Smart Machines & Factories

The Royal Academy of Engineering is to make a special series of awards to recognise exceptional engineering in response to pandemic challenges. The awards are open to all engineers across the UK who have contributed to addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, across all technical specialities, disciplines and career stages.

ABI Research forecasts that in 2026, manufacturers and industrial firms will be spending on US$19.8 billion on data management, data analytics, and associated professional services.Manufacturing plants generate mountains of data throughout the day, every day. Traditionally, data has been noted on paper or analysed in spreadsheets. However, today it can be collected automatically via sensors and analysed with tools that far exceed spreadsheets’ capabilities.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre is launching a brand new initiative, in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, that brings world leading manufacturing research, technology and experts together. Embarking on a ten year mission, the £15 million funded programme aims to accelerate the implementation of innovative physical and digital manufacturing technologies into UK manufacturing and supply chains.

Karl Heinrich Lauri, managing team member at MRPeasy asks: can a smaller manufacturer looking to survive and prosper in this changing world afford not to embrace the digitalisation of the business process?

As part of the EU’s collective efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has announced the launch of the ‘EIT Crisis Response Initiative’.

Made Smarter and engineering skills organisation Enginuity have worked together to launch a platform today, which delivers digital engineering skills in one place to Britain’s engineers and manufacturers at a time when they are needed more than ever.

The automotive industry is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of additive manufacturing (AM). Smart Machines & Factories reports.

It seems a long time ago now since various malware attacks on the operational layer changed the security landscape and highlighted vulnerabilities in the de-facto automation architecture. However, as we move along the road towards Smart Manufacturing with a view to improving efficiency, productivity and reliability of supply using the principles of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the subject of cyber-security is becoming arguably even more important. Chris Evans, marketing & operations group manager at Mitsubishi Electric

John Roberts, director of Idhammar Systems, addresses 5 developments manufacturers need to seriously consider this year, and shares his predictions for the manufacturing industry in 2019.

Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems, has selected Iotics’ technology to enable digital solutions with asset-focused digital twins. Iotics says its technology has given Rolls-Royce the capability to unlock over 200 data sources, brokering interactions to create digital twins of their in-field assets, and receive real-time event insights across customer, supplier and partner boundaries. 

The Royal Academy of Engineering has highlighted the key engineering-related risks and opportunities that COVID-19 poses for the UK beyond the immediate crisis response, drawing on the expertise of Academy Fellows and its partners in the National Engineering Policy Centre, who collectively represent 450,000 engineers across the UK.

Benjamin Stafford, materials science expert at materials search engine Matmatch, explores the future relationship of aviation and additive manufacturing.

Interact Analysis’s new report on the market for predictive maintenance has highlighted the potential for a new relationship between component manufacturers, OEM machine builders, and end users.

INCASE (“Industry 4.0 via Networked Control Applications and Sustainable Engineering”), co-organised by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI UK)and the European Interreg Project, are free-to-attend seminars that will address the key practical issues arising from the use of digital communications technologies in automated manufacturing and process industry applications, with particular attention to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

Manufacturers have welcomed the Government’s announcement last night to encourage those manufacturers who have not continued to operate to return to business. The advice comes after confirmation that the UK was now through the peak of this pandemic.

The volume of cyber attacks on UK businesses increased by almost a third in the first three months of 2020, according to new analysis from Beaming, a specialist business ISP. Companies with internet connections experienced 157,000 attacks each, on average, in the first quarter, the equivalent of more than one a minute.

Omron has taken part in the development of an emergency ventilator, in a project spearheaded by TheOpenVentilator a non-profit making association. The new ventilators are being built in Spain to help COVID-19 patients who need mechanical ventilation, using industrial equipment of high quality and reliability.

The Bristol-based Centre for Modelling & Simulation (CFMS), a not-for-profit specialist in digital engineering, has announced the appointment of Dr James Gopsill to develop a joint digital engineering capability between CFMS and the University of Bristol.

If a week is a long time in politics then the last couple of months have felt like a lifetime. Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive of Make UK, reports.

The Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre has loaned two of its MiR200 mobile robots to support the production of life-saving Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices by Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains.

More than 70% of Smart Machines & Factories readers are currently working from home, with almost half of them reporting that they feel they can be 100% productive working this way, according to an online survey conducted by the magazine.

Human-Machine-Interfaces (HMIs) are dashboards that act as an interface between a user and a machine or device. They are designed to present information in a graphical format about the status of a process to an operator. HMIs can be password protected to only give authorisation and access to operators with the correct security clearance. However, a growing and recurring problem has been the loss or misplacement of these critical passwords, causing a host of delays. Martin Brown, product manager Siemens, reports.

The VDMA and VDW are joining forces to promote the use and dissemination of OPC UA standards throughout the mechanical engineering sector under the umati label.

The benefits of digitalising the manufacturing process are plentiful and obvious for many engineers who are open to new ways of working. Andreas Velling, mechanical engineer and head of marketing at Fractory reports.

The biennial co-located events; Smart Industry Expo, Drives & Controls, Fluid Power & Systems, Plant & Asset Management, and Air-Tech Exhibitions – have been rescheduled to January 25th-27th 2021, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These extra months will help give the industry the space to recover and the opportunity to present their technologies, innovations and solutions in an upturning market with no restrictions on travel. The events will continue to be co-located with MACH.