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50 CONTENTS n Drives & Controls is a controlled circulation publication. If you live in the UK and want to subscribe phone 0333 577 0801 or fax 0845 604 2327. Alternatively for both UK and overseas subscriptions please subscribe online at www.drivesncontrols.com. If you have any enquiries regarding your subscription, please use these numbers . The content of this magazine, website and newsletters do not necessarily express the views of the Editor or publishers. The publishers accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from information in this publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the publishers. Paid subscriptions UK: £110 per annum Europe: £145 per annum Rest of World: £180 per annum Printing: Warners Midlands PLC., PE10 9PH ISSN 0950 5490 Copyright: DFA Media Group 2025 NEXT ISSUE The March issue of Drives & Controls will contain a report on applications in the food and beverage sector, coverage of the latest developments in bearings, belts and chains, plus a look at the world of building services and HVAC. UPDATE 12 Comment 13 ABB Back to Basics 45 Gambica Column 46 New Products 48 Design Data and Multimedia 49 Products & Services IN DEPTH Follow us on X @DrivesnControls Drives Magazine Web site www.drivesncontrols.com Follow us on LinkedIn @ Drives & Controls Join us on Facebook Drives & Controls Drives& Controls REGULARS DfAmedia group 44 42 36 30 6 48 DRIVES & CONTROLS FEBRUARY 2025 Vol 41 No 2 Editor Tony Sacks t: 01732 465367 e: tony@drives.co.uk Consultant Editor Andy Pye t: 07808 137312 e: andy.pye@dfamedia.co.uk Production Manager Sarah Blake t: 01233 770781 e: sarah.blake@dfamedia.co.uk Marketing Manager Hope Jepson t: 01732 370340 e: hope.jepson@dfamedia.co.uk Financial Finance Department t: 01732 370340 e: accounts@dfamedia.co.uk ADVERTISING Sales Director and DFA Direct Damien Oxlee t: 01732 370342 m: 07951 103754 e: damien.oxlee@dfamedia.co.uk Sales Manager Sara Gordon t: 01732 370341 m: 07505867211 e: sara.gordon@dfamedia.co.uk Italy Oliver & Diego Casiraghi e: info@casiraghi.info t: +39 031 261407 f: +39 031 261380 Managing Director Ryan Fuller t: 01732 370344 e: ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk Reader/Circulation Enquiries Perception-MPS Ltd t: 01825 701520 e: cs@perception-sas.com HEAD OFFICE DFA Media Group 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BE t: 01732 370340 f: 01732 360034 e: info@dfamedia.co.uk www.drivesncontrols.com 5 News A round-up of the latest business and industry developments from around the world. 14 Technology Cutting-edge innovations in motion, power transmission, controls and related technologies. 23 SPS Show Report Despite the weak German economy, the recent 2024 SPS automation show managed to attract a similar number of visitors and exhibitors to the 2023 event. We look at some of the technologies and products that made their debuts at the show. 30 Robotics and Automated Manufacturing In a special feature, we report on how an hydraulic valve manufacturer is using Scara robots to assemble electromagnetic valves, how a German bakery has installed six robots to help it cope with expanding demand, and how a collaborative robot is being used to help diagnose rheumatoid arthritis. We also examine the benets of using robots to perform end-ofline palletising. 36 Sensors Smart machines can provide manufacturers with invaluable data. But buying a new machine just for its IoT capabilities can be hard to justify. A less costly approach can be to add sensors to capture real-time data from existing equipment. An expert explains. 40 Process Automation and Hazardous Areas A Finnish company has developed a technology that produces bres sustainably from natural and waste materials. To help it design its plant and reach the market quicker, it turned to digital twins and other automation technologies. Plus how purging the air from inside a motor can be quicker and cheaper than adapting standard motors for explosionproof applications. 44 Smart Manufacturing Week Smart Manufacturing Week returns to the NEC in June with new attractions as well a familiar favourites. For example, a new Technology Showcase Theatre will oer a glimpse into future developments and prototypes, from advanced robotics to wearable technologies. 45 Average net circulation January to December 2023 46 47 Subscribe for your FREE copy now 18,942 14
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NEWS n 5 Manufacturers still see the UK as a competitive place to operate BRITIAN’S MANUFACTURERS believe that the introduction of an industrial strategy will be a gamechanger for increasing investment and boosting productivity, while helping them to secure the skills that they need for the future, according to a new survey by Make UK and PwC. It also reveals that, despite the current challenges – including escalating costs and a potential trade war – most manufacturers believe that the UK remains a competitive place in which to manufacture, and that the opportunities for their businesses in 2025 far outweigh the risks. However, as many think the UK economy will deteriorate in 2025, as will grow. The annual Make UK/PwC Executive Survey asked 161 senior manufacturing personnel about the opportunities, risks and challenges their business face in the year ahead, as well as the outlook for the UK and international economies. The survey reveals that, despite the challenges companies are facing at home and abroad, almost half of companies (49%) believe the UK remains a competitive place to manufacture, compared to a quarter who disagree. Almost two thirds (63%) believe the opportunities for their businesses in 2025 outweigh the risks, compared to 14% who disagree. However, almost as many companies (34%) think that the UK economy will deteriorate in 2025 as improve (37%). The vast majority (92%) think that their employment costs will rise, 76% think the costs from other business taxes will increase, and 72% expect their logistics and transport costs to grow. The manufacturers are backing their belief in the UK by developing new products, entering new markets and upskilling and retraining sta, the survey reveals. More than half (57%) are planning to increase investment in new technologies, AI and automation in response to a long-term industrial strategy. Almost half (43%) believe such a strategy will lead to increased productivity and 42% say it will help them secure the skills they need for the future. More than three quarters (78%) of the manufacturers say they are developing new products, almost half are www.drivesncontrols.com February 2025 A SWISS DEVELOPER of AI-driven robotic inspection systems has raised $60m in funding, taking its total to date to more than $130m. Zurich-based ANYbotics says that the money will accelerate its global scaling and expansion in the US, helping it to meet the growing demand for its four-legged, IP67-protected ANYmal robots that walk around industrial, energy and mining sites, inspecting equipment. Since its founding in 2016, ANYbotics has secured more than 100 customers, including BP, Equinor, Petrobras, Novelis and Outokumpu. It employs more than 200 people. The company says it is “poised to rede¤ne industrial inspection worldwide”. Part of the new funding will be spent on hardware and software developments to enhance the performance and versatility of ANYbotics’inspection systems. It will also be used to expand ANYmal’s payload oering, integrating enhanced sensor arrays for visual, acoustic, gas and thermal monitoring. The company is planning to use graphics processors to allow faster processing and advanced AI analytics for anomaly detection and condition monitoring. Also in the pipeline are smarter ways to transform industrial data into actionable insights, thus enabling realtime, remote monitoring of asset health to help cut downtime. “ANYbotics is tackling some of the most critical challenges in industrial automation with a truly groundbreaking approach, and the market’s response underscores the immense potential of their solutions,” says Michael Thomas, a partner in one of the lead investors, Supernova Invest. “We are thrilled to support their journey .” www.anybotics.com $60m injection will expand Swiss robotic inspection firm Where UK manufacturers see opportunities for growth. Source: Make UK PwC Executive Survey 2025 deploying new technologies, and 37% are planning to enter new markets. Make UK is urging the Government to set out in detail as soon as possible its full proposals for a formal long-term industrial strategy. It is also asking the Government to look at measures to mitigate these increases by reducing business rates, in particular, as well as measures and incentives to aid decarbonisation and energy e§ciency. “Manufacturers have demonstrated their resilience over and over again in recent years and, despite the numerous challenges they face, those that remain innovative and are prepared to invest in new technologies, expanding markets and, most crucially, their people will continue to thrive,”says Make UK CEO, Stephen Phipson. “But, they can only do this if they are operating in the most favourable business environment and there is little doubt that the next 12 months are set to be immensely challenging in a complex international environment. “To help companies navigate a way through these challenges it is now vital that Government sets out as a matter of urgency the immediate and signi¤cant priorities as part of its formal industrial strategy given the very clear bene¤ts manufacturers believe this will bring,” he adds. “By doing this, it will help re-boot business con¤dence and ensure the year gets o on a positive footing in terms of the relationship between industry and Government.” www.makeuk.org
n NEWS February 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 A NEW LABORATORY in London is thought to be the UK’s rst cloud-based facility dedicated to the manufacturing sector. Launched by the cloud engineering company Storm Reply with a six- gure investment, the lab will allow manufacturers to test technologies and create proof-of-concepts o-site, by recreating manufacturing lines virtually. Storm Reply says that this will help to avoid production downtime. The lab’s initial customers have included Kingspan’s Insulated Panels division, Lowden Guitars, and the wire joining and tensioning specialist Gripple, which used the facility to help it to digitise its production lines. The lab is oering a variety of industrial IoT (Internet of Things) services, such as producing line data for multiple sites to improve operational eciency, and asset monitoring and predictive maintenance to help detect equipment problems. The lab’s team of 30 technology and manufacturing experts also develop digital twins and embed AI-powered vision systems on production lines to detect defects. Storm Reply bases its bespoke systems on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The London oce, in Westminster, is one of a network of facilities located in France, Germany, the US and Italy. The company’s headquarters are in a former Fiat factory in Turin. Unlike other manufacturing R&D facilities which rely on hardware or SaaS (software as a service) technologies, Storm Reply’s lab is entirely cloud-based. “Stopping a line to test a new solution is problematic, so manufacturers understandably don’t like shutting down just to test,” says Storm Reply partner, Rachel Grunwerg. “We’ve developed this o-site approach because we wanted our customer projects to be ecient.” “Previously manufacturers had to accept they don’t know how ecient their line is, or work on a gut feeling that they’re at capacity – but data eliminates that guesswork,” adds another partner, Matt Mould. “Manufacturers are understandably wary of being locked into tech solutions, or projects which take years,”he continues. “So, they like that the solutions we create aren’t SaaS products, and that they’re owned by them not us. We’re just as happy working on a week-long project as a multi-year one, which global consultancies wouldn’t even consider.” www.reply.com/storm-reply Cloud-based factory lab is ‘the UK’s first’ pRockwell Automation has completed its acquisition of the Canadian autonomous robotics specialist Clearpath Robotics and its Otto Motors division which makes AMRs (autonomous mobile robots). Rockwell chairman and CEO Blake Moret says the acquisition “marks a turning point”, simplifying and transforming material-handling in manufacturing plants with end-to-end logistics. The AMR market is growing by about 30% a year and is expected to reach $6.2bn by 2027. p More than 77% of manufacturers have already adopted AI, according to a survey of 369 manufacturers in the UK, US and Canada, conducted by Rootstock Software. Production is the most popular application (31%), followed by inventory management (28%) and customer service (28%). Most manufacturers (58%) prefer “copilots” which support human roles, rather than fully autonomous agents. Almost all of the surveyed manufacturers (82%) plan to expand their AI budgets in the next 12-18 months. www.rootstock.com p The electrical measurement and monitoring specialist, Megger, has launched a new division, Megger Industrial Reliability. The move has been driven by its acquisitions of Diagnostic Solutions and Distence, and will enhance its industrial service oering. In recent years, Megger has extended its portfolio from electrical test and measurement equipment to monitoring and predictive