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Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, now in its eighth year, has come to a close with the announcement of a new online hub to provide information and guidance to those organisations supporting and inspiring young people into engineering careers.

The new online resource, due to go live later this month, will provide free advice and guidance, sourced from across the engineering community, to support practitioners in providing young people with engineering careers inspiration.

The site will cover a range of topics, from suggestions on how to ensure an inclusive approach and develop engaging outreach activities to ways to survey young people.

The hub is also expected to provide support to signatories and supporters of the new Tomorrow’s Engineers Code which was launched in October and is now managed by EngineeringUK.

The Code is  a new approach to engagement, with Professional Engineering Institutions, FTSE 100 corporates, SMEs, government departments and universities working towards common goals to increase the diversity and number of young people entering engineering.

Signatories to the Code make four pledges about their approach to funding, designing, delivering, and learning from engineering-inspiration activities.

The announcement comes after a week of activity designed to address concerns that since March 2020, over three quarters (76%) of 11-19 year olds have not accessed formal careers activities.

A packed calendar saw engineering institutions, employers and schools come together to deliver inspiring activity to show young people the vital importance of engineering careers and deliver advice about how to become an engineer in the future.

Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said: “We would like to thank the thousands of schools, employers and professional engineering institutions that have come together to make Tomorrow’s Engineers Week a huge success.

“Let’s build on this week of collective activity to ensure that all young people get the support they need to be inspired by and understand more about the thousands of future engineering roles available in infrastructure, decarbonisation and maintenance projects to upgrade our hospitals, schools and road network, make public buildings greener and help the UK achieve its aspirations of achieving Net Zero by 2050.

“With the framework provided by the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code and the information and guidance shortly available via the online hub, the engineering community will be in a great position to achieve the collective impact needed to see an increase in the number and diversity of young people entering engineering careers.”

For more information, visit www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek.

The BMW plant in Steyr, Austria, is the BMW Group’s largest engine plant worldwide. At the facility, the top priorities are quality, efficiency and the transformation to Industry 4.0 through the implementation of digital technologies at shop floor level. To improve all three, plant managers embraced Autonomous Machine Vision, a new category of machine vision for quality inspection developed by German-Israeli company Inspekto.

In line with BMW’s mission to improve production processes using digitalisation, the Steyr plant has several state-of-the-art machine vision solutions in place to inspect the quality of its engines.

However, even the most sophisticated traditional machine vision solutions suffer from pseudo-errors, where the solution flags a defect in components that were actually made to specification. Pseudo-defects create an extra and unnecessary loop in production, since flagged items need be rechecked manually.

“The most problematic issue is that with increasing pseudo-defect rates, employees at the repair station could let their guard down and assume that an actually defected item is good,” explained David Bricher, PhD candidate and expert in innovation and digitalisation at BMW. “BMW is not willing to compromise on quality and we want to prevent this scenario at all costs.”

Democratising quality

BMW is a strong believer in bringing AI-based technologies to the shop floor, so plant managers were on the lookout for an intuitive quality assurance technology.

“The BMW Start-Up Garage helps us find new companies with ground-breaking ideas to improve our processes with digitalisation,” said Bricher. “The team researched several companies with innovative machine vision solutions, but only Inspekto offered exactly what we were looking for — a system that is so intuitive that any employee can set it up.”

“Our INSPEKTO S70 is a self-contained product,” explained Harel Boren, CEO and co-founder of Inspekto. “It is self-learning, self-setting and self-adjusting — in other words, fully autonomous. This eliminates the lengthy and complex integration phases that characterise traditional machine vision projects.”

Convinced by the capabilities of the INSPEKTO S70, BMW Group Plant Steyr purchased four systems and started a pilot phase to check their suitability for complex applications. Following its success, the systems are now operational in two different use cases — a connector with many small, hardly visible components and a fuel pipe. In both cases, the plant has noticed an improvement in quality and a noticeable reduction of false detection instances.

