Editorial by Kip HANSON.

The concept of the smart factory has been steadily evolving over the past few years as its moves towards the goal of providing harmonious communication between shop-floor devices and enterprise-wide management systems. Ultimately, the ambition is to ensure productivity and quality are maximised, from quotation and order, to manufacturing and dispatch. Such a transition also provides the perfect opportunity to address a sometimes overlooked aspect of smart factory operations: energy efficiency.

IMTS - The International Manufacturing Technology Show, scheduled for September 14-19, 2020 had to be cancelled.

The growing popularity of 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing bodes well for the sustainable future of Planet Earth.

Never has the word ‘unprecedented’ been so widely used or more relevant than it is at a time when the whole world is talking about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The impact on our personal and working lives, global industry and the stock markets and our daily social routines and behaviours….is certainly unprecedented. By Rhys Williams, Editor for Metal Working EMEA

At the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas, Makinex takes another step toward providing practical and convenient on-site power solutions for power-hungry contractors and tradesmen in the concrete, masonry and flooring industries.

Europe has taken an early lead when it comes to implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or Industrie 4.0 as the Germans prefer to call it, with companies having invested in IoT technologies at higher levels than their US counterparts. The latest update to the Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts total spending on IoT solutions in Europe to increase by 19.8% year on year to reach $171 billion in 2019. Of this, the share of discrete manufacturing is $20 billion, which can be attributed to IIoT.

Here at ELeather, we believe that too many of the world’s limited resources are being unnecessarily wasted. By using a natural product that would otherwise be sent to landfills, we are evolving leather to become a more responsible, desirable and performance-driven material – engineered leather.

Schaltbau Machine Electrics have recently invested in a new optical measuring system to improve productivity and quality, particularly for parts used in the latest C310 AC & bidirectional DC contactors.