maintenance systems. Using techniques such as vibration analysis, the new division will provide actionable data and insights to improve decision-making while streamlining maintenance processes. www.megger.com/en-gb/ megger-industrial-reliability p The global installed base of commercial and industrial robots will reach 16.3 million machines by 2030 as manufacturers attempt to oset retirements of baby boomers from the sector, according to ABI Research. It predicts that companies will view the demographic shifts as an opportunity to revamp their processes and operations, using new technologies to augments employees’ working lives. www.abiresearch.com p The global market for warehouse robotics will expand at a CAGR of 14.4% in the period to 2031, reaching $15.1bn by then, according to a new report from Meticulous Research. The growth is being driven by online shopping, the need for faster deliveries, and the rapid adoption of AMRs (autonomous mobile robots). Restraints include the high costs setting up automated warehouses, developing infrastructures, and integrating advanced robotics NEWS BRIEFS ROCKWELL AUTOMATION is opening a research laboratory in the Czech Republic to help it deliver new products and services, as well as advancing automation through links with the standards and academic community. The Prague researchers, part of Rockwell’s Advanced Technology team, will address anticipated customer needs, validate the future of Rockwell products, and identify strengths and limitations of new technologies. Their research be fed into product and service development, and will contribute to Rockwell’s intellectual property portfolio. The researchers will collaborate with local universities to share knowledge and best practices to create advanced technologies. “Our Advanced Technology team is a key part of Rockwell’s innovation ecosystem, helping to translate emerging technical concepts and identify potential industrial applications,” says its director, Kyle Crum. Rockwell opens research lab in Prague Storm Reply’s London lab can test manufacturing systems off-site to reduce downtime.
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February 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 n NEWS The Automate UK trade association – formerly the PPMA Group of Associations – has appointed Peter Williamson as its new chairman, succeeding James Causebrook, who has stepped down at the end of his twoyear term. Williamson joined the 600-plus member association’s board in 2017, and has held positions as education director, nance director and CEO/vice-chair, before being appointed as executive chair. Causebrook will now serve as Automate UK’s nance director. Rockwell Automation has appointed Fabrizio Scovenna as its OEM sales director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Scovenna has been with the corporation for almost 35 years in a variety of roles, most recently as sales director, OEM, for Rockwell’s southern EMEA region – a position he has held since 2021. He is also president of the boards of directors of both Sensia and Asem. Scovenna will retain his role as managing director of Rockwell Automation in Italy. WEG’s Turkish gearbox factory will boost its manufacturing capacity outside Brazil WEG is investing around €28m to build a new gearbox manufacturing facility in the Izmir region of Turkey. The 12,000m plant, due to be completed by 2027, will increase the company’s capacity for manufacturing gearboxes and components outside of Brazil. The factory is being built in the city of Manisa, around 35km from Izmir, where WEG recently acquired Volt Electric Motors. Sales from the gearbox plant may be integrated with the industrial motors that WEG produces in the country. The operation will also have synergies with WEG’s gearbox manufacturing facility in Austria (the former Watt Drive business, which it acquired in 2011). “We are optimistic about the growth potential of the industrial gearbox market in Turkey and across Europe,” says Rodrigo Fumo, managing director of WEG’s industrial motors business. “This investment is a strategic step in our journey to expand our presence in the sector, strengthening our commitment to excellence in service, agility in deliveries and innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers.” WEG has been selling products through local distributors in Turkey for more than 20 years. In 2021, it established its own local commercial structure and, in 2022, opened an electric motor factory in Dilovasi, near Istanbul. WEG currently employs 750 people in the country, and the new investment is expected to create 150 more jobs. Following WEG’s acquisition of Volt Electric Motors last September, a ceremony was held in December to mark the integration of the newly-acquired business. Volt, established in 1987, can produce one million motors a year. The acquisition takes the total number of WEG production facilities around the world to 64. n WEG recently inaugurated a new manufacturing site in Santo Tirso, Portugal, where it will produce medium- and highvoltage motors and drives, and oer services for WEG and third-party motors, drives, transformers and generators. The facility will cut delivery times for products and services, and serve markets in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. It will also act as the headquarters for a WEG R&D centre specialising in hazardous area motors. The Portuguese site – spanning more than 100,000m2 – marks an important step in WEG’s European expansion strategy, increasing its competitiveness in the region. As well as the manufacturing and R&D facilities, the site also houses a High Voltage Solutions centre, which includes a 12MVA laboratory designed to make combined motor and drive testing more e¡cient and precise, and establishing a new global benchmark, according to WEG. WEG invests €28m to build a new gearbox factory in Turkey EVENTSSouthern Manufacturing & Electronics 2025 4–6 February, 2025 Farnborough, UK The annual regional event returns to Farnborough, aiming to attract people involved in design, engineering production and procurement. They will be able to see the latest in production hardware, components, consumables and other technologies. The organisers are expecting more than 500 exhibitors and 9,000 visitors. https://www.southern-manufacturingelectronics.com Hannover Messe 2025 Hannover, Germany 31 March – 4 April, 2025 The main exhibition areas for the 2025 industrial megashow will be Smart Manufacturing, Digital Ecosystems, Energy for Industry, Compressed Air & Vacuum Technology, Engineered Parts & Solutions, Future Hub and International Trade & Investment. Drive and uid power technologies will be highlighted in the Motion & Drives areas. The conference programme will