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INDUSTRY NEWS


NMITE RECEIVES INVESTMENT TO BOOST STUDENT PLACES AND FACILITIES TO STRENGTHEN UK DEFENCE INDUSTRY


Thanks to a new government award, NMITE, the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering, will be able to offer additional student places and build new facilities to help equip more young people with the skills needed for a career in the defence sector. NMITE is one of only 24 institutions,


selected from 112 applicants via a competition run by the Office for Students, which share in the £80 million grant, with a combined target to offer over 2,500 new student places in the next five years so more young people can land key jobs in defence. The funding is also intended to improve


facilities for courses which are vital to national security, including defence-focused engineering and computing. It will also be used to build brand new teaching facilities in EignGate, NMITE’s building located in Hereford’s city


centre, to support its capacity growth over the next decade. The development will include converting the ground and basement floors into a new autonomous robotics learning studio, an engineering studio, a drone testing area, a mechatronics lab, as well as quiet study areas and student social spaces. NMITE launched its MEng in Autonomous


Robotics degree in partnership with the British Army in December 2025 and will be welcoming its first students in September 2026. James Newby, president and chief executive


of NMITE, said: “This investment is a strong endorsement of NMITE’s new model of higher education. We designed and launched this degree at record pace in response to an urgent national skills priority, showing the agility and responsiveness that today’s challenges demand. It will enable us to help strengthen the


DataNavigateApp HELPS MANUFACTURERS BETTER UNDERSTAND MACHINE PERFORMANCE


DataNavigateApp from Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems Division UK is a browser-based production analytics solution designed to help manufacturers better understand machine performance, downtime and energy usage. According to the company,


DataNavigateApp is a dedicated application for its MELSEC iQ-R series C Intelligent Function Module. Simply installed via an SD memory card, the browser-based solution supports visualisation at the production level, helping manufacturers take a first step towards wider factory visualisation, IoT and digital transformation initiatives.


The solution has been designed around three core principles: simple setup, monitoring from


anywhere, and easy data collection. The application can be configured intuitively through a web browser with no programming required and without the need for specialised knowledge of ladder programming or C language programming, while machine status and production trends can be viewed remotely from PCs or tablets without dedicated HMI hardware. DataNavigateApp also supports easy data collection from both Mitsubishi Electric and third-party


PLC environments through standard industrial communication protocols. If the CPU module already holds production data, this information can be easily visualised without extensive integration work or modifications to existing PLC programs, supporting deployment across mixed-vendor and brownfield production environments. Daniel Sperlich, strategic product manager controllers EMEA at Mitsubishi Electric, said: “Many


manufacturers already have access to the data they need, but turning that data into something practical and actionable on the shopfloor remains a challenge. “DataNavigateApp can help lower the barrier to production analytics. It gives manufacturers a practical


way to improve visibility of machine performance, helping teams identify opportunities to improve output stability, reduce downtime, better understand energy behaviour and reduce operating costs, without needing large-scale software projects or specialist programming expertise. Just as importantly, manufacturers can start small, prove value quickly and then scale at their own pace.” The platform helps manufacturers address a range of common production challenges, including output


instability, unplanned downtime, rising energy consumption and performance degradation. By visualising equipment operating status and operational trends, identifying factors affecting operating time, highlighting wasted power consumption and supporting predictive maintenance, the solution enables teams to prioritise improvements more effectively and respond more quickly to emerging issues.


https://gb.mitsubishielectric.com/en/ 8 DESIGN SOLUTIONS JUNE 2026 www.designsolutionsmag.co.uk


UK’s sovereign capability, while also bringing new investment into Hereford through the transformation of an unused city centre building into a high-impact learning environment.” Commenting on the awards, Jacqui


Smith, Minister for skills, said: “A strong defence sector needs a strong skills pipeline. This investment will help thousands more people gain the qualifications needed for rewarding careers in defence, working to protect our national security and boost our economic growth. “By expanding access to high-demand


courses in the defence sector, we are creating new opportunities for learners across the country while helping employers access the skilled workforce they need.”


https://nmite.ac.uk/


CARFULAN GROUP SECURES £1m IN ORDERS AT MACH


Carfulan Group, the provider of advanced manufacturing solutions, secured nearly £1m of new orders during MACH 2026. In total 1,810 enquiries were taken during


the five days of the show, with many of these now progressing into on-site visits at customer sites or demonstrations at its Advanced Innovation Centre in Derbyshire. “We went to MACH with our biggest


ever showcase of technologies that help manufacturers reduce set-up times, achieve greater accuracy and support new products to get to market quicker,” explained Chris Fulton, managing director. “There was three UK ‘firsts’ and two


‘show’ debuts and this saw us attract the biggest footfall in our history. The appetite for embracing new technology to boost productivity was evident and, despite a challenging political and economic environment, firms are still keen to invest if they can achieve efficiency gains. That’s exactly what we are giving them.” He continued: “With the leads we’re


progressing, I’m confident we’ll secure over £3m of new business as a result of attending the UK’s largest industrial show and we are already planning to be at MACH 2028.”


www.carfulan.com


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