The Plug & Inspect experience

“One of the most interesting characteristics of the INSPEKTO S70 is its ease of installation,” confirmed Bricher. “At BMW one of our main targets is to bring the potential of AI closer to the production field. We have to get rid of the mystique that surrounds the technology — people have to be able to say: I work with AI.”

This philosophy mirrors Inspekto’s mission to democratise machine vision. With the INSPEKTO S70, the user simply switches on the controller and ensures that the field of view (FOV) covers the location to be inspected. The user then presents an average of 20 to 30 good items to the system, which will automatically learn their characteristics.

The INSPEKTO S70 knows when it has enough information about a product and informs the user that inspection can start. Anything that is different from the memorised characteristics, will be flagged as an anomaly.

“Typically, machine vision solutions require a long training process, during which they are exposed to hundreds of defective parts. But in a manufacturing environment dedicated to the highest levels of quality, we don’t have that many defective parts available,” explained Bricher. “The INSPEKTO S70 only needs good parts, which is a huge advantage.”

The benefits of Autonomous Machine Vision are already visible at BMW Steyr. “By eliminating pseudo-defects, the system has allowed us to avoid the extra loop of manual double-checks. But the more important thing for me is that with the INSPEKTO S70 we have brought AI closer to our production employees. In this sense, BMW and Inspekto have a shared vision.”

A distinguished academic consortium dedicated to researching trust in autonomous systems has been announced. Led by Heriot-Watt University, home to the National Robotarium, the £3 million project brings together expertise in robotics, cognitive science and psychology with colleagues from Imperial College London and the University of Manchester.

Autonomous systems that make decisions and perform tasks without human intervention are already deployed in industry. However, their use is largely limited to controlled settings, such as on automated production lines. The systems struggle when the task becomes more complex or the environment is uncontrolled, for example, when drones are used for offshore windfarm inspection.

The project is part of the UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) programme, funded through the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund and delivered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The TAS programme brings together the research communities and key stakeholders to drive forward cross-disciplinary fundamental research to ensure that autonomous systems are safe, reliable, resilient, ethical and trusted.

The project, led by Professor Helen Hastie from Heriot-Watt University and the Edinburgh Centre of Robotics, will explore solutions to manage trust in autonomous systems, covering scenarios that require interaction with humans. Examples include self-driving cars, autonomous wheelchairs or ‘cobots’ in the workforce. The group’s work will help design the autonomous systems of the future, ensuring they are widely used and accepted in a variety of industry-relevant applications.

Professor Hastie explains: “The challenge of managing trust between the human and the system is particularly difficult because there can be a lack of mutual understanding of the task and the environment. The new consortium will perform foundational research on how humans, robots and autonomous systems can work together by building a shared reality through human-robot interaction.

“By adopting a multidisciplinary approach, grounded in psychology and cognitive science, systems will learn situations where trust is typically lost unnecessarily, adapting this prediction for specific people and contexts. We will explore how to best establish, maintain and repair trust by incorporating the subjective view of humans towards autonomous systems, with the goal being to increase adoption and maximise their positive societal and economic benefits.

“Trust will be managed through transparent interaction, increasing the confidence of those using autonomous systems, allowing them to be adopted in scenarios never before thought possible. This might include jobs that currently endanger humans, such as pandemic-related tasks or those in hazardous environments.”

The TAS programme is a collaborative UK-based platform comprised of Research Nodes and a Hub, united by the purpose of developing world-leading best practice for the design, regulation and operation of autonomous systems. The central aim of the programme is to ensure that the autonomous systems are ‘socially beneficial’, protect people’s personal freedoms and safeguard physical and mental wellbeing.

TAS is comprised of seven distinct research Nodes: trust, responsibility, resilience, security, functionality, verifiability and governance and regulation. Each Node will receive just over £3 million in funding from UKRI to conduct their research.