include around 1,600 speakers. The partner country for 2025 is Canada. www.hannovermesse.de/en Smart Manufacturing Week 4–5 June, 2025 NEC, Birmingham More than 450 exhibitors and 13,500 visitors are expected at the two-day event that includes the Drives & Controls show, Smart Factory Expo, Maintec, the Air-Tech exhibition, Fluid Power & Systems and the Design+Engineering Expo. Running concurrently are the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit, the Industrial Data and AI Summit, and the Automation & Robotics Accelerator Symposium. www.smartmanufacturingweek.com 2025 OT Cybersecurity Summit 17-19 June, 2025 Brussels, Belgium This event, organised by ISA, will focus on strategic OT (operational technology) cybersecurity based on the ISA/IEC 63443 standards. It will include various technical tracks, training courses as well as a cyberescape room. https://otcs.isa.org Automatica 2025 24–27 June, 2025 Munich, Germany The smart automation and robotics show will be bigger than in 2023, with more than 500 exhibitors from more than 30 countries expected, a third of whom will be exhibiting for the rst time. There will be more exhibitors from China than ever before. For the rst time, there will be a pavilion devoted to laboratory automation and clinical robotics. https://automatica-munich.com
n NEWS February 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 REVENUES FROM THE global motion controls market slumped by 6.9% during 2024, representing a drop of more than $900m to a total of $12.3bn. This fall followed a period of unprecedented growth. However, in a new report on the market, Interact Analysis suggests that its long-term CAGR will remain largely the same, at around 3.5%, indicating a rebalancing of the market, rather than something worse. It states that 2024 was “a rough year for motion control vendors”, however, it believes that the market is starting to stabilise. The report traces the origins of the 2024 decline to 2021 when the sector experienced “unprecedented” growth. Demand was at an alltime high, and motion control suppliers couldn’t manufacture products fast enough. Buyers were keen to place orders, but struggled to obtain products because of supply shortages. Panic buying set in, with customers over-ordering motion control products during 2021 and 2022. As the manufacturing sector dipped in 2023, the motion controls market started to show the eect of over-ordering in the previous two years. Order backlogs were worked through and it became clear that new orders for motion control products were falling. Buyers’ inventories of motion control components were full and manufacturing demand was down, resulting in an inventory issue. This led to a decoupling between the growth of manufacturing and that of the motion control market, leading to further market declines and destocking. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, growth in the motion controls market had closely mtched that of manufacturing output. But in 2021, when over-ordering began, the two became decoupled. That year, the motion controls market expanded by almost 22% year-onyear. In late 2023, growth in manufacturing production and the motion control market intersected, marking the start of the destocking eect. That year, the motion market grew by just 1% and it became clear that, amid low manufacturing production, motion control buyers had overstocked and needed to wind down their inventories before placing new orders. This set the stage for the signicant decline in revenues experienced by motion control vendors last year. Before Covid, Interact had been predicting a CAGR of 3.5% for the motion controls sector from 2019-2023. Despite the sharp gains and losses between 2020 and 2024, the analyst believes that the market will still follow the same long-term trajectory and CAGR in the period from 2019-2029. Interact expects manufacturing production and the motion controls market to synchronise again this year, indicating market stability. But 2025 is likely to be mixed in terms of regional performance, with Europe continuing to face challenges. However, every region is expected to start recovering as destocking ends and growth in new orders resumes. “Following the high growth years in 2021 and 2022, it is easy to lose sight of what ‘normal’ growth looks like in this market,” comments Interact research analyst, Clara Sipes. “While double-digit declines in some regions are alarming, they should be viewed in the historical context of the market as a correction. As destocking in the market eases, we expect a sense of normalcy to return marked by more modest and consistent growth rates. 2025 marks the rst year climbing out of the market trough, and while it will be a slow process, the prognosis for the market in 2026 and beyond is much brighter.” www.interactanalysis.com Motion controls sales fell by 6.9% in 2024 in ‘rough year’ for vendors ABB IS BUYING Siemens Gamesa’s power electronics business in Spain to strengthen its position in the booming market for highpower energy conversion technologies. The acquisition will expand ABB’s power conversion product and service oering to renewables OEMs and end-users, with new portfolio and engineering assets expected to drive the protable growth of ABB’s Motion business. No nancial details have been released about the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025. The Gamesa Electric power electronics business achieved revenues of around €170m in the year to September 2024. It has around 400 employees, and factories in Madrid and Valencia. Gamesa’s power conversion portfolio includes doubly-fed induction generator wind converters, industrial battery energy storage systems and utility-scale solar power inverters. “This targeted acquisition is in line with our commitments to grow our portfolio for high-power renewable applications and support productivity in a low-carbon world,” says Chris Poynter, president of ABB’s System Drives division. “It will expand our engineering depth for power conversion and grid connection, and will add signicant opportunity to service a large installed base. “With the acquisition of this business,” he adds, “we will be much better positioned to capitalise on the expansion of the power conversion market for renewables, while building on our relationship with Siemens Gamesa as a key customer.” The acquisition will increase ABB’s serviceable power conversion installed base by around 40GW, allowing it to access new service, modernisation and repowering opportunities around the world. Gamesa’s expertise will also help ABB to broaden its digital oering. The International Energy Agency estimates that annual additions to the world’s global renewable energy capacity will expand from 666GW in 2024 to almost 940 GW by 2030. Solar photovoltaic and wind energy together are expected to account for 95% of all renewable capacity growth by the end of the decade, when renewable energy is expected to account for almost half of all global electricity generation, with wind and solar PV doubling their share to 30%. Global motion controls market, showing revenues (solid bars, left axis, $m) and revenue changes (black line, right axis, percent). Source: Interact ABB buys Siemens Gamesa’s power electronics business
