Business News

Faro has acquired Advanced Technical Solutions in Scandinavia AB (“ATS”), a Swedish-based leader in 3D digital twin solution technology. This strategic action will enable customers and their clients with differentiated accuracy and speed, which we believe will accelerate market adoption of digital twin technology. High accuracy 3D digital twin simulations allow capital intensive industries to dramatically reduce their time to market and cost. Founded in 1990, ATS has had particular success in the automotive space where the firm has agreements in place with several well-known global automotive manufacturers. The acquisition will integrate ATS software and its proprietary Traceable 3D system, which enable highly accurate and repeatable 3D scans, into the Faro Webshare Cloud platform. The ATS system will bolster Faro’s ability to improve customers’ time to decision with 10x faster 3D imaging at up to 1mm accuracy and thus has significant implications for all the industries we serve. The ATS facility in Sweden will also serve as a new Faro sales and customer support center in the Nordic region. You can expect to hear more details soon about the integration of ATS from your sales partners.

Using AI to predict new materials with desired properties

An artificial intelligence approach extracts how an aluminium alloy’s contents and manufacturing process are related to specific mechanical properties. Scientists in Japan have developed a machine learning approach that can predict the elements and manufacturing processes needed to obtain an aluminium alloy with specific, desired mechanical properties. The approach, published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, could facilitate the discovery of new materials.Aluminium alloys are lightweight, energy-saving materials made predominantly from aluminium, but also contain other elements, such as magnesium, manganese, silicon, zinc and copper. The combination of elements and manufacturing process determines how resilient the alloys are to various stresses. For example, 5000 series aluminium alloys contain magnesium and several other elements and are used as a welding material in buildings, cars, and pressurized vessels. 7000 series aluminium alloys contain zinc, and usually magnesium and copper, and are most commonly used in bicycle frames. Experimenting with various combinations of elements and manufacturing processes to fabricate aluminium alloys is time-consuming and expensive. To overcome this, Ryo Tamura and colleagues at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science and Toyota Motor Corporation developed a materials informatics technique that feeds known data from aluminium alloy databases into a machine learning model. This trains the model to understand relationships between alloys’ mechanical properties and the different elements they are made of, as well as the type of heat treatment applied during manufacturing. Once the model is provided enough data, it can then predict what is required to manufacture a new alloy with specific mechanical properties. All this without the need for input or supervision from a human. The model found, for example, 5000 series aluminium alloys that are highly resistant to stress and deformation can be made by increasing the manganese and magnesium content and reducing the aluminium content. “This sort […]

Life-Changing medical device with Stratasys additive manufacturing

Bluefrog Design, originally named 3CD, was founded in 1990 by Chris Samwell. With 30 years of combined experience as industrial design consultants, the small but expert team at Bluefrog is nothing if not versatile. Bluefrog serves a wide range of industries including consumer goods, packaging, transportation and medical. Although their clients’ specialities are very diverse, they all look to Bluefrog for innovation. Bluefrog needed the freedom to escape traditional design constraints at every stage of product development. One that could produce fully functional, advanced prototypes with industry-recognized, engineering-grade materials. In a quest to find a solution, the team turned to additive manufacturing. Overcoming complexities Bluefrog’s versatility is best exemplified by their ability to find solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges. The team was recently approached by a young man suffering from paraesthesia, a condition that causes inexplicable burning, tingling or prickling sensation across the skin. For this patient, the only way to ease his pain was to ensure that his clothes touched his skin as little as possible. Despite interventions from doctors, no solution had been found. But it was clear to Samwell the patient could benefit greatly from a custom device he could wear with minimal skin contact that would also minimize his skin contact with his clothing. The device had to be customized to his body, resting only on the areas that were not affected by his condition. Bluefrog Design’s team knew this complex case required a realistic prototype and final product in as little time as possible. They began by creating a complex 3D scan of the patient’s body, which was converted into a 3D printed prototype on their FDM 3D printer. Once tested and modified, the final version was produced in the tough, medical-grade ABSPlus material, chosen thanks to its advanced material stability over time. Notably, due to the round-the-clock capability of the Fortus 3D printer, this process took just three days, a dramatic turnaround for a patient who […]

