ti t As a leading su l d t f pplier of precision M STEPPER MSM OTORS M and application and experience " "! our customers approach to bu service and ado xcel technical e 40 years, we ha motion contro ns support staff ed technical sales ! " a professional e offer usiness. W opt a partnership lence and customer ave a commitment to ver l products for o SSTF STEPPER D speed control applications ation, suiting dynamic motion positioning and oper Extended torque performance and smooth turnaround for application customisation vailability for standard products and fast Stock a Aimed at the unique demands of OEM users stepper motors in NEMA sizes 08 through 34 Cost-optimised, microstepping 2-phase, 1.8° RIVES e u eed tepper o m Challeng Serv S F G o provide you Gearboxes vices es tors & driv es tors & driv systems us t f. mo mo back de x ams for multi-axis progr or store complete Command streaming and RS-485 " P, CAN AT, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP systems where Industrial Et Optimal use for automation es: 3, 6 a Microstepping driv Nopen, thernet is preferred n and motion control nd 10 Amps/Phase g ww .mclennan ww sa + n.co.uk o.uk ales@mclennan.c synchronisation +44 (0) 1252 531444 IS AI THE ANSWER TO ALL OUR WOES? It becoming unusual for any new technology or software product not to be “AI-powered”. Sometimes it seems as though artificial intelligence is being championed as a panacea for all of our problems – with dire warnings of being left behind if we do not adopt it as soon as possible. A recent survey by Make UK and Autodesk found that just over a third of UK manufacturers (36%) are now using AI in their manufacturing operations, with large companies being more than twice as likely to adopt it (71%, compared to 28% for SMEs). This is even though almost a quarter of SMEs acknowledge that failure to adopt AI is affecting their profits, and almost a third say that it is hindering their ability to take on more work (see page 7). The reasons they give for not making wider use of AI include a lack of knowledge about how to apply the technology, and their limited technical and digital skills. But companies that have adopted AI report that it has helped them to improve efficiency, productivity and the automation of routine tasks. Almost all (93%) say they are using it to optimise their energy consumption, and 64% to reduce waste and emissions. Another recent survey suggests that those manufacturers that have adopted AI are using it to tackle skills shortages, with 79% saying that their main motivation has been to compensate for a lack of suitably skilled workers. This survey – conducted for Fluke Reliability, and involving more than 600 decision-makers and maintenance professionals in the UK, the US and Germany – found that 98% consider AI to be a viable answer to skills deficits. Digging deeper, it emerges that for most respondents (79%), the main attraction of AI is to tackle high-skill labour shortages, rather than addressing gaps in low-skill roles (cited by just 37%). The report suggests that manufacturers are looking to move beyond automating routine low-skill tasks to applying AI and automation to higher-skilled roles. There is a strategic shift from replacing humans with robots, to using AI-driven technology to augment high-skill work and address critical talent gaps. “The shift our research shows is not so surprising,” comments Fluke Reliability’s CTO, Aaron Merkin. “While moving beyond routine and low-skill automation has been on the cards for some time, only now has technology reached a level that allows broader adoption within industrial organisations. The evolution that we are now observing sees AI going beyond basic automation, elevating the worker experience and transforming operations.” Fluke’s president, Jason Waxman, adds that “the industrial sector is undergoing a paradigm shift, in which AI is not merely a tool but a catalyst for advancing the quality and sophistication of human work. By augmenting human expertise, AI fosters more resilient, adaptable, and analytically driven operations. This alignment between human and machine intelligence will have long-lasting effects on creating a future-ready workforce.” If this true, then AI does indeed need to be adopted more widely, especially among SMEs. To do this may require Government assistance to help them overcome the perceived barriers. Tony Sacks, Editor n COMMENT
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