NEWS n device-design www.escate OU n-to-manufacturing ec.com/medicalTNOW! acturing & ecycle Design, manuf lif www.escatec.com Ŕɭȶ e solutions built ȶʠȥƎˊȶʠ NEURA ROBOTICS, the pioneer of cognitive robotics and Germany’s only humanoid robot developer, has raised €120m in Series B funding, which it will use to will fuel further R&D, and support the launch of products built on its Neuraverse platform. Neura, founded 2019 by CEO David Reger, claims to have a €1bn order book and to have achieved a 10x revenue growth. In the past year, Neura has doubled its number of employees to more than 300. Neura is creating robots to work with humans in industries such as manufacturing, logistics and healthcare. With its “unique” sensor technology and AI integration, it has developed “the world’s rst cognitive cobot” and is also working on market-ready humanoid robots. Its Neuraverse platform is designed to accelerate innovation in cognitive robotics through elements including a dedicated operating system for cognitive robots and a marketplace for robotic skills. Its investors – which include Volvo and Delta Electronics – anticipate more growth and rapid development and innovation in the coming years. Last year, Neura formed a strategic partnership with Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies with the aim of revolutionising manufacturing by introducing AI-based cognitive robots designed to enhance eciency, exibility and safety. They have already unveiled a robot – the Omron intelligent Cognitive Robot (iCR) – that uses integrated sensors and AI technologies to address the needs of industrial users for exibility, productivity, and eciency. These robots oer optional integrated 3D vision sensors and Neura’s safety architecture for improved performance and safety. “Cognitive robotics is expected to become bigger than the smartphone,” says Reger. “I am proud that Neura is the rst one to ship a commercially-viable cognitive robot and remains the only humanoid robotics company in Germany. This investment shows the condence our investors have in my team and in pioneering advanced robotics in Europe.” Neura Robotics says it is not just focused on its own expansion, but also on the sustainable long-term growth of the cognitive robotics category, from the heart of Europe. “Neura’s exceptional technological expertise and groundbreaking innovation are transforming both industrial and consumer robotics,” argues Nikhil Srinivasan, managing partner of one of the new investors, Lingotto Horizon. “With phenomenal AI capabilities, an extraordinary growth trajectory, and a billion-dollar order book, Neura is on track to potentially becoming a multi-billion-dollar company and one of the most prominent robotics companies in the world.” Neura raises €120m to propel its cognitive and humanoid robots
BUSTING THE PRODUCTIVITY MYTH? It is widely believed that the UK is one of the world’s worst performers when it comes to industrial productivity. But a new a new analysis casts doubt on this assumption. She eld-based FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics has been digging into gures produced by the World Bank and the OCED and has found that, in fact, the value added by UK manufacturing workers increased by almost $14,000 per worker between 2018 and 2023 – more than in any other major manufacturing economy over the same period. The data shows that UK manufacturers delivered a net output worth $280bn in 2023 (after removing the cost of energy, materials and other inputs). FourJaw’s analysis reveals that this equated to $109,000 of added value for each of the UK’s 2.6 million manufacturing workers during 2023. This gure was 15% higher than the $95,000 of the value added per worker in 2018. According to FourJaws’ gures, the productivity gains have lifted the UK’s per-worker manufacturing output above that of Germany ($106,000), South Korea ($93,000) or Japan ($76,000). These economies have previously outperformed the UK on a per-worker productivity basis, and continue to produce more than the UK in absolute terms. Only US manufacturing workers, who delivered a net output worth $167,000 each, produced more value more e ciently than their UK counterparts in 2023, the analysis suggests. Chinese manufacturers delivered a net output worth $4.7 trillion in 2023 – more than a quarter of the world’s combined total output of $16.2 trillion. With 214 million people reported to be working in the Chinese manufacturing sector in 2023, this gives the world’s biggest manufacturing economy a per-worker productivity gure of $22,000. The analysis also shows, unsurprisingly, that the UK now has one of the smallest manufacturing workforces in the industrialised world, having slipped from 2.7 million in 2018 to 2.6 million in 2023. Indonesia, by comparison, has 18.8 million, India has 18.4 million (an increase of two million since 2018), the US has 14.9 million, Brazil has 11.6 million, and Japan has 10.8 million. If FourJaws’ analysis is accurate, then the UK appears to be punching above its weight in terms of productivity per worker. “Many of the world’s major manufacturing economies still produce more value in absolute terms than the UK,” points out FourJaw’s CEO, Chris Iveson, “but they need many more people to do so.” Iveson adds that the UK’s manufacturing workers have “only just scratched the surface of what is now possible on productivity.”The new gures, although welcome, are no excuse for complacency. Tony Sacks, Editor n COMMENT pot en ti a l o f y o Are you inve our workforce? esting in the mproves Comp Creates an Adaptable a ncreases Productivi mproves Safe W Industry recognised co I I a I any Reputation nd Flexible Workforce y and Performance orking Practices ourses from the BFPA W t a p Please call 01608 6479 00 or bfpa.co.u RITISH FLUID POW B email enquiries@bfpa.co.uk k/training WER ASSOCIATION / Controls & Drives don@dfamedia.co.uk sara.gor 01732 370341 don Sara Gor damien.oxlee@dfamedia.co.uk 01732 370342 Damien Oxlee ols Contact us at Drives & Contr AVE COULD HA ADVERTISEMENT IMPACT YOUR IMAGINE THE 60,000+ ENGINEERS THIS, THEN SO ARE IF YOU’RE READING
