Developments

5G to enhance manufacturing efficiency

More than one million people have subscribed to a 5G mobile contract in South Korea, meaning demand for the high-speed technology has easily outpaced the country’s adoption of 4G. The need for speed isn’t just essential for rapid telecommunication — we’d all rather communicate using faster and more reliable methods. 5G has created quite the media buzz recently. Although uptake continues to face its challenges, with the Australian government banning Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei’s 5G rollout in the country on national security grounds, the world is racing to implement the infrastructure. Next generation 5G networks can be 100 times faster than 4G, making communication between devices and servers much faster. This opens up a wealth of possibilities for manufacturing, helping the industry to increase its competitiveness and boost efficiency. The instant era Manufacturing runs on a tight schedule. Margins are squeezed more than ever as products are increasingly varied, customised and complex. Factories need to receive and transmit a wealth of data to keep their equipment informed — and fast. Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) is a new service category that will be supported in 5G, created to meet the requirements for 5G in industrial applications. By making the most of this category, machines can receive greater roaming power. In fact, 5G has very low latency, around 10 milliseconds in comparison to the 20-30 milliseconds with 4G, so equipment can be monitored in real time by human workers. With plans to reduce this latency to as little as one millisecond, the factory floor will receive updates on machinery almost instantaneously. Cutting the cord According to Ericsson’s report on 5G’s potential, enhanced communication will also mean greater flexibility for manufacturing robots. 5G will handle more complex data transmissions, such as cloud robotics where the cloud’s processing is relevant for the immediate […]

Digital transformation driving change in key industries

Digital transformation (DX) is permeating every vertical market, and industries are looking to evolve to better align with their customers’ changing requirements. The result is the development and integration of cutting edge technologies and a change of methodology to improve processes, according to Y Soft. Adam O’Neill, managing director, Y Soft, Australia and New Zealand, said, “DX is radically changing how organisations operate and is shaking up industries at speed. Organisations are increasingly launching initiatives to expand or build digital capabilities to deliver business efficiency or increase top-line revenue growth.” According to the 15 industries surveyed as part of the Gartner 2018 CIO Agenda Industry Insights report, 47 per cent of CEOs are being challenged to make progress in digital business, and 56 per cent of respondents reported that digital improvements have already improved their overall profits. The 2018 edition of The Hackett Group’s annual key issues study, The CIO Agenda: Driving Value from Transformation, found that the use of virtual assistants, chatbots and other cognitive technologies is anticipated to grow at least five-fold in overall adoption rates over the next few years. Unsurprisingly, 74 per cent of companies are expecting DX to disrupt their industry and 82 per cent expect it to fundamentally change the operating model of their business. Adam O’Neill said, “These findings show that every industry is either already participating in or ready to join in with digital transformation. This seismic impact prediction calls for immediate action, and many companies have already begun their DX journeys and are automating and streamlining business processes by investing in artificial intelligence (AI), specifically machine learning.” Digital transformation is already having a significant impact on four vertical industries: Legal. Traditionally, the pace of digital change within the legal industry has been slow, with the legal profession resisting many […]

NEC to deploy supercomputer for German Aerospace Center (DLR)

NEC Corporation has announced that Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) – the German Aerospace Center – has awarded NEC with the delivery and installation of a new High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster solution, which constitutes one of the largest recent HPC tenders in Europe. NEC will deliver and deploy a direct-liquid cooled HPC solution comprising 2,300 Gigabyte compute nodes based on the AMD EPYC 7601 processor, totaling up to 147,200 cores within a budget of more than 20 million Euros. The new DLR cluster will be hosted and administrated by the Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH) at the new Datacenter of the Technische Universitat Dresden (TU Dresden), according to the strategic scientific co-operation between NEC and DLR. The very challenging frame conditions for power and energy efficiency of DLR and ZIH requires most of the total solution to be direct-liquid cooled (DLC), at a warm water inlet temperature of 35degC. NEC employs a unique cooling solution with CPUs cooled directly and all other components employing secondary water cooling in closed racks. rmal insulation of the racks minimises inefficient air cooling in the computer room. The complete management of the solution includes such functions as a software environment for controlling the power consumption at runtime. NEC partnered with CoolIT Systems and Gigabyte to design Passive Coldplate Loops for servers equipped with AMD EPYC CPUs. The entire system was developed to work with high coolant temperatures to provide additional opportunities for heat re-use. Some non-DLC components are cooled by a thermally insulated liquid side-cooler solution supplied by Schafer IT. The complete solution will include 116 large-memory nodes with a total of 58 Terabyte of main memory, 20 visualsation nodes with two NVIDIA P5000 GPUs for remote visualization with NICE DCV, and a Lustre-based parallel HPC storage […]

Electric car lithium battery pack and power connections. Blue toned.

