Events

This week sees the launch of the first Manufacturing & Engineering Week at the NEC, a showcase of all that is innovative and exciting about UK industry.

Kicking off with digital events on 7 June, Manufacturing & Engineering Week offers four co-located shows taking place on the 8-9 June – Manufacturing Expo, Design Engineering Expo, Engineering Expo and Maintec. The four exhibitions are designed to showcase the most exciting solutions across the entire breadth of manufacturing and engineering, from design and development to processes, assembly, control and automation, robotics, maintenance and asset management, cyber security, testing and measurement, components, skills development and more.

Each show will feature a wide range of exhibitors from across the country, with companies ranging from industry leaders like ABB, Fluke and Farnell, to a host of innovative SMEs. These include innovators such as Fixturlaser, supplying precision laser alignment and plant reliability solutions; and Senseye, which uses AI driven software to reduce machine downtime.

As well as the chance to see new, innovative technologies and techniques, Manufacturing & Engineering Week is a great opportunity to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in store for UK industry. Each of the four events has its own programme of CPD accredited high-level keynote presentations, panel discussions and case studies covering a range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, motorsport, energy & renewables, pharmaceutical, space and FMCG, with a particular focus on SMEs’ and OEMs’ strategies. Topics will include the future of the sector, embracing the need for digital transformation, incorporating AI, Net Zero – the road to green, and much more.

One of the major challenges across industry is the need to improve cyber security. Visitors can gain vital insights in the Cyber Zone, which features the award winning Immersive Cyber Demonstrator. This brings home the dangers of cybercrime by recreating the unique settings of a hacker’s bedroom and a manufacturing plant boardroom.  Using high-tech staging and film techniques, actors will play out the cyber hacking scenario in real-time, clearly demonstrating the challenges faced by the leadership team as they work to contain and overcome the threat. The 20 minute performances run regularly throughout the show.

Alongside the demonstrator will also be a dedicated Cyber Pavilion featuring Assured Cyber Protection®, a global technology partner empowering organisations to protect their most valuable assets, people, and data.

Continuing the event’s theme of innovation, there will be a dedicated Innovation Zone featuring an AI enabled car and a vertical take-off biplane. The Innovation Zone will also feature two world’s firsts. The New Holland T6 Methane Power is the world’s first 100% methane powered production tractor and is set to play a key role in reducing CO₂ without compromising performance.

Also on show at the Innovation Zone will be the world’s first bike made from recycled plastics. Motion plastics specialist igus has designed a robust, durable urban bike made entirely of plastic, from the frame to its bearings and the toothed belt. A special feature of the new bike is that the recycled version will be primarily made of reused “single use” plastics.

There will also be an innovation challenge in the form of the Great Egg Race. An exciting live challenge taking place over both days of Manufacturing Expo 2022 and inspired by the TV show of the same name, people will compete to build gadgets to propel an uncooked egg over a wall into a tractor trailer. A compere will host the challenge with winners presented with prizes onsite.

As well as attracting numerous manufacturers, Manufacturing & Engineering Week is also supported by many other leading organisations, including: the Women’s Engineering Society – an organisation that promotes women’s education in engineering; the Institute of Export and International Trade – the professional body for importers and exporters; Napier – a B2B technology PR and marketing agency; the Institution of Mechanical Engineers; the Manufacturing Technology Centre – set up to bridge the gap between academia and industry; the Advanced Propulsion Centre – facilitates funding for low-carbon emission powertrains; High Value Manufacturing  Catapult – helps new concepts become commercial; Innovate UK – a public body that promotes innovation; Made Smarter UK – helps grow manufacturing through digital technologies; and the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

For a complete overview of all the attractions and facilities at Manufacturing and Engineering Week, together with a full run down of exhibitors, presentations and other learning opportunities, see our visitor brochure at https://www.manufacturingexpo.co.uk/visit/visitor_brochure

Manufacturing & Engineering Week (Birmingham NEC, 8-9 June) will be a celebration of British engineering, a two-day festival of innovation that will showcase the very best that UK industry has to offer, while also providing knowledge, inspiration and a touch of entertainment.

