University of Nottingham spinout Scintam Engineering has secured a £125,000 investment from the British Design Fund as part of a £325,000 seed funding round as it looks to take its innovative technology for releasing seized nuts and bolts to market.
At present, the aerospace, automotive and renewable energy industries, among others, rely on manual processes when they wish to dismantle or service their high-value assets. However, the fasteners that hold such assets together can be difficult and time consuming to remove. Using electrical pulses to dissolve the fasteners, Scintam Engineering provides a solution that not only reduces costs and almost eliminates the risk of damage, but also aids remanufacture and sustainability.
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The start-up was co-founded in 2019 by Sam Catchpole-Smith (pictured above, at left), who has a background in mechanical engineering and advanced manufacturing. It was launched following the completion of a successful research project that highlighted the potential for the technology to benefit a broad range of industries.
‘Releasing seized fasteners is a massive operational challenge across many industries, with current manual methods often leading to damage to assets and costly delays,’ Catchpole-Smith said. ‘With our technology, we aim to help reduce costs, increase operator safety and provide certainty during maintenance scheduling.
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‘We’re thrilled to have the backing of British Design Fund and our other investors,’ he continued. ‘We have an exciting year ahead, where we will be moving to larger premises and hiring additional engineers to further develop the core technology to target the remanufacturing sector. This is a key part of our strategy – to provide our customers with a sustainability boosting product that can be put to work immediately.’
The company was recently awarded an Innovate UK grant, which will support product development and the team’s goal to achieve a 100 per cent yield in remanufacturing, helping to further reduce waste and carbon emissions.
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‘We’ve been so impressed by Sam and the team at Scintam,’ said Damon Bonser, CEO of the British Design Fund. ‘The technology they have developed has huge potential and a broad range of applications for so many industries. We look forward to supporting the team as the company moves forward and brings its products to market.’