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Cyber-physical systems and manufacturing’s new frontier

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The real world and its digital twin are collaborating to bring forth something called “mass customisation”, a new manufacturing culture which, as the term suggests, will be the basis for the most diverse ecosystem of engineered products ever seen. 

To understand and articulate some specifics about what’s being called “the new frontier of manufacturing”, one of the world’s largest management consultancy firms, Deloitte, partnered with the Singularity University, a forum for technology futurists co-founded by Ray Kurzweil, to organise a conference called Exponential Manufacturing, featuring many thought leaders working in the industrial sector.  [Read more…] about Cyber-physical systems and manufacturing’s new frontier

Engineering companies struggling to find and keep talented young workers

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engineering graduates
Picture courtesy of WonderfulEngineering.com

To anyone looking for work, it might sound strange to hear that some sectors of the economy are struggling to find and retain workers, but that’s the situation many engineering companies find themselves in. 

Finding, educating, training and retaining talented young people is not just a dilemma for engineering companies in one region or country, it’s a global issue.

But, paradoxically, while companies in some countries say there’s a problem finding engineering graduates, in other countries such as India, large numbers of engineering graduates are reportedly not having much luck finding jobs.

In those countries where there is a shortage, such as Germany and maybe the US, it’s not at crisis levels yet, but it’s a complication that large industrial companies are trying to alleviate in a variety of ways.  [Read more…] about Engineering companies struggling to find and keep talented young workers

Japan turning to robots because there’s not enough humans around

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FILE PHOTO: Humanoid robots work side by side with employees in the assembly line at a factory of Glory Ltd., a manufacturer of automatic change dispensers, in Kazo, north of Tokyo
Humanoid robots work side by side with employees in the assembly line at a factory of Glory, a manufacturer of automatic change dispensers, in Kazo, north of Tokyo, Japan. Reuters / Issei Kato / File Photo

By Stanley White, Reuters

Desperate to overcome Japan’s growing shortage of labour, mid-sized companies are planning to buy robots and other equipment to automate a wide range of tasks, including manufacturing, earthmoving and hotel room service.

According to a Bank of Japan survey, companies with share capital of 100 million yen to 1 billion yen plan to boost investment in the fiscal year that started in April by 17.5 percent, the highest level on record.

It is unclear how much of that is being spent on automation but companies selling such equipment say their order books are growing and the Japanese government says it sees a larger proportion of investment being dedicated to increasing efficiency. Revenue at many of Japan’s robot makers also rose in the January-March period for the first time in several quarters.  [Read more…] about Japan turning to robots because there’s not enough humans around

Hannover Messe: Global software update

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Special report from Hannover Messe: How hard-bitten industrialists are turning to software 

Back in the old days, you knew what was what, who was whom, and industrial companies built machines and stuff, like cars, aircraft, power stations and whatnot.

In the past, General Electric could be said to have been a typical industrial company; so could ABB, Bosch and many others.

But now, all of them, almost without exception, seem to have caught the software bug. Now they all want to be software companies.

“Software will take over the world,” says Matt Wells, senior product general manager, GE Digital, in an exclusive interview with this website. [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Global software update

Automate 2017 to host US-China robotics forum

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automate 2017

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has organised a joint US-China Robotics Forum to be held April 4 at the Automate 2017 Show and Conference at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

The forum will bring together A3’s Robotic Industries Association, the leading North American robotics industry trade organization, and its counterpart, the China Robot Industry Alliance.

According to the World Robotics Report 2016, published by the International Federation of Robotics, China has significantly expanded its leading position as the largest robotics market in the world purchasing 27 per cent of the total supply in 2015.  [Read more…] about Automate 2017 to host US-China robotics forum

World’s largest manufacturing companies

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samsung chip

It’s a couple of years old, and we will update it as we go along, but this list provides an overview of the global manufacturing landscape over the past few years.

It shows that traditional companies – meaning those with a long history – are still dominant. Giants like Samsung, Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, General Electric, and General Motors have each been around for a century.

Samsung is relatively young, having been established in 1938. And it’s probably perceived as being even younger, since it’s the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones, a product which has been in existence for barely a decade.  [Read more…] about World’s largest manufacturing companies

Four reasons why Trump will learn a Chinese Lesson on how isolationism never works

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By Edward Tse, Gao Feng Advisory

Donald Trump’s election as the next US president is generating a lot of speculation about US-China relations, especially in investment and trade. People are wondering what the implications will be for both Chinese and US companies.

We can look at this situation in several ways.

First, isolationism can never generate sustainable growth for any country. History has proven this over and over again. [Read more…] about Four reasons why Trump will learn a Chinese Lesson on how isolationism never works

Command and control rooms: Navigating the internet of things

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spock kirk bridge
“Sensor readings, Mr Spock” … “Captain, you must make me believe in luck”

lockWho doesn’t want a control room of their own? If you grew up watching the original Star Trek series, you still might warm to the idea of something similar to the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, which wouldn’t be bad at all. 

But, sadly, things have moved on.

Star Trek may have been decades ahead of its time – demonstrating such technologies as tablet computers, flip-top mobile communicators, and of course a truly space-age command and control room – but reality has now almost caught up with the visions of the sci-fi show’s creators.

Today’s command and control rooms may still have some of the basic elements of what we saw on the Enterprise bridge, but they’re a lot more complex and sophisticated, although that’s not for an absolute certainty since we don’t have warp speed to deal with yet.  [Read more…] about Command and control rooms: Navigating the internet of things

Industry 4.0: Comau signs deal with EII to develop predictive maintenance solutions

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comau

Companies plan to jointly develop hardware and software solutions for the proactive maintenance of machines

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica and robot-maker Comau have signed a global cooperation agreement to develop and market solutions for predictive maintenance based on modular hardware and software and designed to acquire and analyze field data – through the internet of things, and big data analytics. 

The companies say these solutions are targeted at the manufacturing industry and in particular, and companies operating in the automotive, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and white goods sectors, and conform to the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

From a technical point of view, the solutions developed by the two partner companies seek to predict the potential occurrence of malfunctions or a full stop of the machines, and to intercept negative trends in production process quality, or predictive maintenance system.  [Read more…] about Industry 4.0: Comau signs deal with EII to develop predictive maintenance solutions

‘Chinese companies lead the way in fintech innovation’

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alipay

China-based investment expert Edward Tse, CEO of Gao Feng, says financial technology companies are thriving in China 

With the Chinese government keen to encourage innovation the fintech revolution is quickly gaining pace. Financial technologies companies backed by Chinese venture capital raised $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016, according to accounting firm KPMG.

This represented a 49 per cent share of global fintech investment in the period, bigger than that of North America and Europe combined.

Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba Group Holding’s fintech affiliate, itself raised $4.5 billion in April, making it the largest round of funding for a fintech company in the world.  [Read more…] about ‘Chinese companies lead the way in fintech innovation’