SMART MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING WEEK PREVIEW 26 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2024 www.hpmag.co.uk can talk to their members or answer questions from visitors. The charity partner for SM&E Week is Engineers Without Borders UK, an organisation focused on ensuring that globally responsible engineering is taught as a principle on engineering degree courses and also used within industry. Innovation As well as giant tech businesses, SMEs and industry organisations one of the key themes is innovation. Many manufacturing-focused startups will be showcasing their ‘bleeding edge’ solutions in Innovation Alley which is sponsored by the HVM Catapult and Innovation UK and which literally runs right through the middle of Smart Factory Expo. With so much innovation on show across all the events it’s difficult to pick out individual examples but two early disruptive technologies do catch the attention. Firstly, Insphere on Stand: 4N73 is launching IONA, a scalable network of sensors that deliver metrologygrade positional data to automated manufacturing processes. The data is used to improve the accuracy and performance of industrial robots, including identifying and correcting errors in the production line. Using IONA, manufacturers can make sub-millimetre corrections to robot positions and alignment with parts before mistakes are made. IONA enables a rightfirst-time approach, saving time, money, energy and reducing waste. A second example on Stand: 4-D21 is Addition Design which has designed a new process that allows food manufacturers to access production parts that meet food safety requirements through additive manufacturing. The process extends Addition Design’s ‘AddParts’ service – which supplies digital spares for automated production lines using 3D scanning, digital data management and industrial 3D printing – into the food processing sector. The new technique addresses several issues that affect the industry’s ability to embrace the benefits of 3D printing while complying with food-safety regulations and production line efficiency needs including those of low-cost, fast turnaround, blue, food contact components. The co-located events As mentioned at the beginning of the article there is a whole host of related activities and attractions taking place during Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week. Central to SM&E Week are the exhibitions, of which there are three taking place in Hall 4. Of great importance to H&P readers is the newly invigorated Maintec, the UK’s longest standing exhibition dedicated to the maintenance, reliability and asset management industry. Maintec has its own education theatre and the ability for visitors to access the major maintenance, repair and operations product and service suppliers as well as all the other content taking place makes the event more relevant for visitors and has brought it to life. To ensure that visitors access the information they want there will also be a ‘Maintenance Safety Trail’ which visitors can follow to ensure they see the right businesses and technologies dedicated to ensuring maintenance is conducted safely. Also in hall 4 is Smart Factory Expo which is designed to allow manufacturers to be the most efficient, the most sustainable, and the most profitable in the world and where visitors can find the insights, the solutions, and the connections for their digital transformation projects. Similarly to Maintec a ‘Cyber Zone Trail’ will be part of the exhibition directing visitors to the technologies and solutions that address cyber threats and the real threat of cyberattack that manufacturers and other large scale digitally focused businesses face. The Design & Engineering Expo is also +44 (0) 1202 478334 uk@polyhose.com polyhose.com HARNESSING HOSES SECURING SAFETY • Nylon Sleeve – MSHA approved resistance to mechanical abrasion. • Twisterflex Spiral Guard – HDPE impact & abrasion protec�on. • Fire Sleeve – protec�on from heat, and molten metal spla�er.
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