Drives&Controls & BACK TO BASICS n SPONSORED BY Raising efficiency without sacrificing comfort There’s more to e ciency than simply turning down the speed of a motor. ABB’s Carl Turbitt explains how plant optimisation, and using a drive’s intelligent control functions, can unlock e ciency in HVAC systems without impacting the building’s occupants. There is only so much e ciency you can achieve before you start having to make trade-o s on the job a system needs to do. In HVAC applications, for example, systems have to ensure that buildings are kept at a comfortable temperature and su ciently ventilated to reach the required level of air changes per hour. In theory, you could achieve maximum e ciency by switching the whole system o , but this is obviously unrealistic. It may be tempting to slow down the pumps and fans to the lowest speed that occupants will possibly tolerate, in order to eke out as much e ciency as possible. However, doing so will inevitably have a negative e ect on occupants’ comfort levels within the building. In HVAC applications, in particular, we often nd that engineers are not aware of what else a drive can do to improve e ciency other than varying the speed of the motor. Even then, we nd countless examples of drives that aren’t commissioned correctly, set at one xed speed, and then just left to run inde nitely. When you embrace the intelligent control functionality within the drive, you can have the best of both worlds – signi cant e ciency gains and an optimised system – without compromising on comfort. Many building management systems will already have sensors measuring temperature, CO2, pressure, humidity, occupancy, water ow and more. In many cases, these sensors can be wired directly to the drive rather than duplicating BMS I/O, thus saving on additional cabling and ancillary costs. For example, the drive can take the sensor signals and use its in-built PID control to maintain the correct setpoints depending on actual requirements at a given time. In a cinema, this could mean using occupancy sensors to lower or increase the speed depending on occupancy levels. In a leisure centre, it could mean using the drive’s time clock to reduce pump speeds during o -peak times. It may sound obvious, but many sites simply do not do it, and as a result are potentially missing out on signi cant energy savings. Crucially, these savings can be achieved simply by using what you already have, with no negative impact on the building’s operations or occupants’ comfort. To nd out more about ABB’s HVAC drives, search for “ABB ACH580”, or contact carl.turbitt@gb.abb.com. applicat for ov reliable Super r f rmo tions ving cables online stock,p huge UK pricing K tions,
n TECHNOLOGY February 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 14 CHINA’S FIFTH-LARGEST CAR MAKER, GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group), has unveiled a humanoid robot that can move around on either two or four wheels, and incorporates 38 degrees of freedom. The third-generation GoMate robots are aimed at production line duties, as well as applications in logistics, security, healthcare and education. State-owned GAC is planning to start producing components for the robots, such as exible hands, miniature servodrives and axial-ux joint motors, this year, before embarking on batch production of the humanoid robots in 2026, and then moving on to large-scale mass production. The rst uses are expected to be in industrial and security applications at GAC’s Trumpchi and Aion automotive subsidiaries. In its four-wheeled mode, the robot is 1.4m tall and can climb stairs and slopes, and cross obstacles. In its two-wheeled mode, the robot is 1.75m tall and takes up less space. GAC says that the “unique” variable wheel structure not only improves the robot's adaptability and stability in complex environments, but also cuts energy use by more than 80% energy compared to some rival technologies. At the recent launch of the GoMate in Shanghai, GAC demonstrated the robot’s precision motion control, accurate navigation and positioning, as well as autonomous decision-making capabilities. The robot incorporates an autonomous visual driving algorithm as well as a Slam (simultaneous localisation and mapping) algorithm which supports a transition from two-dimensional to spatial intelligence. Large multimodal models in the cloud will allow the robots to respond to complex human voice commands “within milliseconds”. Using a 3D-GS scene reconstruction technology and immersive VR head displays for remote control, the GoMate’s movements can be planned “with centimetre accuracy”. In dynamic scenarios, the robots use a sensitive obstacle-avoidance technology to detect any changes within 100m. Seamless switching between remote control and autonomous AI-driven control will allow the robots to adapt to dierent operating scenarios. By inputting massive amounts of data and optimising deep-learning algorithms, the GoMate will be able to perform “humanlike” recognition, understanding and decision-making tasks. GAC is developing components for the GoMate robots in-house, including: n dexterous hands that balance high load capacities with exibility, and havebuilt safety functions to protect against collisions; n coin-sized low-voltage servodrives that are less than 30mm high and oer current ratings up to 20A, and interfaces including EtherCat and Can; n axial- ux motors for joints with maximum output torque ratings of 1kNm, torque densities of up to 200Nm/kg, and ve-fold overload capacities; and n solid-state batteries with 6h lives, allowing the robot to perform long-term tasks and exploratory missions. MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC has announced an AI-powered visual inspection tool designed to ensure product quality in a range of industries without needing any programming. The Melsoft Vixio software allows users to set up three simple processes: making a picture dataset; conguring an AI model; and generating the task using low code, rather than programming. It is said to be accessible to anyone from newcomers to experts. “Our visual inspection software transforms the inspection process, making it more accurate and e¦cient,” says Daniel Sperlich, strategic product manager for controllers in Mitsubishi’s EMEA Factory Automation business. “It performs the heavy lifting of primary screenings, identifying potential defects with unmatched precision. Doing so liberates human inspectors to focus on what truly matters – ensuring that only the nest products reach the hands of consumers.” The tool is applied in four phases: n The learning phase The software learns what a “good”product looks like by reviewing many examples of good and bad items. n Image processing After learning, it analyses product images in real-time, comparing them with its training data. n Decision-making Based on its analysis, the software gives a product a “thumbs-up” if it meets the required criteria, or a “thumbs-down” if not, ensuring that only quality products are passed. n Feedback loop The software improves over time; if it makes mistakes, engineers can update its learning data to enhance its accuracy in recognising products. Unlike human inspectors who can tire, allowing defects to slip through, the software is said to be “tirelessly vigilant”, ensuring that every product meets the highest quality standards. Mitsubishi is aiming the tool at industries ranging from automotive to food & beverage. It says it will boost productivity, and cut waste and energy consumption. Trial versions are available. https://emea.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/ products/software-overview/vixio AI-powered visual inspector checks quality without programming Shapeshifting humanoid robots head for production lines GAC’s humanoid robot can move on either two or four wheels
