UK Manufacturing Friday GOOD news compilation 21st July ’23????

UK Manufacturing Friday GOOD news compilation 21st July ’23????

Tata announces ￡4bn investment in UK gigafactory - Up to 4,000 jobs, plus thousands more in the supply chain. https://tinyurl.com/yy5jy5ef

Leonardo wins ￡115m contract from the UK MoD that will launch the next stage of the Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft project. https://tinyurl.com/4kcnay3s

￡80m Boeing, government and UK industry partnership announced. https://tinyurl.com/mrxvk36t

UKRI funds six energy research and innovation centres with ￡53m. https://tinyurl.com/3a294vca

Heineken invests ￡25m into flagship Manchester Brewery to reduce carbon emissions. https://tinyurl.com/2rwm78f9

Upperton completes build of new ￡15m development and GMP manufacturing facility. https://tinyurl.com/5hynaswd

Pilgrim’s UK invests ￡5m at Kings Lynn plant. https://tinyurl.com/57x6jyts

Aerospace, defence, security and space sectors added ￡3.2bn to Scottish economy in 2022. https://tinyurl.com/ywu7mbw4

UK exports of manufactured goods could increase by over ￡1bn as the UK joins the CPTPP. https://tinyurl.com/j95n4w75

Edible Oils continues investment programme at UK sites. https://tinyurl.com/bdfccxx4

Birmingham manufacturer Knowles celebrates centenary with ￡400k investment. https://tinyurl.com/4xfmm45d

HMG Paints' highlight the SME’s role in the economy, manufacturing and the broader economic landscape. https://tinyurl.com/mrxydzy5

Airbus Helicopters in the UK and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult announce strategic partnership. https://tinyurl.com/566n9ruv

South Yorkshire named as first UK Investment Zone. https://tinyurl.com/52v4aw78

Multi-million pound BrewDog deal delight for Grimsby glass bottle supplier Pattesons Glass. https://tinyurl.com/vxxbeyfk

Carbon-free flights promised 'within two years'. https://tinyurl.com/2rst36y7

AMRC Cymru saves Airbus UK enough energy to power 60 homes for a year. https://tinyurl.com/2cxwf9dk

Elbit Systems UK Opens New Advanced Manufacturing And Development Facility. https://tinyurl.com/5n7xbrt7

Nuclear fusion rocket engine being assembled in Bletchley. https://tinyurl.com/yc2frkex

University of Manchester joins global push for sustainable space strategy. https://tinyurl.com/yc6vwkz5

James Webb shines light on first-ever supermassive ‘dark stars. https://tinyurl.com/35vnmbtj

Great British Nuclear announced by UK Government. https://tinyurl.com/58j764ak

Jacobs to support design and development of micro modular reactor. https://tinyurl.com/yvj48uz7

CBI calls for green industrial strategy to unlock ￡57bn. https://tinyurl.com/4ptpccdh

Articles related to Inclusion, Apprenticeships, STEM & Education

Space engineering degree apprenticeship – we have liftoff! https://tinyurl.com/yc3yhdrw

Tomorrow’s Engineers Week will return from 6 to 10 November 2023 to inspire young people. https://tinyurl.com/5n6w72x7

Cobham and Ultra Electronics pledge ￡5m skills investment. https://tinyurl.com/37265a9w

Lane Motorsport empowers next generation of motorsport engineers at Formula Student UK 2023. https://tinyurl.com/yhpjaaph

Nine-year-old ‘ingenious’ inventor scoops top prize at Primary Engineer awards. https://tinyurl.com/bde6nbwt

Biggest ever Design & Make Challenge recognises the brightest young engineering minds. https://tinyurl.com/yscvn5ve

Midlands college is UK’s first Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing. https://tinyurl.com/2rh87rcb

MTC Training apprentice wins national award. https://tinyurl.com/yckw64as

Marshall Aerospace to open second skills academy at Cranfield in Bedfordshire. https://tinyurl.com/3t6hdyrm

Rolls-Royce Nuclear Skills Academy completes first academic year. https://tinyurl.com/bdz7r994

Webtec Awards Two Arkwright Engineering Scholarships. https://tinyurl.com/ypeb5xu5

Here is News about PLUS Automation and Sensors (AKA My Day Job)

Contrinex Inductive?? & Fork?? Sensors ‘Keep the lid on’ ??Ketchup Bottles

Some of the most compelling examples of automation are in food packaging, where the extensive use of high-speed automation means that equipment performance and reliability are valued because line stoppages are both costly and time-consuming.

