From Shake to Bake: Inside Our Open Day at AMRC Sheffield

Our work in defence and aerospace often happens behind closed doors, protected by non-disclosure agreements. But every now and then, we get the chance to open the doors and share what we do. On Thursday 6 November 2025, we did exactly that! We hosted our exclusive Open Day, From Shake to Bake: A Deep Dive Into Vibration & Thermal Testing, at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

The specialist event brought together experts from across the aerospace, defence, electronics, automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors to explore how combined vibration and thermal testing is helping manufacturers validate performance, reliability and safety in the most extreme conditions.

Throughout the day, guests gained first-hand insight into how Weiss Technik’s precise, repeatable and reliable test systems are supporting mission-critical applications where performance simply cannot be compromised.

Mission-Critical Testing for Aerospace & Defence

In industries where safety, performance and reliability are paramount, vibration testing plays a vital role in proving product integrity before deployment. During the Open Day, we demonstrated how combined environmental simulation allows manufacturers to:

• Detect design weaknesses early, reducing costly in-service failures
• Verify compliance with international aerospace and defence standards, including MIL-STD requirements
• Accelerate development cycles with accurate, real-world test data
• Recreate years of environmental stress in days, significantly enhancing long-term product reliability

By reproducing harsh operational conditions in a controlled laboratory environment, engineers can move forward with confidence that their products will perform reliably in the field.

Expert Speakers and Industry Insight

The day opened with a welcome from Brett Green, Managing Director of Weiss Technik UK, followed by a series of technical presentations from a panel of respected industry specialists, including:

• Andy Silcox, Chief Technology Officer, AMRC Group
• Neil Ovenden, Managing Director, NDO Consultants / Kemo Ltd.
• Johannes Gundersen, International Sales Manager (MIL ES), Weiss Technik GmbH
• Marco Sfregola, General Manager, 1g Dynamics
• Charlie Field, Business Development Manager, Laboratory for Verification & Validation (LVV)

Together, the speakers shared practical insight into real-world validation, electrodynamic shaker innovation, defence testing requirements and the future of combined vibration and climatic simulation.

Alongside the presentations, attendees benefited from valuable networking opportunities, sharing ideas and challenges with fellow engineers and specialists working at the cutting edge of design, development and testing.

Environmental Simulation & Industrial Heat Treatment on Display

In addition to vibration testing, the Open Day also showcased Weiss Technik’s broader environmental simulation and industrial heat treatment capabilities, including:

• Battery test stands with multi-axial vibration tables and climatic chambers
• Climatic test chambers for temperature and humidity testing
• Industrial heating and drying ovens
• Temperature vacuum chambers with infrared irradiation for space simulation

These demonstrations highlighted how Weiss Technik supports customers across automotive, aerospace, electronics, life sciences, defence and general industry with robust, high-performance test environments.

The Laboratory for Verification & Validation in Action

One of the standout moments of the day was the live demonstration at AMRC’s Laboratory for Verification and Validation (LVV) — a £11m state-of-the-art environmental and vibration testing facility. The LVV enables dynamic testing of full-scale structures under controlled laboratory conditions and supports a wide range of sectors, including energy, aerospace, automotive, renewables and civil engineering.

Weiss Technik UK was proud to be involved in the build of this world-class facility, making it especially rewarding to see it fully operational. The demonstration offered a powerful opportunity to show guests just how far modern manufacturing and engineering can go, and how our technology plays a vital role in enabling that progress.

We would like to thank all speakers, partners and attendees who joined us for our Open Day. The day proved to be an excellent opportunity for knowledge sharing, collaboration and hands-on engagement with the latest vibration and thermal testing technologies, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. 

Contact Us

If you would like to know more about this news or our environmental test chambers, please get in touch to speak to one of our professionals. Call us on 01509 631 595 or email us on enquiries.gb@weiss-technik.com.