INDUSTRY News
Hexatronic chosen for cross- channel submarine project
Crosslake Fibre has selected Sweden’s Hexatronic Cables & Interconnect Systems for its new project to supply a submarine fibre optic cable that will be crossing the English Channel. The CrossChannel project’s system will connect Slough, UK, and Paris, France, with dark fibre.
“We are excited to deliver new, much-needed connectivity across the English Channel as part of this historic project to connect the critically-important data hubs of Slough and Paris,” said Mike Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of Crosslake Fibre. “Hexatronic’s double armoured, 96 pair cable provides us with an optimal solution for a high-performance cable.” The new fibre infrastructure has been optimised to create the shortest path between the two data centre hubs, providing users with an enhanced technical solution and lower operating costs.
“With the continued increase in bandwidth demand further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, subsea cables have never been more critical to the functioning of the backbone of the Internet,” said Cunningham.
The project’s cable length is 150km, designed for lower latency, with fewer amplification points. Its expected Ready- For-Service (RFS) date is in late 2021.
“We are very pleased to support Crosslake Fibre, a repeat customer of ours, in its innovative build across the English Channel,” said Henrik Larsson Lyon, Chief Executive Officer of Hexatronic Group. “Hexatronic has a broad submarine cable offering and this agreement with Crosslake further demonstrates our capabilities to provide cost-efficient, market- leading solutions.”
ABB COLUMN PLAN FOR ROBOTS IN 2021 2
020 was a testing year for businesses, with many struggling to cope with the uncertainty and fluctuations in demand and supply caused by the global Coronavirus
pandemic. The upheaval caused by the virus has exposed many facets of current production procedures that must be urgently reassessed for
the manufacturing industry to be able to withstand future pandemics and economic uncertainty. With staff sickness and social distancing requirements causing headaches in production and distribution operations, many companies are starting to look to robotic automation as a way of ensuring certainty in uncertain times. To date, a major hurdle to the uptake of robotic automation, especially amongst SMEs, has been the reluctance to invest due to concerns over complexity and a lack of skilled programming staff to support an investment in robots. Throughout 2020, we’ve been working to tackle this by making sure that our robots are as simple as possible to program, operate and maintain. In April, we launched our intuitive Wizard Easy Programming software for our single-arm YuMi collaborative robot. Built on the concept of Blockly, an open-source visual coding method that presents programming language or code as interlocking blocks, the software enables users to quickly create robot application programs without the need for specialised training. In May, we launched our Digital Tools and Start-Up Service to help manufacturing companies impacted by the lockdown to get their operations back up and running. As well as helping customers to troubleshoot and fix issues related to robots and operations lying dormant, the offer included several ABB digital tools to help customers optimise their processes and reduce costs in both maintenance and production areas. We also introduced virtual versions of our robot training courses, allowing anyone from beginners to experts to learn new skills remotely. If nothing else, this year has shown that it pays to be prepared. In this so-called “new normal”, those companies that are best prepared for the future will be in the best position once the disruption caused by the virus starts to recede. With new developments making robots easier to use, including collaborative robots and remote support, we believe that 2021 should be the year when UK manufacturers should make robotic automation part of their plans for the future.
Nigel Platt LBL Manager, UK and Ireland, ABB Robotics
automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | February 2021
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46
