealing' Booth, the body's wheel arches are sealed using the same PVC based sealant. Robots then apply the underseal to the underfloor and wheel arches. Also robots are used to apply the SGC (Stone Guard Coat) layer to the sills: this coating is designed for abrasion resistance, i.e. preventing stone chips, scuffs, etc. From here,
19844-493: The mould causes the slides to move forward along the angle pins. A mould can produce several copies of the same parts in a single "shot". The number of "impressions" in the mould of that part is often incorrectly referred to as cavitation. A tool with one impression is often called a single impression (cavity) mould. A mould with two or more cavities of the same parts is usually called a multiple impression (cavity) mould. (Not to be confused with "Multi- shot moulding" {which
20008-399: The mould cavity through a gate and runner system. The mould remains cold so the plastic solidifies almost as soon as the mould is filled. The sequence of events during the injection mould of a plastic part is called the injection moulding cycle. The cycle begins when the mould closes, followed by the injection of the polymer into the mould cavity. Once the cavity is filled, a holding pressure
20172-404: The mould cools so that it can be ejected and be dimensionally stable. This cooling duration is dramatically reduced by the use of cooling lines circulating water or oil from an external temperature controller. Once the required temperature has been achieved, the mould opens and an array of pins, sleeves, strippers, etc. are driven forward to demould the article. Then, the mould closes and the process
20336-522: The mould through a sprue or gate in the injection mould; the sprue bushing is to seal tightly against the nozzle of the injection barrel of the moulding machine and to allow molten plastic to flow from the barrel into the mould, also known as the cavity. The sprue bushing directs the molten plastic to the cavity images through channels that are machined into the faces of the A and B plates. These channels allow plastic to run along them, so they are referred to as runners. The molten plastic flows through
20500-475: The next step in the production process. Over £10m has been invested into the Paint Shop, in readiness for the upcoming introduction of Infiniti models Q30 & QX30, making Nissan Sunderland, the first plant outside Japan to produce this luxury brand, alongside its current models. Plastics shop Plastic components such as bumpers are injection-moulded on site. Plastic Paint Shop Bumpers molded in
20664-427: The number of cavities play a vital role in moulding costs, so does the complexity of the part's design. Complexity can be incorporated into many factors such as surface finishing, tolerance requirements, internal or external threads, fine detailing or the number of undercuts that may be incorporated. Further details, such as undercuts, or any feature that needs additional tooling, increases mould cost. Surface finish of
20828-522: The old port area in the suburban terraces of the Fawcett Estate and Mowbray Park . The area around Fawcett Street itself increasingly functioned as the civic and commercial town centre. Marine engineering works were established from the 1820s onwards, initially providing engines for paddle steamers ; in 1845 a ship named Experiment was the first of many to be converted to steam screw propulsion . Demand for steam-powered vessels increased during
20992-426: The part from the mould. Insufficient draft can cause deformation or damage. The draft required for mould release is primarily dependent on the depth of the cavity; the deeper the cavity, the more draft necessary. Shrinkage must also be taken into account when determining the draft required. If the skin is too thin, then the moulded part tends to shrink onto the cores that form while cooling and cling to those cores, or
21156-408: The part may warp, twist, blister or crack when the cavity is pulled away. A mould is usually designed so that the moulded part reliably remains on the ejector (B) side of the mould when it opens, and draws the runner and the sprue out of the (A) side along with the parts. The part then falls freely when ejected from the (B) side. Tunnel gates, also known as submarine or mould gates, are located below
21320-415: The parting line or mould surface. An opening is machined into the surface of the mould on the parting line. The moulded part is cut (by the mould) from the runner system on ejection from the mould. Ejector pins, also known as knockout pins, are circular pins placed in either half of the mould (usually the ejector half), which push the finished moulded product, or runner system out of a mould. The ejection of
21484-401: The plant is made up primarily of manufacturing areas, there is also a large office complex, housing supporting functions including: Personnel, Community Relations, Production Control, Engineering, Finance, Purchasing and Information Systems. Some of these support functions, including Purchasing, Finance and Information Systems are not just responsible for NMUK but for Nissan Europe as well. During
