October 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 Digital Manufacturing 2Day 30 October, 2024 MTC, Coventry This one-day event will cover technologies and topics that are transforming UK manufacturing, such as AI, data transformation, cybersecurity, and the industrial metaverse. The event will include presentations, panel discussions and hands-on workshops. https://digitalmanufacturing2day.com 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. More than 85% of the available floor space has already taken. In 2023, more than 400 companies exhibited at the show, with a further 202 at the colocated Lab Innovations event. www.advancedengineeringuk.com The Manufacturer Live 26-27 November, 2025 Titanic Hotel, Liverpool The annual gathering of the manufacturing industry will include the MX Awards, The Manufacturer Director’s Forum, and the Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit – a two-day conference during which experts and influential discussion leaders will share ideas, innovations and real-world experiences. https://themanufacturerlive.com SPS (Smart Production Solutions) 2024 12-14 November, 2024 Nuremberg, Germany The German automation mega-show is expected to attract around 1,200 exhibitors to its 16 exhibition halls, covering a total area of 125,000m2. Last year’s show drew more than 50,000 visitors. The event spans the spectrum of smart and digital automation, from simple sensors to intelligent systems, offering a vision of a digitalised industrial world. https://sps.mesago.com/events/en Southern 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 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 n NEWS THE ENGINEERING PLASTICS specialist igus is looking for new UK headquarters about twice the size of its existing site in Northampton, which it has outgrown. The company wants to stay in the area but hasn’t decided whether to move to an existing building, which it could do in about a year, or to construct its own dedicated premises, which would take longer. Igus has occupied its current site since 2006 and currently employs 115 people, as well as eight apprentices and some agency staff. It has already implemented some space-saving measures such as installing four Kardex storage machines at a cost of around £750,000, but still needs extra space – partly to display and demonstrate its extensive portfolio of products, which range from plastic bearings and energy chains, to cables and electric motors. The company stores more than six million parts and 200km of cables in Northampton. To give potential customers a better idea of its range, igus has transformed part of its office to create a series of displays and demonstrations showing hundreds of items from its portfolio. This initiative – which igus is calling its “enjoyneering experience” – includes demonstrations of its ability to manufacture cables with customised connections. It produces around 250 of these readycables every week on semi-automated machines, usually shipping them within 24 hours of an order being placed. Igus’ fastest-growing business is its low-cost automation operation, focused on robots with high levels of plastic components, many of them existing igus products such as linear slides. The portfolio includes gantry, delta, Scara and collaborative robots with up to six axes. The cobots, which can carry payloads of up to 3kg, have starting prices of less than £4,000 – compared to around £19,000 for conventional cobots with similar capabilities, according to managing director, Matthew Aldridge. The slight sacrifice is that the plasticsbased cobots are less precise than traditional designs. Igus has also developed food-safe delta robots, currently going through certification, which it expects to sell for around £15,000. Potential robot-buyers can either visit the Northampton site to see them in action, or view them remotely via a webcam link Recently, igus has entered a new market by developing the first of a series of lubrication- and maintenance-free bicycles made largely from plastic waste recovered from the ocean. The first model of the lightweight Rcyl bike is a basic single-speed version, but the company has plans for geared and electrically-powered versions. Igus UK plans to double in size with new headquarters Andy Mills has succeeded Colin Green as managing director of Phoenix Contact UK. Green has retired at the after 16 years with the company. Mills, who joined Phoenix in 2005, was previously the company’s sales and marketing manager for industrial components and electronics. The Telford control and automation specialist, iconsys, has promoted Andy Bunce (left) to technical sales director, and has recruited Andrew Rushton as its group sales director. The changes aim to build on a record year for the company, which has seen its orders rise by £5m to £14.5m, and the opening of two new technical offices in Cheshire and Scotland. Bara (the British Automation and Robotics Association) has named Oliver Selby, head of sales at Fanuc UK, as its new chair, succeeding George Thompson. Selby will be supported in his new role by vice-chair Rosie Davies from Reeco Automation. Selby plans to drive Bara’s activities forward, supporting its aim to increase automation uptake while placing members’ needs “front and centre”. Igus’ enjoyneering experience allows visitors to its Northampton headquarters to sample its wide-ranging portfolio
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