TECHNOLOGY n 15 www.drivesncontrols.com February 2025 A CALIFORNIAN FIRM, SiLC Technologies, has announced a laser line scanner capable of dimensioning objects with submillimetre accuracy from distances of up to 10m. Aimed at industrial automation applications, SiLC’s Eyeonic Trace is an allin-one inspection and measurement tool for objects moving on conveyor belts, assembly lines or bucket elevators, or being scanned by robotic arms. SiLC specialises in integrated single-chip FMCW (frequency-modulated continuous wave) LiDar technologies. The Eyeonic Trace is its rst turnkey product. Until now, it has supplied components to customers to integrate into their own products. This expansion of SiLC’s business model will allow it to reach a wider range of customers. The scanner “provides better depth precision than the human eye,” says SiLC CEO, Dr Mehdi Asghari. “Not only does our Eyeonic Trace measure objects with great precision, but the laser is also Class 1 eyesafe, which means that factory workers can use it without the constraints of a ‘Keep Out’ area or a ‘Special Eye Protection Required’ mandate.” At the heart of the new scanner is SiLC’s Eyeonic vision sensor with an integrated silicon photonics chip containing low-loss waveguides, coherent detection, semiconductor optical ampliers and other photonic functions. The scanner has a wide 72-degree eldof-view, allowing it to measure large objects. It is designed to be mounted 2-3m above a conveyor belt or assembly line, or on a robot arm. It can measure large boxes as well as items a few centimetres tall. The scanner can provide millimetre precision at distances from 10cm to 10m. It operates over a wide dynamic range, accommodating objects with diverse reective properties. The scanner works indoors or outdoors, and is unaected by ambient light. It measures 200 x 135 x 75mm. www.silc.com SIEMENS DIGITAL INDUSTRIES SOFTWARE AND SONY have announced a headmounted display (HMD) for industrial metaverse applications, describing it as a “breakthrough” for immersive engineering. The XR HMD (SRH-S1) headset incorporates 4K OLED microdisplays, and a technology that delivers real-time, high-denition and realistic rendering of 3D objects. It comes with a pair of controllers for precise pointing and interaction with the objects. The $4,750 head-mounted display is optimised for extended use, and designed with comfort and stability in mind. The HMD and controllers are expected to start shipping this month. “We embarked on this collaborative project with Sony to deliver the power of the industrial metaverse to our community of designers, engineers and manufacturers directly in our agship product engineering software,” says Bob Haubrock, senior vicepresident for product engineering software at Siemens Digital Industries Software. “Our collective teams have built a set of tools that revolutionise how mixed reality is used in the engineering space – to not only support global collaboration based on high-delity 3D models, but to enable co-creation directly on vital 3D CAD data in a managed, secure environment.” Siemens has developed a set of software tools to work with the headset. These are designed to bring the power of mixed reality to product engineering and manufacturing, enabling high-resolution mixed reality and 3D-focused collaboration. The tools include: n NX Immersive Explorer, which allows designers and engineers to conduct informal design reviews and to collaborate using 3D CAD data derived from Siemens’ NX product engineering software. n NX Immersive Designer, which takes advantage of the capabilities of the HMD to allow designers and engineers to interact, manipulate and collaborate around 3D product models without needing additional preparation or software. The HMD’s ring and pointer controllers allow users to interact with objects and to manipulate 3D geometries. They can interact directly with product prototypes, NX commands and menus. The software supports augmented, mixed-reality environments to place virtual objects in the real world, conduct design sessions in a high-delity virtual design review space, and/or use large highresolution virtual monitors to extend the virtual design session. Using a tool called NX Voice Command Assistant, designers and engineers can navigate multiple levels of menus and clicks by speaking keywords. n NX Immersive Collaborator, which builds on the capabilities of the rst two tools to allow organisations to take advantage of both co-located and remote design reviews with multiple participants. It uses Siemens’ cloud-enabled NX X design software to host collaborative and review sessions, with participants using local VR or desktop views. One of the early users of the technology has been the UK-based motorsport manufacturer BAC (Briggs Automotive Company), whose founder and head of design, Ian Briggs, reports that the immersive engineering technology has been helping BAC’s designers and engineers to “see, design and edit parts more easily with the unique controllers, enabling our customers to experience their car at human-scale before it is built, and helping stakeholders from production to collaborate easily with designers and engineers to validate parts before manufacturing”. https://www.sw.siemens.com/ en-US/digital-transformation/ sony-head-mounted-display-vr Siemens and Sony claim an immersive ‘breakthrough’ for the industrial metaverse Siemens and Sony say that their head-mounted display and software will revolutionise how mixed reality is used in engineering Laser scanner delivers ‘better precision than the human eye’