Contrinex Photoelectric Fork and Inductive sensors are trusted to ‘keep the lid on’ and to help get a bottle of ketchup to the customer’s table by ensuring that the ketchup is hermetically sealed and that the flip-top cap has been fitted.

Plastic bottles that have been filled with ketchup pass under a Contrinex inductive sensor positioned over the packaging line which confirms the presence of an aluminium-foil seal. Next, the fitment of a plastic flip-top cap is verified by a Contrinex Photoelectric fork sensor before the bottle is released for labelling, packaging and despatch to customers.

Contrinex has the largest selection of sensors with the IO-Link communication protocol in the world and for example, the fork-sensor is switched between four operating modes according to the production batch using IO-Link. Being a communication protocol, IO-Link feeds back to the production line control system, information from the inductive and fork sensors such as their preventative maintenance status. A brief overview of Contrinex’s IO-Link offering can be found at www.IO-Link.PLUSAx.co.uk

CUSTOMER APPLICATION

To ensure product freshness and safety, a hermetic seal must be fitted below the cap of packaged products like ketchup. Previously, if the seal or plastic cap was missing it could go undetected, risking an entire batch of production potentially being rejected.

CUSTOMER SOLUTION

Plastic bottles that have been filled with ketchup pass under a Contrinex 500 Series ‘long-distance’ inductive sensor positioned over the packaging line which confirms the presence of an aluminium-foil hermetic seal on the top of every container. The highly sensitive Contrinex inductive sensor was selected because of its ability to reliably detect at speed the very small amount of aluminium present in the seal.

Next, the bottle passes through one of Contrinex’s highly versatile and high-performance photoelectric fork sensors, which senses the presence of a cap on the bottle before its release for labelling, triggering an alarm if a cap is missing.?

Contrinex’s LG fork light-barrier photoelectric sensors were chosen because they combined the simplicity of installation, with a choice of four modes of operation. The compact sensors provide high-resolution and high-speed sensing, plus the convenience of a push-pull output and IO-Link connectivity. Ideal for detection of the lids, these robust die-cast metal sensors provide high-performance and reliability.

Multi-mode operation flexibility

Four preconfigured operating modes enable the fork sensors to fulfil a wide spectrum of application needs -?‘Standard mode‘ provides switching frequencies up to 5,000Hz with a resolution of 0.3mm, while ‘High-resolution mode’ ensures precise detection of small objects down to 0.1mm in size.

Where the production batch requires it, switching to ‘Power mode’ increases the transmission power of the sensor, reducing its sensitivity to dirt or other contamination. For high-speed applications, ‘Speed mode’ raises the switching frequency as high as 14,000Hz, ensuring reliable sensing of fast-moving targets.

Application-specific configuration

The IO-Link communication protocol enables remote set-up and adjustment of the fork-sensor between production batches.

IO-Link stores the sensor’s configuration on a local IO-Link Master, which enables plug-and-play operation, eliminating the need to stock multiple pre-configured sensors in spare part inventory. The compact design and placement of the photoelectric emitter and receiver in a single housing save space, ensures precise alignment and removes the need for on-site adjustment.

Robust and highly versatile, these metal-cased devices offer fast and easy installation is provided by the choice of clearance mounting holes for M4 fixings and an integrated M8 connector.

?PRODUCT ADVANTAGES

???? Reliable detection

?? Resolution as small as ?0.1 mm

?? Fast – Up to 14,000Hz

?? Choice of 8 sizes from 10 to 120mm wide

4? Choice of 4 operating modes - Standard, High Resolution, Power, Speed

?? Robust die-cast zinc housing

??? IO-Link configuration & ideal for Industry 4

??? -25°C to +60°C

?? Low-cost with fast & simple installation

Do you know anyone in maintenance or the design and manufacturer of machines? - If you do, please point them towards my LinkedIn newsletter #MakeSenseofSensors https://www.dhirubhai.net/newsletters/make-sense-of-sensors-7075460388560986112/

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Call me on 0121 58 222 58 to discuss how PLUS Automation Ltd can help you #MakeSenseofSensors to solve applications, improve machine performance and reliability, and reduce costs using Inductive??, Machine Safety??, Photoelectric??, Pressure???, Process??, RFID?? & Ultrasonic?? sensors from CONTRINEX, ReeR & SATRON.