Top sensor technologies impacting the future of smart cities

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Opportunities of Emerging Sensor Technologies Impacting the Future of Smart Cities, reports that digitisation and advancements in Internet of Things (IoT) are driving the large-scale adoption of sensor technologies across cities. Combined with key enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and high-speed internet networks, integrated sensor networks in cities are driving the creation of a connected city ecosystem to enable the optimal use of public resources. The scope of the research includes acoustic, lidar, radar, 3D camera sensors, environmental sensors, flow sensors, gas sensors, and humidity and temperature sensors and also addresses adoption scenarios in key smart cities across the globe. “The need for a smart city is primarily driven by a requirement for a safe, secure, and sustainable environment that allows for effective population management while providing services to citizens in a satisfactory manner,” said Krithika Shekar, TechVision Senior Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “An integrated sensor system aids in establishing a seamlessly interconnected network with an anchor application and a centraliz sed platform. Such a sensor network established for one purpose, such as street lighting, can enable several other connected applications, such as environment monitoring, public safety, and waste management. A centralised network will help reduce duplicated capital costs and eliminates the need for several individual complex networks.” Major investments by top smart city governments in Singapore, New York, and Tokyo show rapid pace of adoption of smart solutions. The rise of smart cities has not only created growth opportunities for sensor makers, but has also accelerated the adoption of several supporting technologies such as 5G, robots, AI, and edge computing, creating endless growth opportunities for smart city applications. For further growth opportunities, smart cities should leverage the following sensor technologies: Electronic sensors are deployed in environmental surveillance sensors and speedometer […]

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NORMA Group distinguishes Hangzhou Haiming as Best Supplier in Asia

NORMA Group, a global market leader in engineered joining technology, presented its “Supplier Recognition Award” for the Asia-Pacific region to Hangzhou Haiming Iron & Steel Co, Ltd. (Hangzhou Haiming) on August 12, 2020. In doing so, NORMA Group has honored the company for its outstanding performance in 2019 in the areas of quality, delivery and costs. “When choosing our suppliers, we rely on companies with high standards for products, services and processes,” said Dr. Michael Schneider, CEO of NORMA Group. “In Hangzhou Haiming, we have a long-standing business partner by our side in the Asia-Pacific region who meets our high standards and strives for excellence together with us.” Hangzhou Haiming has been a NORMA Group business partner for seven years. The company supplies the NORMA Group plant in Changzhou in China with various types of stainless steel slit strips. NORMA Group then uses these strips to manufacture profile clamps, exhaust gas couplings and hose clamps, for example. NORMA Group has been honoring outstanding suppliers in Europe and the Americas with the “Supplier Recognition Award” for several years now. The award is being presented in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time this year. In fiscal year 2019, Hangzhou Haiming stood out with its consistently high quality and excellent delivery times and services. Outstanding materials expertise and a lean cost structure rounded off its overall performance.

Johnson Matthey technology chosen for largest single train methanol plant in the world

Johnson Matthey (JM), global leader in sustainable technologies with expertise in design and licensing of large-scale methanol plants, is pleased to announce another successful license award. JM has been selected by China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group as licensor for the third methanol synthesis plant at their coal to olefins complex near Yinchuan in Ningxia Province PRC. With a planned capacity of 7200 mtpd, the methanol plant will be the largest single train methanol plant in the world once completed. Under the agreement Johnson Matthey will be the licensor and supplier of associated engineering, technical review, commissioning assistance, catalyst and equipment supply. The JM methanol plant will take synthesis gas as a feed and utilise JM radial steam raising converters in a patented Series Loop. Together with JM catalysts, to produce stabilised methanol as a product that is used to produce olefins downstream, the plant will provide enhanced energy efficiency along with low OPEX, CAPEX and emissions. Upon startup, this will represent JM’s 8th operating license in China with a plant capacity greater than 5500 mtpd. It is the third JM methanol design licensed by Ningxia Baofeng Energy. This award follows the recent successful commissioning of the 6600 mtpd Baofeng methanol synthesis unit in May 2020 and the original 4450 mtpd methanol synthesis unit, which was commissioned in 2014. It demonstrates Baofeng’s recognition of JM’s technical leadership in this key growth market and is a testament to Johnson Matthey’s commitment and dedication to the delivery of large-scale methanol production. “We are very proud of our ongoing collaboration with Ningxia Baofeng Energy. It is testament to their confidence in JM’s engineering expertise and ability to successfully design and help deliver their large-scale methanol plants”, said John Gordon, Managing Director for Johnson Matthey. “In just over six years it has been exciting to […]