As well as giving the chance to talk to a huge number of the UK’s most innovative and creative companies, Manufacturing & Engineering Week has a full programme of education, workshops, talks and presentations, with several fun events thrown in.

Helping visitors keep abreast of the latest trends and thinking across industry is a major aim of Manufacturing & Engineering Week and there will be a full programme of CPD accredited high-level keynote presentations, panel discussions and case studies. These will cover a range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, motorsport, energy & renewables, pharmaceutical, space and FMCG, with a particular focus on strategy for SMEs and OEMs.

The industry faces both challenges and opportunities, and the topics of the presentations address a wide variety of hot issues. These include the future of the sector, embracing the need for digital transformation, incorporating AI, algorithms, and automation, Net Zero – the road to green, diversity and the skills gap, Brexit and beyond, cyber security, navigating changing laws and more.

Exhibitor companies who have solved challenges for customers with the latest innovative technology will pass on their experience though a series of informative workshops.

Innovation is the major theme of Manufacturing & Engineering Week, and this is underlined by a dedicated Innovation Zone, sponsored by Arrow, a global provider of technology products, services and solutions.  The Innovation Zone will showcase live demonstrations of the UK’s most cutting-edge products, helping visitors discover the latest technologies that are shaping the future of British industry.  Highlights include an AI car and the world’s first VTOL biplane, displayed by Coventry University’s Formula Student and UAS Challenge Teams, in association with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Says Jeff Peters, FS Faculty Advisor: “Coventry University has been developing Autonomous Vehicles for some years. Having already led the way with four trophies in the international AI competition at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, the Coventry University AI Team are excited to showcase their latest work to industry and the new generation of engineers that will be visiting the show. This will be a great opportunity for prospective students and engineers of the future to have a close up look at what we have been doing and to chat to the student team developing the car and its software systems.

Engineers with these skills are in very short supply and are highly valued by Industry and this IMechE initiative is one of the best things available to prospective engineers looking for a bright clean future.

AI and electric powertrain is the future of the automotive industry and Coventry University’s new School of Future Transport Engineering will be embracing these new technologies and leading the way on developments and teaching these skills to the next generation.”

Manufacturing & Engineering Week will also have the award-winning Cyber Demonstrator as a central feature of this year’s show. The manufacturing sector is now the third most targeted for cyber-attacks, with risks only likely to deepen and broaden as digitisation grows across all industries.

Many manufacturers are only at the beginning of their cyber-security journey and are looking to gain a better understanding of the current threats and source the products and services to increase cyber resilience. The live Cyber Demonstrator won ‘Best Feature Area’ at the Exhibition News Awards 2022 and will be recreated at Manufacturing & Engineering Week to deliver live immersive demonstrations on how to prepare for cyber threats, explore unknown areas of vulnerability and survive in the new age of information warfare targeted at the manufacturing and engineering sector.

The ‘Know Your Supply Chain’ Cyber Security Pavilion will feature Assured Cyber Protection, a global technology partner empowering organisations to protect their most valuable assets, people, and data from cyber-attacks enabling resilient and sustainable business. Alongside ACP with be a host of partners providing the latest solutions to keep businesses secure against an increasingly dangerous and ever-evolving threat landscape.

As the world and the UK gear up to meet the challenge of protecting the global climate, the importance of sustainability for the industry is higher than ever before. Manufacturing & Engineering Week will be contributing by running a Net Zero event.

Total emissions of 136.8 tons of CO₂ have been calculated to be generated during the running of the event, a total which includes venue usage, materials and exhibitor and staff transport and accommodation.  To offset this, the M&E Week team, in association with their Sustainability Partner Forest Nation, will plant over 5,000 trees in a dedicated M&E forest to make the event Net Zero. The team will also plant a further tree for every visitor who attends.

Away from the serious engineering, the Great Egg Race is an exciting live challenge taking place over both days of the event. Inspired by the TV show of the same name, engineers will compete to build gadgets to propel an uncooked egg over a wall into a tractor trailer. A compere will host the challenge with winners presented with prizes onsite.