The academic consortium includes Professor Yiannis Demiris of Imperial College London, Professor Angelo Cangelosi of the University of Manchester and Professor Thusha Rajendran from Heriot-Watt University.

A producer of deep-drawn metal parts for the automotive industry uses Contrinex’s double-sheet sensing to prevent costly tool damage and downtime.

Deep drawing and other metal-forming techniques are widely used in the automotive industry, which requires expensive press tools to produce complex profiles from sheet metal blanks. During high-volume production, an automated feeder loads sheets of steel or aluminium to the press.

The metal sheets are lightly lubricated to reduce friction during deep drawing, but the thin film of oil can cause two sheets to stick together in the feeder. If the press operates with such double sheets loaded, the forming tool will be damaged, resulting in downtime and large repair costs. Therefore sensing systems are used to check the material before it is loaded.

Previously, the customer had trailed alternative sensor technologies. All were excessively cumbersome and difficult to set up, and most were unable to detect double sheets reliably.

Contrinex offers a rugged, compact stainless-steel -bodied sensor for the loading station, which checks each metal sheet as it is presented by the feeder. If it detects a double sheet, the material is rejected and the operating cycle inhibited, which reduces expensive damage to tooling and improves OEE.

The sensor enables discrimination between single and double metal sheets of a defined thickness of steel or aluminium in the size range of 0.8 – 1.2mm thick.

A specialist version of Contrinex’s uniquely robust ‘700 Series’ family of inductive sensors, they share the benefits of being both impact and abrasion resilient and having a case machined from a single-piece of stainless-steel – These are the sensors whose robustness is demonstrated by using them to hammer in nails.

The reliability of their performance and robustness enable you to minimise downtime and improve the OEE of Press-lines or verify assembly operations.

Find more information and read other application examples go to www.PLUSAx.co.uk.

Most people envisage the traditional setting for IT equipment as a cavernous data centre, housing large numbers of racks with flashing LED lights, all contained within a sterile environment specially designed to protect the delicate internal electrical components.

While this type of location does exist, IT equipment is increasingly being relocated from ‘white spaces’ and into the more hostile environment of the production facility.

This trend is based on a need for reduced latency between the IT and the machines it controls. Bringing the two physically closer together means that they can communicate more efficiently.

The white space is then given over to any IT that controls business services which don’t require such speeds. Or the space can simply be repurposed and used as a storage facility for company records or files.

But moving the IT equipment from one location to another isn’t as simple as it sounds. Compared to the machines they control IT components are particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations while also themselves generating a considerable amount of excess heat.  This has to be managed, and the only effective way to do so is by using a specific type of climate control which is designed to cater for the needs of industrial IT.

Rittal is a technology leader in both industrial and IT climate control systems so we are perfectly placed to combine our expertise in both areas.

A case in point is our market-leading ‘Blue e+ IT’ cooling unit, developed to meet the rigorous demands of industrial IT. Its innovative ducting offers a high level of protection for IT equipment. The cooling unit can be mounted on the rear of the IT rack, while delivering cold air via ducting through to the front of the equipment in accordance with standard IT ‘front breathing’ airflows.  This means that the hot and cold air do not mix; a scenario which would reduce the efficiency of the cooling.

A roof-mounted version of the Blue e+ IT unit is also available, if space is in short supply.

For more information on how Blue e+ IT could benefit your industrial IT, please watch Rittal’s webcast to see how these products work and, more specifically, how they can help you.

To view a recording of the webcast go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/5523832478845410818

To add another tier of educational content to its website, automation parts supplier EU Automation has launched EUAudio, a free podcast on industrial automation and smart manufacturing, available on the company’s website and on all major audio streaming platforms. EUAudio enriches the company’s already vast offering of free learning content. This includes an online content zone, which is updated weekly, several videos and two downloadable e-books.

Each season of EUAudio contains three episodes that explore a specific manufacturing trend, challenge, or technological innovation. Several seasons are already online and more are scheduled to appear soon.