21648-486: The pressure should be sufficient to allow for the desired speed, pressure limitations during this stage are undesirable. Once the cavity is 98% full, the machine switches from velocity control to pressure control , where the cavity is "packed out" at a constant pressure, where sufficient velocity to reach desired pressures is required. This lets workers control part dimensions to within thousandths of an inch or better. Although most injection moulding processes are covered by
21812-420: The process allows pre-hardened moulds to be shaped so that no heat treatment is required. Changes to a hardened mould by conventional drilling and milling normally require annealing to soften the mould, followed by heat treatment to harden it again. EDM is a simple process in which a shaped electrode, usually made of copper or graphite, is very slowly lowered onto the mould surface over a period of many hours, which
21976-412: The raw material forward, mixes and homogenises the thermal and viscous distributions of the polymer, and reduces the required heating time by mechanically shearing the material and adding a significant amount of frictional heating to the polymer. The material feeds forward through a check valve and collects at the front of the screw into a volume known as a shot . A shot is the volume of material that
22140-409: The raw material manufacturers in paper bags. With injection moulding, pre-dried granular plastic is fed by a forced ram from a hopper into a heated barrel. As the granules are slowly moved forward by a screw-type plunger, the plastic is forced into a heated chamber, where it is melted. As the plunger advances, the melted plastic is forced through a nozzle that rests against the mould, allowing it to enter
22304-428: The region, towards the end of the century, by London's insatiable demand for coal during the French Revolutionary Wars . Until 1719 the borough of Sunderland formed part of the wider parish of Bishopwearmouth. Following the completion of Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland (today also known as Sunderland Old Parish Church) in 1719, the borough was made a separate parish called Sunderland. Later, in 1769, St John's Church
22468-671: The river another passenger terminus, in Fawcett Street, in 1853. Later, Thomas Elliot Harrison (chief engineer to the North Eastern Railway ) made plans to carry the railway across the river; the Wearmouth Railway Bridge (reputedly 'the largest Hog-Back iron girder bridge in the world') opened in 1879. In 1854 the Londonderry, Seaham & Sunderland Railway opened linking collieries to a separate set of staiths at Hudson Dock South, it also provided
22632-467: The river in a single sweep of 236 feet (72 m), it was over twice the length of the earlier bridge at Ironbridge but only three-quarters the weight. At the time of building, it was the biggest single-span bridge in the world; and because Sunderland had developed on a plateau above the river, it never suffered from the problem of interrupting the passage of high-masted vessels. During the War of Jenkins' Ear
22796-409: The runner and enters one or more specialised gates and into the cavity geometry to form the desired part. The amount of resin required to fill the sprue, runner and cavities of a mould comprises a "shot". Trapped air in the mould can escape through air vents that are ground into the parting line of the mould, or around ejector pins and slides that are slightly smaller than the holes retaining them. If
22960-441: The same parts or can be unique and form multiple different geometries during a single cycle. Moulds are generally made from tool steels , but stainless steels and aluminium moulds are suitable for certain applications. Aluminium moulds are typically ill-suited for high volume production or parts with narrow dimensional tolerances, as they have inferior mechanical properties and are more prone to wear, damage, and deformation during
23124-592: The site in November 1984, by building contractors Sir Robert McAlpine . One of Nissan's more controversial demands during the talks was that the plant be single- union . This was unprecedented in UK industry. In April 1985, an agreement was reached with the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU). However, critics argue that this means the plant workforce is weakly represented, as workers are only members of one single union. Nissan argues that as
23288-462: The sole supplier of the Bluebird model to the UK market, after a brief spell of importing Japanese built models, and work on phase two of the plant began, with plastics moulding and engine assembly beginning in 1988, and was completed in May 1990. This would prove to be a landmark year for the plant, with the introduction of the P10 Primera , the first model to be wholly built at NMUK, replacing