Mazda drives creativity using generative engineering tools

Mazda Motor Corporation has adopted the Capital electrical design software suite from Mentor, a Siemens business, to help maximise innovation in the design of next-generation automotive electrical systems. Recognised worldwide for its successful launch of innumerable innovative technologies, Mazda uses Capital for model-based generative design for the electrical and electronic systems of the entire vehicle platform. The Capital automated generative design flow helps Mazda automotive design teams manage design complexity and changes across the entire vehicle platform, minimising errors and reducing costs. The development of safe and efficient electrical designs has become a critical task as the automotive industry moves towards large scale system developments such as electrified powertrains and autonomous driving. These designs are often based on entirely new architectures and have become so complex that advanced software tools are needed to enable development efforts. Capital tools deliver real time feedback against target metrics such as cost, weight, and network bandwidth consumption. This allows engineers to explore alternative design approaches, which is extremely important for large scale system developments represented by electric and autonomous vehicles. Capital software also provides Mazda with extensive simulation and verification functionalities. At Mazda, from system design, harness design and verification down to manufacturing and service documentation, outputs of each process have been generated in its natural language, requiring designers to translate between processes and fill in the missing pieces using their talents and skills. “In order to remove ambiguity while maintaining the diversity of expressions that are characteristics of these natural languages, we applied formal methods to eliminate the loss in information transfer and set a goal to build a development environment that is consistent and connected all the way through the manufacturing phase,” said Kazuichi Fujisaka, Technical Leader, Mazda Motor Corporation. “Furthermore, we also aim to shift to a development methodology that allows […]

Acropower to build waste to energy plant

Acromec Limited, an established specialist engineering service provider in the field of controlled environments serving mainly the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biomedical science, research and academia sectors, today announced that its 80%-owned subsidiary Acropower Pte. Ltd. has signed an agreement with Chew’s Agriculture Pte Ltd for Acropower to build, own and operate a waste-to-energy power plant that will convert poultry waste into energy. The Facility will be built on CAPL’s new farm as it relocates to Neo Tiew Road, off Lim Chu Kang. The Agreement stipulates that the Facility will process and convert waste from the Farm into biogas for use in generating electricity, which will then be supplied back to the Farm for a period of fifteen years at no more than a 10% discount to the prevailing Energy Market Authority electricity tariff rate. CAPL shall at all times purchase the Farm’s electricity requirements from Acropower. The Agreement is expected to result in a diversification of the Group’s business into the renewable energy sector, and will be subject to the approval of its shareholders in a general meeting to be convened in due course. Conditional upon obtaining all shareholders’ and other internal corporate approvals required, construction of the Facility is expected to be completed by 31 March 2020. The Agreement is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets and earnings per share of the Group for the financial year ending 30 September 2019. At the initial stages, the Facility is committed to supply to the Farm no less than 0.5 megawatts per hour based on processing the daily waste produced by 600,000 egg-laying chickens (“Layers”), although it will have the capacity to provide up to 0.8 megawatt per hour on a daily basis based on processing the daily waste produced by up to 720,000 Layers. […]

Segula Technologies opens office in Japan

The new office is located in Yokohama, a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area. Noritaka Tsuru, previously a vehicle development expert – with more than 30 years’ experience at Nissan, General Motors, and Faurecia – will lead the operations in Japan as Managing Director. Segula Technologies will deliver a full range of services in Japan, mainly within the Automotive and Rail sectors, covering the full scope of skills from design to manufacturing engineering. The company will collaborate with the biggest players in the automotive industry, especially Japanese and Asian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier1/2 suppliers. Rail companies will also be amongst its main customers. Thanks to Segula Technologies’ global resources and local know-how, Segula Japan Ltd. will benefit from our international Design and Engineering excellence. The key strengths of Segula Japan will be: International Creative Design Japanese Engineering Global capabilities in Engineering, Test & Validation, and Production Engineering A number of high profile engineers in the areas of Vehicle Development, Powertrain, Electric Vehicles and Software have joined the Japanese team. The company targets reaching over 80 core engineers in Japan within two years. Noritaka Tsuru says: “By combining the global expertise of Segula Technologies and the development of a Japanese subsidiary – close to its customers in Japan – Segula Japan Ltd. will become a key partner within the industry, bringing competitive Innovation in Design and Engineering to a higher level.” This new location is part of the Group’s overall growth strategy. Operating in more than 30 countries, Segula Technologies aims to increase its international development especially in Asia where the group already supports – in India and China – the evolution of the automotive market.

Discover key APAC nutraceutical trends at Vitafoods Asia

SINGAPORE – Vitafoods Asia, the nutraceutical event for the Asia Pacific region, brings together the three key ingredients required to develop and launch new innovations from lab to market: science, business, and government agencies. Nutraceuticals have positive physiological effects on the human body, but do not easily fall into the categories of food or pharmaceutical drugs. Research-based, nutraceuticals offer the benefits of medicine and health delivered through functional foods and beverages. Nutraceuticals deliver benefits for gut health, beauty-from-within, cognitive function and stress support. They can help to prevent and reduce issues such as obesity, healthy aging, or cancer, and may be used to boost immunity. They can also be used to improve mood, sleep quality and psychological performance. Key consumption trends in nutraceuticals in the Asia Pacific region for 2019 include: 1. ‘Feel the benefit’ Most food or beverages that carry a nutraceutical benefit do so over time and can’t be felt immediately, but one category of nutraceuticals offers an immediate ‘feel the benefit’ effect. These products are made with Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, and they help with pain relief or relaxation. The Asia Pacific region represents a growing market for CBD and is predicted to account for 23% of the worldwide spend by 2022.[i] At Vitafoods Asia 2019, CBD products will be featured for the first time with GenCanna Global Inc exhibiting. 2. Low Carb, High Protein Across the world, dieticians are recommending low carbohydrate, high protein diets to address diabetes, which, along with fad diet trends like keto and paleo, has increased demand for protein supplements. To minimise food waste and meet demand, protein is being harvested from the discards of cheese-making, Whey, and the discards of gelatine production, Collagen. Another result of the low carb diet is to substitute wheat flours with vegetable flours in baked […]