EUAudio addresses professionals in all sectors of manufacturing and covers a wide variety of industry topics, ranging from tips to quickly fix common issues on the factory floor, to broader overviews of industry trends. Manufacturing professionals can, for example, listen to expert advice on proactive obsolescence management, strategies to improve predictive maintenance, suggestions on the best industrial robot for their application, and much more. The podcast is currently available on EU Automation’s website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Podbean.

EU Automation is known to produce a variety of educational resources that professionals can consult for free. Since 2016, the company has published a trade magazine, AUTOMATED, which explores how industrial automation can benefit manufacturing. It also publishes weekly articles on manufacturing trends and top tips for industry professionals, available in five different languages. Recently, these articles have been collected into EU Automation’s Knowledge Hub, a platform where readers can explore these resources in a quick and easy way, browsing them by topic.

“Information overwhelm is a real problem in our industry,” explained Jonathan Wilkins, director at EU Automation. “Manufacturing professionals want to learn about cutting-edge technologies that might help them stay ahead of the competition, but they might not have the time to browse through an infinite number of resources to find what they need.

“That’s why EU Automation is providing them with a practical platform where they can find content that really meets their demands and that they can access anytime, anywhere, for free. We hope that this will help professionals in their decision-making processes and inspire them to strive for continuous innovation,” added Wilkins.

EU Automation has also made available for free download two books, BoOM – The Book of Obsolesce Management and 4.0 Sight. While the first explains how to proactively tackle components obsolescence, the second offers a global outlook of the fourth industrial revolution.

EUAudio is the latest addition to EU Automation’s efforts to provide high-quality resources for online learning. The podcast is ideal for busy manufacturing professionals, who can listen to carefully curated educational content while commuting to the factory or even on their way to a meeting.

To access EUAudio, visit https://www.euautomation.com/en/automated/euaudio.

HUBER+SUHNER‘s UK division has been recognised with the Bronze Performance Standard Supply Chains for the 21st Century (SC21) award by ADS, the UK trade organisation for Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space, for its commitment towards technical excellence and the continual improvement of its production performance.

HUBER+SUHNER achieved this accolade through implementing stringent measures which resulted in 90 – 94 percent of on time deliveries, a high-quality product performance level of 98 – 99 percent and a manufacturing and business excellence score of between 0 -399. The award also recognises the company’s commitment to creating a Continuous Sustainable Improvement Plan that is focused on performance activity and regularly reviewed by customers.

As the defence industry becomes increasingly competitive, the HUBER+SUHNER engineering and production teams based in the UK, have embarked on a series of Manufacturing and Business Improvement Activities over the last year to ensure better quality and delivery performance for defence customers. One of these activities resulted in reduced set-up times and waste, as the upgrading of work processes guaranteed the consistent production of parts to meet tight mechanical tolerances required by the industry.

“We are delighted to have been recognised for the hard work on upgrading our manufacturing processes, which have been independently assessed, to assure that we have a dedicated workforce that seeks to deliver outstanding results and the best quality through continuous improvement,” said Nigel Mitchell, Sales Director Radio Frequency at HUBER+SUHNER. “The team are now aiming to achieve the next tier Silver Award next year to ensure HUBER+SUHNER is always providing the best service possible for defence customers.”

The SC21 scheme is a nationally recognised programme, endorsed by all major UK defence companies, designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the sector by raising the performance of its supply chains. Since its launch 13 years ago, all participants have agreed to incorporate consistent measures that meet customer needs in a highly competitive global market with the main aim to see zero defects and 100 percent on time delivery at all stages of the product or service lifecycle.

Teledyne Imaging will host a multi-session virtual event 17-19 November to introduce its newest and most innovative imaging solutions. Online sessions led by subject matter experts from across the Teledyne Imaging group will cover topics such as machine learning and AI, extreme high-resolution and high-speed imaging, 3D sensing, non-visible and multi-spectral imaging, and high-volume, low-cost CMOS sensors.