23452-803: The strength and function required for the final part, as well as the cost, but also each material has different parameters for moulding that must be taken into account. Other considerations when choosing an injection moulding material include flexural modulus of elasticity, or the degree to which a material can be bent without damage, as well as heat deflection and water absorption. Common polymers like epoxy and phenolic are examples of thermosetting plastics while nylon , polyethylene , and polystyrene are thermoplastic. Until comparatively recently, plastic springs were not possible, but advances in polymer properties make them now quite practical. Applications include buckles for anchoring and disconnecting outdoor-equipment webbing. Injection moulding machines consist of
23616-442: The success of the port of Sunderland, salt panning and shipbuilding along the banks of the river. Around this time, Sunderland was known as 'Sunderland-near-the-Sea'. Sunderland's third-biggest export, after coal and salt, was glass. The town's first modern glassworks were established in the 1690s and the industry grew through the 17th century. Its flourishing was aided by trading ships bringing good-quality sand (as ballast ) from
23780-494: The top 10 safest in the UK. There is one main tier of local government covering Sunderland, at metropolitan borough level: Sunderland City Council . Most of the built-up area is an unparished area , although on its southern edge part of the built-up area falls within the parish of Burdon . The city council is based at City Hall on Plater Way (formerly the site of the Vaux Brewery), which opened in 2021. Prior to that
23944-410: The total number of available materials for injection moulding has increased at a rate of 750 per year; there were approximately 18,000 materials available when that trend began. Available materials include alloys or blends of previously developed materials, so product designers can choose the material with the best set of properties from a vast selection. Major criteria for selection of a material are
24108-468: The town being a target in a 1916 Zeppelin raid. Monkwearmouth was struck on 1 April 1916 and 22 people died. Over 25,000 men from a population of 151,000 served in the armed forces during the war. Through the Great Depression of the 1930s, shipbuilding dramatically declined: shipyards on the Wear went from 15 in 1921 to six in 1937. The small yards of J. Blumer & Son (at North Dock) and
24272-526: The town had 76 shipyards and between 1820 and 1850 the number of ships being built on the Wear increased fivefold. From 1846 to 1854 almost a third of the UK's ships were built in Sunderland, and in 1850 the Sunderland Herald proclaimed the town to be the greatest shipbuilding port in the world. The Durham & Sunderland Railway Co. built a railway line across the Town Moor and established
24436-415: The trapped air is not allowed to escape, it is compressed by the pressure of the incoming material and squeezed into the corners of the cavity, where it prevents filling and can also cause other defects. The air can even become so compressed that it ignites and burns the surrounding plastic material. To allow for removal of the moulded part from the mould, the mould features must not overhang one another in
24600-404: The use of the minimum amount of resources (e.g. space, time, material, workers) necessary to add value to a product. NMUK uses this management technique throughout the factory and beyond. Synchronous Suppliers deliver parts line-side only when they are required, therefore reducing the need to store large supplies of parts at great cost. Job rotation To keep the workforce flexible, NMUK operates
24764-458: The vast majority of all injection machines. The plastic injection moulding industry has evolved over the years from producing combs and buttons to producing a vast array of products for many industries including automotive, medical, aerospace, consumer products, toys, plumbing , packaging, and construction. Most polymers, sometimes referred to as resins, may be used, including all thermoplastics, some thermosets, and some elastomers. Since 1995,
24928-420: The volume used of the former being considerably higher. Thermoplastics are prevalent due to characteristics that make them highly suitable for injection moulding, such as ease of recycling, versatility for a wide variety of applications, and ability to soften and flow on heating. Thermoplastics also have an element of safety over thermosets; if a thermosetting polymer is not ejected from the injection barrel in
25092-438: Was "ácenned on sundorlande þæs ylcan mynstres" (born in a separate land of this same monastery). This can be taken as "sundorlande" (being Old English for "separate land") or the settlement of Sunderland. The name may also be descriptive of the original settlement's location, being almost cut off (sundered) from the rest of the mainland by creeks and gullies from both the sea and the River Wear. The earliest inhabitants of
