UK manufacturing starts to rebound, plus ABB offers refunds on large high-efficiency motors
Drives & Controls
The UK's leading magazine for automation, motion engineering and power transmission
The latest quarterly survey of UK manufacturers by Make UK and BDO suggests that the worst may be over for the sector. Output, orders (both UK and export), employment, investment and confidence are all up on the previous survey for the last quarter of 2022. This confidence should be boosted (in the short term, at least) by the Chancellor’s announcement on full expensing in his recent Budget. But there is still some way to go to a full recovery and there could be further obstacles ahead. Make UK still expects the manufacturing sector to shrink further this year, but is predicting a return to limited growth in 2024. Following several years of gloom, the results of the new survey are welcome.
Below you will find links to some of the news items that we have posted recently on our Web site.?
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Output and orders have both rebounded for UK manufacturers during the first quarter of 2023 as domestic and global markets have improved, easing fears of a significant recession for the sector this year, according to a survey published by the manufacturers’ association Make UK and the accountancy a ...
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?Protect your investment and avoid costly downtime efficiently and effectively. ABB’s planned services for variable speed drives consist of preventive maintenance and predictive condition-based maintenance solutions to maximise uptime and performance of your equipment. Our maintenance schedules, tailored to your needs, are based on ABB’s decades long experience of manufacturing and servicing its products. Adopting preventive and condition-based maintenance schedules reduces the unforeseen production disruption risks, increases the uptime and performance of your equipment, thus lowering your overall operational costs and guaranteeing your planned output. Regular predefined preventive and predictive maintenance also facilitates budgeting. Find out more: https://new.abb.com/service/motion
?ABB has launched an initiative to encourage the specification of higher-efficiency large motors by guaranteeing to refund operating costs if the machines do not meet promised efficiency criteria. The Top Industrial Efficiency (Tie) scheme is an attempt by the motor-maker to overcome the tendency to specify the lowest-cost machine that meets an application’s specifications. This is a particular problem with motors that are specified by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who will not have to pay the motor’s running costs and therefore specify the lowest-cost option ...
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?Bürkert's Tony Brennan, Industry Account Manager, shares his insights into the challenges that come with developing fuel cell technology from bench concepts to cost-effective production models. The market is increasing its focus on renewable energy and fuel cells as power sources with a range of applications. Bürkert offers a range of bespoke solutions to make the transition to production smoother, from control and regulating system modules for liquids and gases to safety shut-off valves that meet exacting standards. The company also works with OEMs and system integrators to create safe and reliable fuel cell systems that contribute to decarbonisation.
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?A German start-up has come up with a technology that does away with the need for converters in battery-powered systems. The “AC battery” system, developed by Munich-based Bavertis, uses electronics to reconfigure battery cells several thousand times per second, and allows the battery to generate AC ...
?The British prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced plans, backed by more than ￡370m of new government funding, to boost infrastructure, investment and skills in technologies ranging from quantum and supercomputing to AI (artificial intelligence). The aim is to ensure the UK’s place as a global sc ...
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?AI opens up many new possibilities in image processing, but how can you get started quickly and easily? This is where an AI-based vision system like IDS NXT comes into play. The all-in-one system consists of intelligent industrial cameras plus software environment which covers the entire process from creating to running AI vision applications. It is particularly user-friendly and can be operated even without prior knowledge of deep learning or application programming. The latest, free software release introduces anomaly detection as third AI method.
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?A new digital platform aimed at connecting the UK’s PEMD (power electronics, machines and drives) community and closing the skills gap in the sector will be launched later this month at a conference in Birmingham. The Electric Revolution Skills Hub, has been developed by Coventry University in co ...
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?Vibrations are often an unwanted phenomenon and can adversely affect the machinery that generates them, the conditions in the surrounding environment, and people's health.
The world of mechanics already has effective solutions to prevent the excess amount of vibrations produced by machines with moving parts, such as motors, pumps or air treatment systems, from interfering negatively with their proper functioning or their activity.
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?A survey of 1,350 manufacturers in 13 countries has revealed that more than 40% of them are struggling to outpace their competitors due to a lack of technology and suitably skilled workforces. Rockwell Automation’s eighth annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report finds that almost all of the manufacturers (97%) are using, or planning to use, smart manufacturing technologies in the coming 1-2 years. Almost half (45%) cite “improving quality” as the main positive outcome they want to achieve from these smart ...
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?Manufacturers and operating companies of machines and systems can now use new Leuze safety technology for contactless guarding of points of operation: The ELC 100 safety light curtains represent an alternative to the MLC 500 series.
The robust devices are perfect for cost-effective machines guarding with up to six meters operating ranges. Their resolutions of 17 and 30 millimeters enable them to reliably detect fingers and hands and create no dead zone during integration. The devices are available with protective field lengths of 300 to 1,500 millimeters and are highly resistant to shocks and vibrations.
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?The Welsh drives-maker Invertek is planning to invest ￡6.3m in a new innovation centre at its global headquarters in Welshpool, Powys. The centre will provide state-of-the-art research and development facilities for designing next-generation VSDs. Invertek has acquired land next to its headquarte ...