Smart Machines & Factories

A training solution from Siemens Digital Industries is helping upskill their customers and suppliers to capitalise on the opportunities of Industry 4.0. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

Eurotech, a company that designs, develops, and deploys hardware, software, services and solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), has announced its collaboration with Exosite to enable and simplify industrial IoT adoption from edge to cloud. The collaboration aims to combine Eurotech’s industrial IoT Edge capabilities with Exosite’s ExoSense condition monitoring application.

A heritage textile manufacturer, supported by Made Smarter, is expecting a 40% productivity boost through a transformational technology project.

IXON, a leading remote service and IIoT solution provider for industrial machines and installations, has received the Frost & Sullivan 2020 New Product Innovation Award for IXON Cloud, the European IIoT Platform for Machine Building.

Half of Britain’s manufacturers have been the victim of cyber-crime during the last 12 months, after thousands of organisations moved their staff to remote working when the Covid crisis struck.

Across a multitude of industries, challenged by the diversification of end-user needs and labour shortages, automation can handle advanced work demands and changes.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has paid tribute to its Senior Fellow, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Academy highlighted how the HRH the Duke of Edinburgh was always a keen advocate of the role and importance of engineering in society. He was closely connected with engineering in his early career as a Naval officer during and after World War II, and it was his vision that led subsequently to the formation of the Fellowship, later the Royal Academy of Engineering.

As we approach the onset of summer and the dust of the Budget has settled down and the country begins the gruel route out of lockdown, how does the outlook appear for manufacturers? Stephen Phipson, Make UK CEO, reports for Smart Machines & Factories.

Digitalisation can support transitions towards a more sustainable society if technologies and processes are designed in line with suitable criteria.

An unmanned module to tackle sewer blockages and a digital system for mass-producing customised clothing are just two cutting-edge solutions from 14 start-ups selected for the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator programme.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre's (MTC) SME salary support scheme and doubled Government incentives announced in the Budget mean that MTC employer partners can receive up to £8200 for hiring a new engineering apprentice.

The introduction of the 'superdeduction' tax incentive is set to provide a sharp boost to investment this year for manufacturers as companies plan to increase or bring forward their plans in response according to a survey released by Make UK, the manufacturers' organisation.

A chocolate maker, supported by Made Smarter, is poised to experience a game-changing productivity increase by automating its manufacturing process. Friars, based in Cumbria, started making its own brand of premium chocolates by hand last year, after nearly 100 years of retailing confectionary products.

As the Covid pandemic spread in spring, Coventry-based Arrowsmith Engineering switched from making aerospace parts to critical components for ventilators. Managing director Jason Aldridge explains how the company’s Fit For Nuclear journey helped the team meet the challenges of 2020.

Pharma 4.0 concepts are taking hold in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The industry’s unique characteristics are driving investments in digital transformation by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

A new free, fun, online car design simulation game to inspire children’s interest in STEM subjects has been launched by Siemens. The Digital Twin Challenge puts players in the position of chief designer of a new model of car. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult) has been appointed by the DfE to lead an exciting new project to develop high-quality modular courses focused on upskilling employees to help address future skills gaps in key sectors such as manufacturing and engineering.

MTC’s Digital Manufacturing Accelerator (DMA) initiative in the Liverpool City Region has launched the Win3 competition to give organisations within the region an opportunity to secure investment to support the delivery of disruptive manufacturing and supply chain commercial solutions. Smart Machines & Factories reports.

Having been given the political roadmap out of the pandemic and a view of a return to some sort of normality the Chancellor presented the economic roadmap out of the recovery in the recent Budget. Stephen Phipson, Make UK CEO, reports for 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.