After an exciting and inspirational day, we hope visitors and exhibitors will join us for drinks at the end of day one.

Visitor passes are free-of-charge and include access to 4 co-located events over 2 days on the 8-9 June 2022. Sign up to attend now www.mandeweek.co.uk

On November 2 and 3, Advanced Engineering will return to the NEC, Birmingham for its 13th edition. With 80 per cent of exhibitor space already sold, engineering and manufacturing businesses should act fast if they want to secure a stand. Last year, over 7,000 people attended across the two days, including representatives from Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover, Alpine F1, Ford, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the Ministry of Defence.

 This edition of Advanced Engineering will celebrate and display innovation, growth and development within the UK’s engineering industry. Across the show’s seven zones — aerospace, composites, automotive, advanced metals, connected manufacturing, space and satellite and, new for this year, product testing and quality control, businesses will showcase their latest, ground-breaking technologies and inspire cross-industry collaboration that pushes the UK’s engineering industry to new heights.

Following the successful partnership in 2021, the show will be co-located with Lab Innovations and will be supported by over 40 media partners. Some of the world’s key industry associations, such as The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Composites UK, Make UK, UKRI, UK Space Agency, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, GAMBICA, BARA and the Department for International Trade, also feature as trade body partners, helping the show address some of the latest issues arising in our industry.

This year, there will be a new feature area for providers of certification and inspection services. Across all areas of the manufacturing supply chain, testing and quality control is an integral part of the development of products. There are already several exhibitors confirmed for this zone, including James Fisher NDT and Applied Scientific Technologies UK.

The Enabling Innovation zone will return in 2022, supporting smaller enterprises that want to accelerate and commercialise their innovation into the advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. Sponsored and judged by experts at Innovate UK, the Knowledge Transfer Network and Innovation DB, Enabling Innovation exists to showcase the UK’s brightest new talent and innovation. Ten start-ups will be selected to exhibit at this year’s exhibition, during which they will pitch their business and innovation to a live audience and a panel of judges. The winner will receive a free full-sized stand and complete marketing package at Advanced Engineering 2023.

Evangelos Zympeloudis, CEO and co-founder of iCOMAT, winner of Enabling Innovation 2019, exhibited at last year’s event as part of his prize. He said, “It’s been two years since we won the Enabling Innovation competition at Advanced Engineering and the company has really grown since then. In fact, we’re four times bigger than we were back then. I’ve found Advanced Engineering to be a great show so far. There are lots of people here and it’s clear that everybody was itching to come to a live show again. We’ll definitely be returning next year — Advanced Engineering is the place to be for any business that is component- or automation- related.”

Advanced Engineering is shaping up to be a great event and it’s clear to see why so many exhibitors want to return. At last year’s exhibition, marketing manager of Qimtek, Dean Munkley said, “The show’s been really good — far busier than I expected. We’ve probably taken more leads than we have at any show over the last three years. There was a lovely mix of people and it was great speaking to anyone from students to directors. There’s such a good variety of suppliers here too — we’ll definitely be returning.”

Attendees also found the 60 hours of free learning, courtesy of the four forums scattered across the show floor, insightful and inspiring. Highlights included workshops and talks from automotive lifestyle blogger James William Walker, also known as Mr JWW, the Aerospace Technology Institute, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, ADS, the UK Space Agency, Jaguar Land Rover, Composites UK, BAE Systems Make UK and more. These four forums will return in 2022, sponsored and supported by companies including HP, University of Strathclyde, GRP Solutions, Euroresins, Cristex Composite Materials, Ripley Solutions and more.

“Over the last two years, our whole industry has learned the value of in-person interaction, both personally and professionally,” explained Alison Willis, Director at Easyfairs, the organiser of Advanced Engineering. “At last year’s event, we found that more visitors and exhibitors were attending with a purpose — whether that was to connect with a new supplier or purchase a particular piece of equipment. AE Connect, our digital platform that helps exhibitors and visitors connect and arrange meetings in advance of the show, really helped facilitate this.”

