Smart Machines & Factories

Smart Machines & Factories looks at how dairy manufacturers can use AR to augment plant maintenance.

The biennial co-located events; Smart Industry Expo, Drives & Controls, Fluid Power & Systems, Plant & Asset Management, and Air-Tech Exhibitions – are once again set to return to Birmingham’s NEC between the 21st -23rdth April 2020, alongside MACH 2020. Located at the heart of the 2020 co-location are The Digitalisation and Engineering Forums.

Alfreton based David Nieper Ltd was named Manufacturer of the Year at the finals of a major national Manufacturing Awards programme organised by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation.

At this year's recent "Innovations & Highlights 2020", Jungheinrich highlighted a networked digital fork camera for intelligent scanning of goods. The solution is the latest feature of the optical assistance system family addedVIEW.

Peter Lange, business development manager, robotics at Omron Europe takes a look at collaborative robotics in manufacturing and how successful cobot projects involve safety, quality and flexibility.

Jonathan Wilkins, director of industrial automation parts supplier, EU Automation, discusses what manufacturers should consider when choosing which type of robot to invest in.

North West business leaders are now armed with the vision and the skills to pursue smarter manufacturing after completing Made Smarter’s leadership programme.

A bespoke IT system from food and drink specialist CSB-System has helped a Slovenian poultry processor to double its growth, improve cost-efficiency and increase production volume by 40%. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

With an alarming backdrop of ever-increasing skills shortages, rapid technological change and an ageing workforce, MAKE UK’s chief executive, Stephen Phipson, says manufacturers are investing more than ever before in their employees’ health and wellbeing. He commented that counselling, health-screening and mental health first aiders are the norm in factories across the UK with modern and flexible working opportunities sitting at the heart of British industry.

SICK offers a fascinating glimpse through the doors of its own Industry 4.0 factory – and proves it pays to practice what you preach. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

OEMs can help their customers in the Machine Building sector embrace digitalisation with integrated finance. Neli Ivanova, sales manager, Industrial Equipment at Siemens Financial Services in the UK, reports.

Condition-based monitoring (CbM) is the Industry 4.0 equivalent of wearable fitness devices. With the explosion of connectivity comes the opportunity to observe the physical world like never before and to see physical processes in action, in real time, in fine detail. In industrial systems, one of the processes important for us to understand is the process of the aging of equipment and machines. This is important in diverse markets from oil and gas, wind power generation, and industrial process control, where capital equipment costs are high, and downtime is costly. Stuart Servis*, senior applications engineer, reports.

The UK has the potential to lead the world in the application of artificial intelligence for manufacturing, according to an AI lead at Coventry's Manufacturing Technology Centre.

University of Birmingham Professor of Robotics, Rustam Stolkin, has been elected as Chair of a new international Expert Group on Robotic and Remote Systems (EGRSS) - part of the OECD’s global Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), which brings together the governments of 33 member nations.

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago comprising two main islands and 778 smaller islands covering an area of 12,000 sq km (almost half the size of Wales) with a population of just over 3.5 thousand. Here, a radio station covers local news and the territory's only newspaper is Penguin News. The islands are self-governing: Susannah Nightingale, Communications Regulator is appointed by the Governor of the Falkland Islands. There are two schools in Stanley, the capital, the Infant and Junior School and Camp Education (IJS&CE) teaches ages 4 to 11 and the Falkland Islands Community School caters for ages 11 to 16.

Jonathan Wilkins, director at automation equipment supplier EU Automation, explains the relationship between legacy equipment and emerging technology.

Atlas Copco has designed and installed a fully integrated Smart Connected Assembly solution at leading eTruck manufacturer, Tevva Motors, for error-proof battery pack production. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

The automotive industry is often a technology trendsetter among manufacturing industries as the scale and competitiveness of automotive manufacturing means that optimising production through automation increases output as well as enhancing quality and continuity. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

Smart Machines & Factories spoke to Lucian Dold, general channel & product marketing manager at Omron Europe, about what Industry 4.0 really means for manufacturers.

In an important – but, perhaps, under-publicised – new report, a committee of MPs has addressed the future of automation in the UK, and its vital importance to the economy. Contributing editor Tony Sacks has been looking through the report.

For many years Turck Banner has used smart solutions using “middleware” to interface directly to customer’s databases and ERP / MES systems. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

The next generation 5G wireless networks and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be crucial elements to enable Industry 4.0 to be wholly implemented. Smart Machines & Factories reports.