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INDUSTRY NEWS
£13.7 MILLION IN GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO HELP IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF MANUFACTURING
A number of projects have been awarded a combined £13.7million in Government funding to help improve energy efficiency, productivity and sustainability of manufacturing processes. The Sustainable Smart Factory Competition, led
by UKRI, provides funding for projects that harness digital innovations, such as AI, big data and virtual reality, to boost energy and carbon efficiency, while driving growth for manufacturers. The projects aim to optimise the use of materials, reduce and reuse waste, or lower energy consumption to increase sustainability in production. Among the 12 projects that have been
awarded funding as part of the Made Smarter Innovation Challenge are: • Smart and SustainableManufacturing for Baking Industry, led by Rakusen: Using AI to improve the consistency of the products produced by their century old bakingmachinery and helping reduce energy consumption by 60%.
• LEAD Factory, led by Photocentric: The first technology that will enable products to be 3D printed at scale using recycled materials.
• WasteMap, led by Topolytics: Using machine learning to develop a visual map of useful,
ROBOTICS AND AI RESEARCH COLLABORATION
Tata Consultancy Services has announced a major applied engineering and research partnership with The National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus. TCS Research will work closely with the new
centre to support early-stage AI and robotics product development, entrepreneurship, job creation and building digital skills in the workforce. The National Robotarium provides a data-
driven incubator environment, in which humans and robots can work together alongside academics, technologists and businesses ranging in size from innovative start-ups to global enterprises. By utilising the capabilities of the pioneering research centre, TCS and The National Robotarium will be able to de-risk and accelerate the development and adoption of robotics systems that can be used to tackle urgent societal issues, such as social and geriatric care. TCS and The National Robotarium will work
together with experts fromHeriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh on applied engineering and joint research across multiple disciplines, including soft robotics, field robotics, co-bots and tele-operations. TCS will bring together the best of its innovation capabilities with TCS PACE to increase cross-industry collaboration and accelerate the development of advanced robotics solutions from laboratory to market. Dr GillianMurray, deputy principal for Business
and Enterprise, Heriot-Watt University, said: “This unique and ground-breaking facility is already helping to informand lead the future applications of robotics and AI on the global stage. Our strategic partnership with TCS will accelerate that process, ensuring that the expertise of the National Robotarium is sought after to address a multitude of global societal challenges.”
www.tcs.com ENERGY SAVING SOLUTIONS FOR SOLDERING
“Electronicsmanufacturing is energy intensive,” said Joe Booth, CEO, Altus Group. “It is very important that businesses look at efficient production solutions and optimisemachinery to ensure it not only delivers on quality, but that it does so in a cost-effective way.” To help, Altus Group is providing its
customers with energy-efficient solutions to reduce costs – including ASSCON vapour phase soldering systems. The largest consumers of electricity in SMT
production are the reflow soldering systems, explains Booth. “To combat this ASSCON has developed vapour phase soldering solutions that offer 20 times better heat transfer than air.
Because it uses GALDEN, an oxygen-free process, its efficiency ismany times higher than heating through convection. By using liquid the systems power consumption is reduced by up to 70%, and using just 4.2kWh per h/measurement it equates to a huge saving in energy use. “Vapour phase soldering is not only an energy
saving solution, but it is also the ideal process for modern, complex PCBA technology. With easy and flexible adjustable temperature gradients there is the assurance that each product has the optimal, reproducible temperature profile.”
www.altusgroup.co.uk 6 DESIGN SOLUTIONS OCTOBER 2022
reusablemanufacturing products that can be extracted fromour waste system.
• Reducing Energy Consumption and Material Loss in Steel Production Using Predictive Machine Learning, led by
Deep.Meta: Using machine learning to boost sustainability in the production of steel by predicting where inefficiencies lie before they happen.
• INSPIRE by Pragmatic Semiconductor: Tackling global semiconductor shortages by using AI to optimise manufacturing productivity and efficiency.
• Smart People + Smart Process = Smart Factory, led by Raynor Foods: Turning sustainability into a game at the Raynor Foods sandwich factory to enable staff to see and then act on their
energy use and CO2 footprint in real time. Industry Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price,
said: “Creating and adopting the latest in digital technology solutions will be key to the continued success of our manufacturing sector. It is now critical that companies in industries as varied as baking to advanced robotics are maximising their potential using technology such as AI and virtual reality. “The projects awarded funding today will
cut energy consumption and boost growth for businesses in regions right across the UK, while helping our world leading manufacturers keep pace with ever growing global competition.” It is estimated the projects could create 1,000 jobs in the three years after their completion, while
reducingmanufacturing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes a year – the equivalent to taking nearly 65,000 cars off our roads.
www.beis.gov.uk NEWS INBRIEF
Trexon, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, has completed the acquisition of Intelliconnect, the supplier of RF connectors, adapters, and cable assemblies. Mark Twaalfhoven, president and chief
executive officer of Trexon, commented: “The addition of Intelliconnect brings a customer-centric organisation with a level of expertise and experience that aligns with the Trexon strategic vision of delivering application specific solutions. Their innovation enables the development of critical technologies that support key megatrend drivers such as AI and the application for quantum computing.”
trexonglobal.com
Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik has opened a new production centre for micromechatronics at its headquarters in Ortenburg, Germany, which manufactures miniaturised mechatronic systems for semiconductor machine construction and aerospace applications. This will help the company meet the growing demand for high-tech products from these key industries.
www.micro-epsilon.co.uk
Panasonic Industry Europe GmbH (PIEU) and Panasonic Electric Works Europe AG (PEWEU) have successfully merged. The strategic corporate re-organisation
will strengthen the position of Panasonic Industry Europe in the market and will create an even stronger business partner for its customers.
http://industry.panasonic.eu
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