Smart Machines & Factories

Analog Devices, Inc. has collaborated with the University of Limerick (UL) and other prominent companies, including economic infrastructure technology leader Stripe, to launch a world-leading computer science programme called Immersive Software Engineering (ISE). Smart Machines & Factories.

The theme of the third in the series of Talking Industry online panel discussions organised by DFA Media, the publisher of Smart Machines & Factories, was Industrial Networks, IIoT and Communications. The session chairman Andy Pye reports on the event.

New technologies that can be used to achieve industrial transformation have take a progressive leap forward with the virtual exhibition from OMRON, which enables visitors to walk through a 360 degree virtual tour, guiding them around ‘the factory of the future’ – one in which different innovations have been introduced to increase flexibility, enhance efficiency and boost productivity.

The UK government is refreshing the national industrial strategy that will put science and technological advancements at the forefront of growth. In addition, the refreshed strategy is touted to focus more on levelling up regional economies, increasing innovation and adoption of technologies more widely. Stephen Phipson, MAKE UK, chief executive explains further for Smart Machines & Factories.

Outdated attitudes towards technology amongst senior business leaders are at risk of jeopardising future business survival, new research has found.

At the outset of 2020, none would have predicted the course that the year would take due to COVID-19. The global pandemic, and the response to it, upended many manufacturing businesses and fundamentally shifted what plant operations look like. Stephen Hayes looks at how the events of 2020 reshaped the coming years for manufacturing.

Samsung Electronics has launched ‘Solve for Tomorrow’, a youth competition, running for the first time in the UK. The programme brings compassion, education and technology together to help young people nurture and create solutions to their local community’s most pressing problems within four key challenge areas: education, sustainability, diversity & inclusion, and social isolation.

New research commissioned by Digital Catapult and the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator has revealed that COVID-19 could prove to be a turning point when it comes to UK manufacturers implementing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, the internet of things or 5G, with 77% saying that the pandemic has made their business more open to change and innovation.

Chris Evans* looks at the effect the pandemic could have on the future adoption of automation in manufacturing within SMEs.

Manufacturers supported by Made Smarter, the movement helping SMEs join the Industry 4.0 revolution, are forecasting the creation of more than 750 new jobs from £12.6M of technology investment

Digital industrialisation could be worth as much as £455 billion to Britain’s economy over the next decade, and could turn the UK, and the Midlands in particular, into a science superpower. This is according to a new report by the Midlands Manufacturing Resilience Commission (M2R), Manufacturing Confidence, which shows Britain will become a world leader in innovation if it embraces digital manufacturing.

Manufacturers are risking wasted time, money and effort adopting digital technology without a strategic plan for digital transformation, research by Made Smarter North West Pilot has revealed.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre has taken delivery of two agile robotic dogs as part of MTC Liverpool's Digital Manufacturing Accelerator programme. Named Spot, the robotic dogs can climb stairs and cross rough terrain which would defeat most robots.

Speaking at the New Street Research and BCG 5G Conference recently, Dan Rodriguez, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Network Platforms Group, discussed three major inflection points driving and changing the landscape of technology and business: 5G network transformation, artificial intelligence and the rise of the intelligent edge.

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult and Made Smarter, the UK’s manufacturing digitalisation movement, have announced a new HVM Catapult-led Made Smarter Smart Factory Innovation Hubs pilot. This will see its network offer companies the opportunity to reduce the risk of implementing new digital manufacturing solutions within their businesses.

There was a time when securing sensitive information was as simple as putting a lock on a filing cabinet. But with the rapid development of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud computing technologies, industrial data protection has become much more complex.

British manufacturing companies moved at speed towards digitalisation when the pandemic struck, with nearly half switching to digital working practices within two weeks of lockdown, according to new research, ‘Digital Skills for a Digital Manufacturing Future’, published recently by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation and Sage. With just a fortnight’s digital installation and planning, 94% of companies said they had staff working successfully from home in industries often associated with manual tasks and a high proportion of production-based work.

Injuries in sport are inevitable, but the greatest sporting comebacks haven’t been achieved by simply accepting the circumstances and waiting for recovery. The same philosophy can be applied to factory shutdowns. Chris Johnson explores the factory maintenance opportunities gifted by an unexpected pause in production.

Thanks to its recognised efficiency-enhancing benefits, additive manufacturing is a technology increasingly integrated within the production operations of companies around the world. Lee-Bath Nelson looks at how, with the right software solutions, manufacturers can enjoy safe, repeatable and trackable production while also ensuring that fundamental certification requirements are adhered to.

Visit Phoenix Contact’s free, virtual conference and experience our latest product innovations and industry insights simply, digitally and interactively.

Nick Sacke explains how deploying high performance units to provide enhanced Internet connectivity from day one at existing and new warehouses can offer tangible benefits for logistics firms as they rebound post the current pandemic.

Centrica Storage limited (CSL) and Vodafone will build the gas plant of the future at their Easington facility by launching the first 5G ready mobile private network (MPN) for the oil and gas industry.

Treatt, an ingredients manufacturer and solutions provider to the global flavour, fragrance and consumer goods markets, has partnered with Siemens Digital Industries (DI) to build a world class digital manufacturing facility at its £41m new global headquarters.

New research by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has revealed that young people have taken inspiration from healthcare professionals and engineers during the Covid-19 pandemic to enhance their perceptions of real and life changing engineering and science to consider these roles for future careers.

Schneider Electric is calling for a revolution in automation technologies, based on open standards, that, it says, will “unleash innovation and boost efficiency, resilience, productivity, agility and sustainability”. It has unveiled what it describes as “the world’s first software-centric automation system” and says the time is right for a bold move in industrial automation. It is urging industrial users, vendors, OEMs, systems integrators to embrace what it calls “universal automation”.