Drives & Controls June 2022

June 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 n NEWS AN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPER of electric vehicle drive technologies is commissioning a cloud-based robotic assembly plant in Coventry which it plans to replicate across a network of digitalised manufacturing plants around the world. Israeli-headquartered REE Automotive, expects to produce 40,000 of its REEcorner modules – which combine a powertrain with steering, braking and suspension – at the Coventry Integration Centre this year. One module is needed for each wheel, so this capacity will be enough to power 10,000 commercial vehicles such as delivery vans, buses and recreational vehicles. The 130,000ft 2 (12,000m 2 ) Coventry site will serve the European market and act as a blueprint for future REE integration centres around the globe. A North American centre in Austin, Texas, will replicate the architecture of the UK centre, and is expected to double the company’s global capacity to 20,000 vehicle sets when it comes on line next year. The Coventry facility will consist of 13 production cells, linked by AGVs (automatic guided vehicles) which will move items between the cells for both automated and manual assembly operations. “The modular production line will allow us to validate all 13 cells quickly by testing and optimising one cell and then implementing best practice across all 13 cells,”explains REE Automotive assembly process technology engineer, Jon Bellman.“This dramatically reduces the time to design and develop the whole production line. It allows us to learn lessons much faster than in traditional automotive manufacturing practices and we can bake these lessons into our full-scale assembly line right from the beginning.” The modular production line will be highly automated and flexible.“We can scale up or down, depending on future variants and demand,”Bellman says.“In addition, assembly cells and production lines can be lifted and installed at future integration centres.” He describes the AGVs as the“backbone”of the plant.“They allow our assembly process to be modular and flexible. Not only do the AGVs move work-in-progress products from cell to cell. They will also be automated to deliver components to assembly cells when needed.” REE is working with the Coventry-based robotic automation specialist Expert Technologies and is using control hardware supplied by Rockwell Automation, robots from ABB and software from Rockwell-owned Plex, whose cloud-based MES (manufacturing execution system) systemwill provide visibility into the production operations and enable scalable manufacturing across REE’s network of integration centres. “This is an important milestone on our path to commercial production next year,”says REE’s chief operating officer, Josh Tech.“The automated and connected capabilities at our Coventry site are a great foundation for our global operations, as they will enable us to continuously fine-tune our assembly procedures and rapidly deploy them to other sites. As well as its operations in the UK and US, REE Automotive has subsidiaries in Japan and Germany. Its“corner technology”packs critical components into compact modules between a vehicle’s chassis and wheels, resulting a flat, modular chassis that maximises space for passengers, cargo, and batteries in commercial EVs. The vehicles will have drive-by-wire, brake-by- wire and steer-by-wire capabilities. UK automated EV assembly plant will be model for global network Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing 2022 21 June, 2022 Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry A free one-day conference that will bring together industry, academia and research institutions to explore how to take AI and machine learning forward.Topics will include the future of AI, becoming data- ready, and AI for industrial applications, maintenance and security. https://www.the-mtc.org/events/ industry-events/ ai-for-manufacturing-2022 Hillhead 2022 21-23 June, 2022 Buxton, Derbyshire The organisers of the quarrying, construction and recycling event, which takes place in a quarry, say that this year’s showwill have more than 600 exhibitors the first time. As well as exhibition marquees, the event includes live demonstrations of working equipment. www.hillhead.com Automatica 2022 21-24 June, 2022 Munich, Germany The robotics and automation event will focus on innovations and products related to digital transformation, artificial intelligence and man/machine. A new theme will be sustainable production. https://automatica-munich.com/en PPMA Total Show 2022 27–29 September NEC, Birmingham The show’s organisers say PPMA will be “the UK’s largest-ever event dedicated to state-of-the-art processing and packaging machinery”. They expect to attract more than 400 exhibitors and more than 2,500 brands. Technologies being featured include robots and industrial vision. https://www.ppmashow.co.uk Engineering Design Show 12-13 October 2022 Coventry Claimed to be UK’s biggest event dedicated to engineering, electronics and embedded design. Parking and entry are free. https://www.engineeringdesignshow.co.uk SPS 2022 8–10 November 2022 Nuremberg, Germany The huge automation event returns as a live event for the first time since 2018, after the 2021 event was cancelled at the last minute. It will take place two weeks earlier than in previous years and will be supplemented by a digital-format“SPS on air”event. More than 700 exhibitors have already signed up. https://sps.mesago.com/events/en.html One of the robotic production cells at REE Automotive’s Coventry integration centre which is due to come on stream later this year Printed Motor Works (PMW), the UK manufacturer of ironless printed- armature, servomotors, has appointed Jon Howard as managing director. He has been involved in the servomotor market for more than 35 years, including 20 years at Heason Technology (the last six as MD). Most recently, he was general manager of Elmo Motion Control Europe. Howard has a remit to develop and enhance PMW’s portfolio and deploy it to key global markets. He will further establish PMW’s brushed DC printed motor and pancake brushless motor technologies. ABB has appointed Gareth Jones as manager of its UK Drive Products and SystemDrives for its Motion division. He will manage ABB’s drives portfolio, including LV and systems drives, and play a key role in growing relationships with ABB’s network of Value Providers. Jones joins from the Welsh drives-maker Control Techniques where he worked for 27 years, initially as a sponsored graduate, and eventually leading the Nidec brand’s UK office. He previously held senior roles in CT’s global marketing and leadership teams. He holds a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering, and an MBA.