“Our industry is always innovating and releasing new technologies that are even more impressive when you see them in person. Take Advanced Engineering’s Enabling Innovation competition as an example — in-person events give start-ups like those involved in this the chance to showcase their revolutionary products to the rest of the engineering community.”

Advanced Engineering is the place to be for the UK’s engineering community. Exhibitor space is selling out fast. To book your stand, visit www.advancedengineeringuk.com and make an enquiry.

A product launch that stands out from the crowd… Rebranding that really underscores a company’s identity…  These are examples of marketing exercises that could be recognised in the newly announced Best Marketing Campaign category at the 2022 Instrumentation Excellence Awards. From full-scale campaigns to individual promotions, the Best Marketing Campaign category recognises the excellence of organisations in their effort to market products or their company. Nominations are now open for the 2022 Instrumentation Excellence Awards via the online portal so no need to delay in putting forward your nomination for the Best Marketing Campaign of the year.

The inaugural Instrumentation Excellence Awards, brought to you by Datateam Business Media, the publishers of Instrumentation Monthly, will take place on 20 October 2022 at the Tower Hotel, London. The awards celebrate the very best professionals, products and companies from the test, measurement, sensing and control sectors so head over to the IEA portal now to find out more on how you can get your moment in the spotlight in October. Entering the Instrumentation Excellence Awards is quick, easy and completely free of charge!

Awards Categories

Product Categories:

• IIoT product of the year
• Test and Measurement Product of the Year (sponsored by IndySoft)
• Sensor Product of the Year
• Gas Detection Product of the Year
• Calibration Product of the Year
• Thermal Imaging and Vision Systems Product of the Year
• Flow, Level and Control Product of the Year
• Cables and Connectors Product of the Year
• Monitoring and Metering Product of the Year
• Cases and Enclosures Product of the Year
• DAQ Product of the Year
• Signal Conditioning Product of the Year

Business Categories:

• Distributor of the Year
• Manufacturer of the Year
• Digital Transformation Award (sponsored by ifm electronic)
• PR Agency of the Year Award
• Sustainability Award
• Excellence in Innovation
• Best Marketing Campaign

Individual:

• Industry Personality
• Rising Star Award

Sponsorship opportunities

Two sponsors have already been announced for this year’s Instrumentation Excellence Awards. Calibration expert IndySoft has been announced as the sponsor of the Test and Measurement Product of the Year category. ifm electronic, specialist in measurement, control and sensors, has been announced as the sponsor of the Digital Transformation Award.

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk or calling 01622 699104.

Enter now

To enter the 2022 Instrumentation Excellence Awards, please visit: https://instrumentationawards.co.uk/

Polar, NCAB, and Phoenix Contact have joined together to organise an educational webinar on the topic of signal integrity and impedance to be held on 6 April 2022.

Following the guiding principle “On the subject of signal integrity – from calculation via interconnection technology to the printed circuit board – with a focus on impedance”, the companies will provide expertise for optimising impedances on the printed circuit board. The rapidly growing demand for signal bandwidth goes hand-in-hand with increasingly rigorous requirements for data integrity. From a variety of perspectives, experts Hermann Reischer of Polar Instruments, Michiel Op den Camp, NCAB Group Benelux, and Sebastian Stamm of Phoenix Contact consider how the factors of frequency, materials, geometry, and component arrangement contribute to low-loss and low-reflection transmission. Participants can look forward to practical technical knowledge on topics ranging from PCB design and production, measuring equipment, and simulation to PCB connection technology.

The free, English-language event will take place in two sessions from at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm CEST for EU and at 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT for USA. Detailed information and the registration form are available at https://www.ncabgroup.com/signal-integrity-and-impedance.

Mouser Electronics has teamed up with Analog Devices to present a new webinar, titled ‘Solve precision measurement design challenges in low-power applications’. The free, live webinar will occur at 4:00 p.m. CET on 31 March 2022.