n TECHNOLOGY February 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 DONUT LABS, THE FINNISH drive system developer, has revealed more details of its range of doughnut-shaped electric motors and associated technologies at the CES 2025 exhibition in Las Vegas. It unveiled a family of ve motors, ranging from a 120mm-diameter device weighing 1.5kg which is capable of delivering 3kW of peak power and 20Nm of peak torque, to a 21”-diameter 630kW machine weighing 40kg that can deliver 4.3kNm of peak torque. The motors – rst announced late last year after several years of stealth development – are aimed principally at transport applications from drones to trucks, but could also have non-automotive applications such as powering robots. Donut Lab’s CEO Marko Lehtimäki claims that the motors are “the best electric motor in the world by any parameter”. They oer “incredible performance not available with any other technology,” he adds, and will deliver the highest power and torque characteristics both per kilogram, and per dollar. Unlike other technologies, that are optimised for either for power or torque, the Donut machines are designed to excel at both. “It’s a really magical piece of technology,” he says. Donut Lab’s modular platform consists of a suite of compatible components, such as battery packs and vehicle computers, as well as the motors. These components are designed to work together without any manual integration, simplifying and accelerating the development of applications. AT CES, Donut Lab announced a partnership with the Finnish software company Qt, which has a “game-changer”application for automating and streamlining the development of vehicle HMIs. Called Qt Accelerate, the application will soon be integrated into the Donut platform. It will automatically recognise vehicle con gurations and create HMIs that match the vehicle's features. "Qt Accelerate oers an extremely fast and ecient way to create HMIs fully automatically without programming and is designed speci cally for the needs of the automotive industry,” says Lehtimäki. “Our collaboration provides signi cant advantages to the development of vehicles, and it is also the rst step in building a broader ecosystem for the Donut platform.” Donut is aiming to speed up the development of its software 10-fold, while enhancing vehicle testing and safety. It says it is developing the world's rst no-code environment for vehicles, which means that, in the future, all software logic for cars and drones can be done via a graphical user interface, instead of writing traditional code. This will cut the number of errors, increase safety and accelerate development work, the company says. “Although the physical components of the Donut platform, such as the motor and battery pack, are already revolutionising the automotive industry, a completely new software layer has also been part of the plan from the very beginning,” Lehtimäki explains. “With the help of an intelligent software layer, we can automatically integrate physical components, but in addition to this, we are now developing future software development solutions that will make vehicle development signi cantly more ecient and agile. At the core of all of this is advanced AI, and in the future, the AI features of the Donut platform will improve vehicle design, development, testing and validation in unimaginable ways.” Donut has compared its technology with the conventional way of designing and building electric vehicles, and claims that for a compact SUV, it needs 75% fewer components, eliminating almost 120 parts. It can save up to eight hours of assembly time per vehicle, cut the vehicle’s weight by 85kg, and achieve a materials cost saving of €2,000. For a truck, the weight saving could be 1,100kg, with the BOM being cut by €15,000. Lehtimäki predicts that the new family of motors “will change the way we build EVs”. www.donutlab.com p A virtual safety control system developed by Codesys has passed its technical release process and is awaiting certi cation for SIL3 applications by TÜV Süd. Called Virtual Safe Control SL, it will operate independently of special hardware. The system has already passed numerous integration tests and risk analyses. As soon as TÜV issues its certi cate, Audi plans to be the rst user to integrate the virtual safety PLC into car body production lines and serial production. This is expected to happen by mid-2025. www.codesys.com pABB has redesigned its Baldor-Reliance Food Safe stainless-steel Nema motors so that they now have three leads rather than the previous nine. It says the change will simplify installation, enhance reliability and improve workplace safety – while integrating with existing 460V systems. The three-lead design cuts installation times and reduces the risk of connection errors, resulting in fewer interruptions, thus boosting productivity, while lowering maintenance costs. The ninelead con guration will continue to be available for variable-speed drive operation and more complex electrical systems. https://new.abb.com/motors-generators pNiron Magnetics, the US developer of high-performance, rare-earth-free permanent magnets, has been awarded a $52.2m tax credit to advance the construction of the world’s rst manufacturing facility for these magnets in Minnesota – an important step in the commercialisation of the technology. The magnets, made from iron nitride could help meet the increasing demand for permanent magnets, while also providing supply chain security. The 17,650m2 facility will create 175 jobs and reduce the US reliance on imported materials. The iron nitride-based magnets could be manufactured globally from abundant, stable local supplies. pBeckho has announced an industrial server containing two 5th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, with up to 32 cores per CPU, and 128–1024GB of DDR5 RAM. It says that the C6670-0020 server will be ideal for machine controls for its XPlanar planar motor system. The industrial server is initially available in six CPU versions including Xeon Silver 4510 and Gold 6530 processors. The servers can be tted next to other control cabinet devices. www.beckho.com pDelta Electronics’ agship D-Bot cobots (collaborative robots) can now integrate with Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, allowing realtime, physically accurate simulations that enhance the development, testing and deployment of advanced robotic applications. By reducing the need for physical prototypes and development costs, companies can shorten time-to-market, improve product reliability and accelerate innovation, Delta says. The photorealistic rendering and AIpowered physics can be used for complex simulations before real-world deployment, reducing risks and improving performance. TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS Donut Labs claims that its doughnut-shaped motors will out-perform other technologies Donut motors are ‘the best in the world by any parameter’
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