n NEWS EVENTSTHE KOREAN ELETRONICS GIANT LG has entered the smart factory market, o ering the expertise that it has gained during 66 years of manufacturing to external customers. It is aiming to grow the business into a “multi-trillion” South Korean won (KRW) enterprise by 2030, excluding revenues it generates internally in the LG Group. One trillion KRW is worth $723bn. Although the business is still in its rst year, LG’s Production Engineering Research Institute (PRI) expects to win smart factory orders worth around KRW 200bn ($144bn) from external clients (although it does not give a timescale for this). Its existing customers include battery-makers, automotive parts manufacturers and logistics companies. LG plans to expand into fast-growing sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and food and beverage. The company aims to cover the spectrum from factory planning to design, construction and operation. It will diagnose existing factories and identify areas for improvement, establishing automation roadmaps and o ering services such as production consulting, equipment development and training. “We will o er optimal smart factory solutions at every stage – from planning and design to construction and operation – becoming the ideal partner that supports our clients throughout their entire production journey,” says PRI head, Jeong Dae-hwa. The new business will draw on LG’s experience at more than 60 production facilities around the globe. The company has led more than 1,000 patents relating to smart factory technologies and in the past decade has amassed 770TB of manufacturing and production data. LG’s intelligent autonomous factories in Changwon, South Korea, and Tennessee, USA, have been recognised by the World Economic Forum as “Lighthouse Factories”. By implementing smart factory concepts at the Changwon plant, LG has boosted productivity by 17%, energy e¡ciency by 30%, and cut quality costs caused by defects by 70%. LG’s smart factory systems are designed to minimise delays or errors between processes. Because production e¡ciency is linked to protability, enhancing it is crucial. For example, one of LG’s lines in Changwon produces a refrigerator every 13 seconds. A 10-minute delay on the line would result in a shortfall of 50 refrigerators. With each fridge costing around $1,446, this 10minute delay would cause a loss of $72,322. Smart factory technologies that LG has developed include: n Digital twin real-time simulations that create virtual replicas of a factory before it is built, allowing customers to preview production and logistics ¤ows, and to optimise e¡ciencies. n AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) equipped with cameras, radar and LiDar sensors to recognise their surroundings and to avoid workers and obstacles. n A mobile manipulator which combines a multi-joint robot arm with an AMR, and can perform operations such as assembly, defect inspection and transporting materials. n Generative AI systems that use sensors to detect abnormal plant signals such as vibrations and noise caused by ageing equipment or poor lubrication. n A real-time detection system powered by Vision AI that learns a factory’s normal operations and detects anomalies such as temperature ¤uctuations. It also enhances safety by identifying workers not wearing safety gear. Korean giant enters smart plant business with a multi-$bn target Make it flexible. Make it sustainable. Make it OMRON. #MakeitOMRON Make the world better through creative manufacturing With our range of integrated manufacturing solutions, scale your business faster ZLWK JUHDWHU ȵ H[LELOLW\ and sustainability. LG’s smart factory in Changwon has been recognised as a Lighthouse Factory by the World Economic Forum EEMODS 2024 3–5 September, 2024 Lucerne, Switzerland The 13th international conference on Energy Eciency in Motor Driven Systems will take place over three days in Lucerne, Switzerland. It will provide a forum to discuss the latest developments in electric motor systems and their energy consumption, energy eciency policies and programmes, standards, as well as technological and market progress. https://eemods24.org PPMA Show 24–26 September, 2024 NEC, Birmingham The UK's largest event for processing equipment, packaging machinery, industrial robots and machine vision systems is expected to attract more than 300 exhibitors. The show, organised by Automate UK, will include demonstrations of labelling, lling, packaging, processing, robotics, automation and vision systems. www.ppmashow.co.uk MachineBuilding.Live 2 October, 2024 National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham The organisers are promising “the largest array of machine-building technical experts ever assembled in one place at one time in the UK”. The one-day event includes free breakfast to those arriving before 11am, as well as a free pass to visit the Motorcycle Museum. https://www.machinebuilding.live Engineering Design Show 9-10 October, 2024 Coventry Building Society Arena Billed as “the UK’s biggest show dedicated to mechanical, electronics and embedded design,” the event gives visitors access to the latest products, services and innovations in the sector. More than 200 exhibitors are expected. www.engineeringdesignshow.co.uk Advanced Engineering 2024 30–31 October, 2024 NEC, Birmingham Advanced Engineering UK returns to the NEC, showcasing innovation from the UK’s manufacturing and engineering sector. In 2023, more than 400 companies exhibited at the show, with a further 202 at the co-located Lab Innovations event. www.advancedengineeringuk.com
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