AOGC sets the tone for energy industry future

Kuala Lumpur -The 20th Asia Oil & Gas Conference (AOGC) came to a close, leaving industry players and policy makers with a clear view of the challenges, opportunities and the solutions required to address the new energy future. The final day of AOGC kicked off with Dr Fereidun Fesharaki sharing his views on both the short and medium term oil price outlook, together with the new International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, the growth of LNG and the geopolitical outlook. He also noted that current issues in the Middle East could impact both international LNG and crude supply. At a session on “A New World Order” on how disruptive drivers and forces continue to alter the global industrial landscape, Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Senior Research Advisor at the Khazanah Research Institute, said: “Populism, protectionism and reverse globalisation are very much on the radar at the moment. The risk of cyber-attacks which could cripple global and political financial systems, are on the increase. How we deal with these issues will determine our business future”. Simon Flowers, Chairman (Energy) and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie said: “There’s a lot of momentum behind protectionism at the moment and in some respects, this is quite good because I think it can lead to greater energy independence and a desire for self-sufficiency.” Sustainability was very much on the agenda throughout AOGC 2019 and Dr Ken Koyama, Chief Economist and Managing Director at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, addressed the structural changes that will be affecting the industry due to the changing energy mix and how energy companies should position themselves strategically in what will be a low-carbon future within a circular economy. Bringing AOGC 2019 to a close, the Chairman of the A0GC 2019 Organising Committee, Mohd Yusri Mohamed Yusof, said AOGC 2019 attracted […]

Innovation through formulation

Azelis is excited to launch its new tagline: ‘Innovation through formulation’, which is a reinforcement of the company’s continuous investment in technical expertise. Over the years, the speciality chemicals and food ingredients distributor has been investing resources, both financial and non-financial, in strengthening its innovative services: adding new application laboratories in all regions, creating innovative and award-winning formulations, whilst offering formulation support to its customers. Azelis’ owner EQT fully supports the company’s direction and offers guidance and advice to further strengthen this role. Highlights & rationale – ‘Innovation through formulation’ is the company’s new tagline and reflects the new strategic direction. – Azelis has expanded its number of labs from 12 to 60 since 2012 and increased the number of its lab professionals, creating a talented pool with over 1.000 years of cumulative experience in application laboratories. – The company is proud to have won more than 20 innovation awards in the past three years, all given by independent industry organisations. – Strong application and formulation support is in line with Azelis’ ambition of becoming the benchmark for the industry and market leader in providing innovative solutions to its customers. Azelis creates value with and for its partners by turning ideas into market-leading solutions that drive growth. The company routinely provides its customers with innovative formulations that address the most stringent market requirements and consumer trends. This is made possible through its 60 application laboratories worldwide, along with its experienced, market-focused sales teams. Azelis has expanded its number of labs from 12 to 60 since 2012 and significantly increased the number of its lab professionals, creating a talent pool with over 1.000 years of cumulative expertise in application laboratories. The high number of application labs allows the company to serve the local market needs while at the same time helping […]

The four factors essential to building a quality production line

-Andrew Stackpole, Assembly Shop Manager at Facteon Developing an efficient and polished machine building process can take a manufacturing company decades. What’s most important is that throughout this process, the focus is on building a quality production line that allows for the manufacturing of best-in-class product. Since beginning my career as a Machine Builder in 1994 and working through to my current role as Assembly Shop Manager at Facteon, I’ve come to learn that there are four key factors involved in developing a quality production line. 1. Quality components produce quality product By keeping the production of machinery components in-house where practical and possible, you will play a more active role in quality control. It was for this very reason that Facteon established its own in-house Build Shop and Machine Shop to cater to internal and external customers. The team retains full control over every component produced and as it’s not heavily relying on delivery by third parties, it can be certain that the component will be available on site when required. To achieve the necessary levels of precision in component manufacturing, collaboration is key – both in the initial phase of producing your components and in the build phase of the production line. Looking at opportunities to integrate the latest technologies with more traditional machining methods, will allow you to fully harness the potential of the machinery while using the latest technology to improve precision and efficiencies. Partnering with reliable external suppliers For any components that can’t be produced in-house, consider looking beyond your own capabilities and using the services of thoroughly vetted external providers. For example, Facteon uses suppliers based in New Zealand, China and the United States and vets these suppliers through a tiered rating system to ensure that our standards are met. If you’ve outsourced the […]

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