25256-484: Was a growing number of shipbuilders or boatbuilders active on the River Wear in the late 17th century. By the start of the 18th century the banks of the Wear were described as being studded with small shipyards, as far as the tide flowed. After 1717, measures having been taken to increase the depth of the river, Sunderland's shipbuilding trade grew substantially (in parallel with its coal exports). A number of warships were built, alongside many commercial sailing ships. By
25420-681: Was built as a chapel of ease within Holy Trinity parish; built by a local coal fitter, John Thornhill, it stood in Prospect Row to the north-east of the parish church. (St John's was demolished in 1972.) By 1720 the port area was completely built up, with large houses and gardens facing the Town Moor and the sea, and labourers' dwellings vying with manufactories alongside the river. The three original settlements Bishopwearmouth, Monkwearmouth and Sunderland had started to combine, driven by
25584-399: Was chosen. As an incentive the land was offered to Nissan at agricultural prices; around £1,800 per acre. The North East region of England had recently undergone a period of industrial decline , with the closure of most of the shipyards on the Wear and Tyne , and the closure of many coal mines on the once prosperous Durham coalfield. The high unemployment this caused meant Nissan had
25748-471: Was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough , independent from the new Durham County Council . The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions, notably in 1867, 1928 (when it gained areas including Fulwell , Southwick and the remainder of the old Bishopwearmouth parish), 1936, 1951, and 1967 (when it gained North Hylton , South Hylton , Ryhope , Silksworth , and Tunstall ). In 1974
25912-399: Was designed to dredge to a maximum depth of 10 ft (3.0 m) below the waterline and remained in operation until 1804, when its constituent parts were sold as separate lots. Onshore, numerous small industries supported the business of the burgeoning port. In 1797 the world's first patent ropery (producing machine-made rope , rather than using a ropewalk ) was built in Sunderland, using
26076-496: Was loaded onto keels (large, flat-bottomed boats) and taken downriver to the waiting colliers. A close-knit group of workers manned the Keels as ' keelmen '. In 1634 a market and yearly fair charter was granted by Bishop Thomas Morton . Morton's charter acknowledged that the borough had been called Wearmouth until then, but it incorporated the place under the name of Sunderland, by which it had become more generally known. Before
26240-634: Was reintroduced, and the strong demand for the Qashqai has helped NMUK remain strong throughout the crisis. After the crisis, Nissan announced that the new Juke model would be built starting in July 2010, replacing the Micra (now produced in Chennai , India) and that NMUK would be the European manufacturing location for the Electric Vehicle Leaf model beginning in 2011, as well as an on-site lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility for an investment of £420 million (US$ 636 million), backed by
26404-466: Was relatively simple compared to machines in use today: it worked like a large hypodermic needle , using a plunger to inject plastic through a heated cylinder into a mould. The industry progressed slowly over the years, producing products such as collar stays , buttons, and hair combs(generally though, plastics, in its modern definition, are a more recent development c. 1950s ). The German chemists Arthur Eichengrün and Theodore Becker invented
26568-544: Was the first built of stone in Northumbria . He employed glaziers from France and in doing he re-established glass making in Britain. In 686 the community was taken over by Ceolfrid , and Wearmouth–Jarrow became a major centre of learning and knowledge in Anglo-Saxon England with a library of around 300 volumes. The Codex Amiatinus , described by biblical scholar Henry Julian White (1859–1934) as
26732-598: Was the original monastery. St Andrew's Church, Roker , known as the "Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts Movement ", contains work by William Morris , Ernest Gimson and Eric Gill . St Mary's Catholic Church is the earliest surviving Gothic revival church in the city. After the war, more housing was built and the town's boundaries expanded in 1967 when neighbouring Ryhope , Silksworth , Herrington , South Hylton and Castletown were incorporated. Sunderland AFC won their only post- World War II major honour in 1973 when they won
26896-436: Was used in salt panning; better-quality coal was traded via the port, which subsequently began to grow. Both salt and coal continued to be exported through the 17th century, with the coal trade growing significantly (2–3,000 tons of coal were exported from Sunderland in the year 1600; by 1680 this had increased to 180,000 tons). Difficulty for colliers trying to navigate the Wear’s shallow waters meant coal mined further inland
#843156