Precise measurement of real-world signals is a key differentiator for battery-powered equipment in a variety of applications, such as field instruments, portable medical devices, and asset monitoring. Achieving the highest degree of accuracy has traditionally involved a big trade-off against power efficiency, compromising the available performance to low-power applications. The new webinar will demonstrate how engineers can leverage the latest innovations in low-power precision technology from ADI, showcasing precision signal chains that can be used to simplify the complex challenges of precision analogue design in portable and remote devices.

During the webinar, Analog Devices will:

• Identify the key engineering challenges and trade-offs in low-power precision measurement applications.
• Demonstrate the class-leading performance of ADI low-power devices in the pathway that begins with the sensor, right through the analogue signal chain and into the digital data domain.
• Illustrate Analog Devices solutions for different sensor types, including temperature, pressure, vibration, and multi-function sensors.
• Present entire signal-chain solutions that can be optimised for measurement accuracy, form factor and low-power performance in a variety of applications.

The webinar will be presented by Aine McCarthy, Applications Engineer in the Analog Devices precision signal chain team, with a key focus on low-power application areas at ADI. Since joining ADI in 2006, McCarthy has worked in the precision measurement space and held roles as an Applications Engineer as well as a Design Evaluation Engineer. McCarthy holds a BEng and MEng in Electronic Engineering from Cork Institute of Technology and a MEngSc from University College Cork in microelectronic design.

To learn more and to register for the free webinar, visit: https://emea.info.mouser.com/webinar-adi-precisionmeasurement-emea-lp

ifm electronic ltd has been announced as the sponsor of the Digital Transformation Award at the inaugural Instrumentation Excellence Awards.

Measuring and controlling is at the heart of ifm electronic with its innovative and robust range of products comprising position sensors and object recognition, fluid sensors and diagnostic systems as well as bus identification and control systems. When it comes to an industry benchmark in automation technology, ifm electronic guarantees flexibility and compatibility.

The Digital Transformation Award honours a company that has embraced digital transformation to improve resilience or productivity, or has made a significant impact on the market by guiding others forwards on their digital transformation journey.

The inaugural Instrumentation Excellence Awards, brought to you by Datateam Business Media, the publishers of Instrumentation Monthly, will take place on 27 October 2022 at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London. The first event of its kind in the UK, the awards will celebrate the very best professionals, products and companies from the test, measurement, sensing and control sectors.

Product Categories:

• IIoT product of the year
• Test and Measurement Product of the Year (sponsored by IndySoft)
• Sensor Product of the Year
• Gas Detection Product of the Year
• Calibration Product of the Year
• Thermal Imaging and Vision Systems Product of the Year
• Flow, Level and Control Product of the Year
• Cables and Connectors Product of the Year
• Monitoring and Metering Product of the Year
• Cases and Enclosures Product of the Year
• DAQ Product of the Year
• Signal Conditioning Product of the Year

Business Categories:

• Distributor of the Year
• Manufacturer of the Year
• Digital Transformation Award (sponsored by ifm electronic)
• PR Agency of the Year Award
• Sustainability Award
• Excellence in Innovation

Individual:

• Industry Personality
• Rising Star Award

Entries are open via the online portal: https://instrumentationawards.co.uk/

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities or for ticket sales, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk.

The first sponsor has been announced for the inaugural Instrumentation Excellence Awards. IndySoft, a leader in calibration and asset management software, is sponsoring the Test and Measurement Product of the Year category.

IndySoft is recognised as supplying the best ‘commercially available’ Enterprise-wide range of Gauge Management, Instrument Calibration Software and Tool Management Software Tools on the market today.

The inaugural Instrumentation Excellence Awards, brought to you by Datateam Business Media, the publishers of Instrumentation Monthly, will take place on 20 October 2022 at the Tower Hotel, London. The first event of its kind in the UK, the awards will celebrate the very best professionals, products and companies from the test, measurement, sensor and control sectors.