Amlan International names Dr. Kreangkrai Sangthongdang head of Thailand

Amlan International has named Dr. Kreangkrai “Pong” Sangthongdang as Thailand Country Manager, leading local business development efforts. Amlan International is a subsidiary of Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC), a leading manufacturer of sorbent minerals. Sangthongdang brings more than 22 years of experience in the feed industry, focused on animal health medicine and feed additives for poultry and swine. Previously, Dr. Pong held leadership roles in marketing and business development at Intervet (MSD) and Ceva Animal Health. Most recently, he was Business Development Director at Diamond V where he successfully positioned their gut health products with key customer accounts. Sangthongdang earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Chulalongkorn University and has a Master in Business Administration from Kasetsart University, with a major in Marketing. Dr. Pong will further strengthen Amlan’s position in a market that is leading in livestock production technology and value exports among its neighboring countries in Asia. Sangthongdang will lead Amlan’s strategic efforts from Bangkok. “We are excited to grow our team in Thailand and welcome Dr. Pong’s leadership and experience to Amlan International,” says Flemming L. Mahs, President of Amlan International. “Amlan has made a significant investment to grow this important market. This momentum will spark new, innovative solutions for animal protein producers worldwide.”

SESTO Magnus autonomous mobile robot for materials handling

SESTO Robotics has launched SESTO Magnus – a bi-directional, compact autonomous mobile robot able to carry loads up to 300kg. Having the highest payload rating in the compact class, SESTO Magnus is designed to automate material handling processes in manufacturing, commercial and healthcare industries. Specially built for tight navigation in space-scarce facilities, SESTO Magnus is able to autonomously travel through spaces as narrow as 0.9 metres wide while avoiding obstacles in its path. Its bi-directional same-speed capability means the autonomous mobile robot can reverse out of dead ends without doing a spot turn. With the world easing into the Covid-19 new normal, there is an accelerated urgency for manufacturers and non-manufacturing industries to quickly automate their processes while ensuring safe management measures such as staggered workforce or spilt team arrangements. SESTO Magnus’ small and low profile is designed with manufacturing, healthcare and commercial facilities in mind. Its intelligent software controls enable it to operate safely in narrow passageways and amongst people. Using a single mobile platform, SESTO Magnus is highly versatile and can be configured with limitless applications of autonomous material transportation. From components and parts in manufacturing, to laundry and meal services in hospitality and care facilities, to central sterile services and dispensaries in hospitals, the autonomous mobile robot can be fitted with various top module configurations, customisable to requirements. Current manual handling and transportation processes are often time-consuming and error-prone. In addition, repeated manual handling of heavy loads may lead to labour injuries and accidents. With SESTO Magnus, it reduces the dependency on manual labour which has become a priority for many companies in recent months, as COVID-19 caused major disruptions to the availability of on-premise employees. Powered by SESTO’s proprietary user-friendly interface, operators can easily deploy the robot for material transportation using a tablet or laptop. The […]

Exiting China not easy for Japanese companies

In the wake of the supply chain disruptions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Japan has earmarked over US$2bn to encourage its companies under FY2020 Primary Supplementary Budget to move operations out of China and relocate production bases across a number of countries, including those of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, completely decoupling from China is not going to be easy for Japanese companies, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in severe supply chain disruptions in early 2020 for Japanese companies. For instance, Nissan had to temporarily stop production at one of its domestic plants because of the delay in parts supply from China. The new national security law of Hong Kong passed by China in June 2020 coupled with recent territorial disputes in the South China Sea has reignited the demand in Japan for the country’s companies to lower dependency in China. As a result, Japan is concerned as more than 1,400 Japanese companies operate out of Hong Kong. The city accounts for about 2.5% of Japan’s total trade in 2019, making it one of top 10 trading partners. Japan is also closely monitoring the China-United States trade war, as possible higher import tariffs from their Chinese production units into US could also exert pressure on Japanese companies to shift production base. Gracio Benher, Practice Head at GlobalData, comments: “Even before the current geopolitical stand-off between China and Japan, some Japanese companies in China have been mulling about cutting down their Chinese presence, following the increased labor costs and unfavorable exchange rate between Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan.” For Japanese companies, a total pullout from China has its own set of challenges. Japanese companies have over US$100bn investments in China, and one of the prerequisites to gain access to […]