Event agenda:

Tuesday 17 November 2020

• 9:00 AM (ET) – Clarity at High Speed – Performance Imaging
• 10:30 AM (ET) – Connection is everything – Camera/Data Interfaces

Wednesday 18 November 2020

• 9:00 AM (ET) – AI & Embedded Vision – Driving System Innovation
• 10:30 AM (ET) – New Advances in 3D Sensing

Thursday 19 November 2020

• 9:00 AM (ET) – Beyond Sight! Non-Visible and Multi-Spectral Imaging
• 10:30 AM (ET) – Evolving CMOS Sensor Technology

Head over to the Teledyne Imaging website to sign up for one or all six advanced technology sessions for a look at the new imaging technology you’ll need to build your next generation vision system.

Isotech have launched a new fully responsive website making all the Isotech information available on any device, meaning it’s more accessible than it has ever been.

It is now easier than ever to find the correct temperature calibrator or measuring device using the site-wide search feature.

New categorised product listings for primary laboratory, secondary laboratory and industrial calibration have been introduced. Head over to the new website now to see how Isotech can help.

A broken production line is a hugely expensive issue for any manufacturing business, both in terms of lost productivity and the cost of repairs.

Cooling the electrical equipment required to run any industrial production lines is vital to ensure its continued optimum operation; its electrical components are particularly vulnerable to temperature fluctuations, whether these fluctuations are a result of the waste heat generated as a by-product of its activities, or from fluctuations in the ambient temperature of its surroundings.

For this reason, correctly specified and well-maintained climate control systems are required to support manufacturing automation, but not as a fit-and-forget option.  Regular maintenance and system reviews are also necessary to ensure performance levels are maintained as systems age and production line capacity increases.

Rittal was approached by a manufacturing business based in Ireland which produces and distributes insulation products for the Irish and UK markets. Three of its production lines were supported by electrical equipment that was protected by a 25kW climate control system.  This was configured as one chiller feeding three heat exchangers (HEX) in order to maintain temperature levels at 27 degrees C.

However, the chiller was struggling to maintain this level, particularly on days when ambient temperature was higher. Operators at the plant used an 18 degrees C coolant but this was still not delivering an acceptable performance. Not only was the chiller was constantly running, temperatures were regularly creeping above a critical threshold of 28 degrees C. The business was in danger of losing all production if the (overworked) chiller broke down. And while the chiller should have had spare cooling capacity, it was constantly struggling to meet the demands of supporting three HEXs.

Rittal’s sales engineer, Paul McGarry, had initial discussions with the business, centring around replacing the chiller with a similar unit, albeit one with an IoT interface to integrate chiller data into the DCS for better process control. However, Paul’s expertise in climate control led him to suggest an alternative solution.  This involved splitting the HEX circuit into three independent circuits (one per production line) so that each one could be controlled independently; particularly helpful as one line was always running hotter.  The main advantage was that it introduced redundancy into the system; the current configuration meant that a chiller failure stopped all production across every line. The alternative system ensured two lines would still be in operation should one chiller fail.

In order that the correct product was chosen, coolant flow rates needed to be accurately measured and all external parameters had to be accurately recorded.

Paul’s recommendations were backed by Rittal’s international network of climate control experts (Stephen Ruch and Bjoern Burger in Germany) who calculated the flowrate at 15 l/m with a total cooling output requirement of 15kW – an energy saving over the existing system (25kW cooling output).

Once the three new 3334400 chillers were specified, together with their IOT interfaces, they were installed in late August 2019.

The company’s production manager has expressed his delight at the ease of installation, how well the new IoT interfaces communicate with the DCS system and how much the system feedback and production control has improved. Added to which, the newly configured system with three chillers is now more dynamic and stable than the previous one.

For information about Rittal’s free, no obligation surveys to help solve any process, enclosure or IT cooling problems contact go to www.rittal.co.uk.