Product Categories:

• IIoT product of the year
• Test and Measurement Product of the Year (sponsored by IndySoft)
• Sensor Product of the Year
• Gas Detection Product of the Year
• Calibration Product of the Year
• Thermal Imaging and Vision Systems Product of the Year
• Flow, Level and Control Product of the Year
• Cables and Connectors Product of the Year
• Monitoring and Metering Product of the Year
• Cases and Enclosures Product of the Year
• DAQ Product of the Year
• Signal Conditioning Product of the Year

Business Categories:

• Distributor of the Year
• Manufacturer of the Year
• Digital Transformation Award (sponsored by ifm electronic)
• PR Agency of the Year Award
• Sustainability Award
• Excellence in Innovation

Individual:

• Industry Personality
• Rising Star Award

Entries are open via the online portal: https://instrumentationawards.co.uk/

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk.

The categories for the Instrumentation Excellence Awards have been announced. The categories are designed to reflect and reward the very best from all corners of the test, measurement and control sectors.

Product Categories:

• IIoT product of the year
• Test and Measurement Product of the Year
• Sensor Product of the Year
• Gas Detection Product of the Year
• Calibration Product of the Year
• Thermal Imaging and Vision Systems Product of the Year
• Flow, Level and Control Product of the Year
• Cables and Connectors Product of the Year
• Monitoring and Metering Product of the Year
• Cases and Enclosures Product of the Year
• DAQ Product of the Year
• Signal Conditioning Product of the Year

Business Categories:

• Distributor of the Year
• Manufacturer of the Year
• Digital Transformation Award
• PR Agency of the Year Award
• Sustainability Award
• Excellence in Innovation

Individual:

• Industry Personality
• Rising Star Award

Entries will be opening soon via our online portal so stay tuned for more information.

The Instrumentation Excellence Awards, brought to you by Datateam Business Media, the publishers of Instrumentation Monthly, take place on 20 October 2022 at the Tower Hotel, London. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk.

As a Platinum sponsor of the Innovative Car Manufacturing (ICM) Summit 2022, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) will showcase the benefits of Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology for automotive manufacturing. Attendees to the ICM Summit, which will take place on 21st March, will be able to learn how TSN can advance their operations to drive up productivity and efficiency.

The ICM Summit provides a key platform to explore new technologies and trends that can help European car manufacturers deliver high quality products, improve operations and unlock new business opportunities. One of the most promising innovations is TSN, which enables the next-level network communications needed for the Connected Industries of the future.

The CLPA will contribute to the discussions at the summit as a global leader in developing open industrial network technologies designed to accelerate the realisation of smart factories. The organisation will highlight the opportunities offered by CC-Link IE TSN, the first industrial Ethernet to combine gigabit bandwidth with TSN functions, to companies across the entire automotive value chain. From 9:20 AM, attendees will be invited to join a presentation given by Christoph Behler, Business Development Manager at the CLPA, on the benefits of implementing TSN-driven network technologies.

The presentation will also provide an overview of the Mitsubishi Electric’s TSN-compatible industrial automation solutions. This is one of the largest and most comprehensive TSN-based offerings currently available. As a result, attendees will be able to understand the breadth of this offering and how it can address the challenges they may be facing in their own plants.

Lucas Majewski, Global Key Account Management – Automotive Director at Mitsubishi Electric, explains: “We look forward to increasing the awareness of TSN and its benefits for the automotive industry. This is the only technology that can support a converged, simplified network architecture for Industry 4.0 applications in electric vehicle manufacturing. To make TSN applications more accessible and successfully support practically any end use, we provide a wide range of CC-Link IE TSN compatible devices. Companies can greatly enhance their competitiveness by adopting these solutions now.”

John Browett, General Manager at CLPA Europe, comments: “We are delighted to be part of the ICM Summit, as the event provides a key forum to discuss how manufacturing activities can be advanced with TSN-based technologies, such as CC-Link IE TSN. Exactly because we believe TSN offers tremendous advantages to businesses in the sector, we have also taken the steps to contribute to the success of the event by being a top-level sponsor with our board member Mitsubishi Electric. We invite anyone interested in learning what the key benefits of TSN are to join our presentation.”

Attend the CLPA’s presentation during the ICM Summit, on 21st March 2022, at the Hilton Munich Park, Munich (Germany) to discover what CC-Link IE TSN can do for the automotive industry: https://icm-summit.com/