Engineering

-Bruce Downing (Managing Director, Asia and South Africa) of ShoreTel. What is unified communications (UC)? Unified Communications, or UC, is a term used to describe a communications system that includes voice and data, as well as collaboration tools and applications delivered on a single platform. ShoreTel UC leverages Voice over IP to bring together VoIP telephony, instant messaging, video conferencing, mobility, presence and collaboration capabilities into a seamless business environment. How can UC solutions help manufacturers meet the key industry challenges and the growing pressure to innovate? Unified Communications solutions that offer scalability, availability and reliability, as well as ease of use and management, deliver the most value to manufacturers. Dealing with distributed offices or multiple remote plants can be a challenge for manufacturing companies; however, a UC solution that allows integration between legacy systems, whilst consolidating communications technology onto a single platform, will ensure continued growth – leveraging existing assets without costly production days. Using advanced call-routing features and centralised management across the system, ShoreTel helps minimise operational headaches, whilst maximising user adoption and customer satisfaction. Providing the organisation with the means to communicate easily and effectively – across diverse geographies, time zones and devices – enables better collaboration; and through that, there is more dynamic innovation. Can you share examples of ShoreTel customers who have successfully adopted UC in their manufacturing facilities, and the benefits they have reaped since? ShoreTel has a number of manufacturing customers in Asia using our UC, Contact Centre and Mobility solutions. For example, Tien Wah Press (TWP) was first established in Singapore as a family-run letterpress business in 1935. TWP has two main locations – its sales office and manufacturing plant are in Singapore, and it has two additional plants in Malaysia. They wanted to upgrade their old analogue phones and reduce costs […]

By Rajiv Ghatikar, Vice President and General Manager, Siemens PLM Software, ASEAN / Australasia The Southeast Asia region as a whole has achieved unprecedented growth and development in recent decades and is increasingly playing the role of a global growth pole, fast emerging as a manufacturing and information technology hub of the world economy. According to a recent report from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), more than 96% of all enterprises across the region are considered SMBs, and those organizations account for between 50% and 85% of all domestic employment. Specifically, the SMB sector is an important pillar of Singapore’s economy as they contribute more than 50% of the economic output and 70% of employment. Needless to say, it is clear that small and mid-sized businesses play a unique and integral role across the region, serving as suppliers to large firms, customers of large firms and their own customers. Yet scale and making significant economic contributions have not protected SMBs from the pressures of the global economic slump, rising costs, competition from neighbouring countries and a shortage of skilled workers. GDP growth in the Southeast Asia manufacturing industry is predicted to accelerate modestly from 6.3% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2014 –  slower in both years than the 6.9% growth in 2012, meaning manufacturing growth is dependent on the future of its smallest but most significant contributors. Against this backdrop, innovative SMBs are looking for the next generation of tools and strategies to stay ahead of the competition. As stated in a recent SBF DP SME Index, a joint initiative of the Singapore Business Federation and DP Information Group, manufacturers are tackling the challenges first hand by embracing a new wave of technologies and innovations. Product lifecycle management (PLM) software, which includes computer-aided design (CAD) and simulation technologies, […]

The production team and the machine platen. Krauss Maffei of Munich Germany have supplied BMW’s production plant at Leipzig, Germany with two double swivel plate Injection Moulding machines, complete with industrial robots that produce multi material plastics components for the New BMW i3 which went into production in September 2013. The MX 4000-17200/12000/750WL machines are impressive with dimensions of 24m Long x 9M wide x 7m High. They have a clamping force of 4000 tonnes and are producing the thermoplastic outer shell and combined substructure of the BMW i3. The BMW i3 is a five door urban electric car and is BMW’s first zero emissions mass produced vehicle that features carbon-fibre reinforced plastic that improves the vehicles energy consumption. Using the ‘joining in injection moulding’ process, the outer door shell and its substructure are injected in a single pass and are then joined when the two swivel plates turn and are bonded with a third plastic component. The combined work processes are said to ensure very high dimensional accuracy of the parts. The Injection Moulders were specifically developed for the project and produce the sidewall panels, rear bumper and hoods for the new generation BMW i3’s.  

A new catalytic converter that could cut fuel consumption and manufacturing costs has been designed by a scientist from Imperial College London. A catalytic converter is the component in a vehicle’s exhaust system that eliminates some harmful emissions. Tests suggest that the new prototype could reduce fuel consumption in a standard vehicle by up to three per cent. It could also deliver environmental benefits by reducing the amount of CO? that each vehicle emits. The new design uses up to 80 per cent less rare metal, a development that could significantly reduce costs for vehicle manufacturers. Catalytic converters are expensive to manufacture because they use precious metals such as platinum to eliminate emissions. These metals currently account for up to 60 to 70 per cent of the cost of the component. The prototype is also predicted to perform better than existing models because the rare metal degrades less over the lifetime of the component. Laboratory tests suggest that it deteriorates by only four per cent over a distance of 100,000 kilometres, compared to 35 per cent for a standard catalytic converter. The inventor of the prototype device is Dr Benjamin Kingsbury. He is also a Research Associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. He says: “Catalytic converters are the most important component in a vehicle for controlling exhaust emissions. Yet their design has not changed since they were first developed in the 1940s. ÒThe prototype I have developed could make cars cheaper to run because they use less fuel. It could potentially help manufacturers to reduce their costs. Drivers could also be a major beneficiary of this device, which could save on fuel costs and ultimately lead to reduced CO? emissions.” A conventional catalytic converter is a ceramic block, which is honeycombed with microscopic channels that […]

FARO Technologies has released the new Laser Scanner Focus3D X 330. Building on the success of the Laser Scanner Focus3D, the new Focus3D X 330 surpasses previous models in functionality and performance. With a range almost three times greater than previous models, the Focus3D X 330 can scan objects up to 330 meters away and in direct sunlight. With its integrated GPS receiver, the laser scanner is able to correlate individual scans in post-processing making it ideal for surveying based applications. In addition, the Focus3D X 330 measurement accuracy has been increased and noise has been reduced, providing precise three dimensional models in a photo-realistic style. These advances in performance did not come at the expense of safety as the Focus3D X 330 includes a Class 1 ‘eye safe’ laser. “Its minimal weight, small size, touch-screen, SD-card and a battery life of 4.5 hours make the Focus3D X 330 unbeatable and easy-to-use,” said Dr. Bernd Becker, Chief Technology Strategist for the new Focus3D X 330. “No other provider can offer such a technical achievement.” With its increased range and scan accuracy, the Focus3D X 330 considerably reduces the effort involved in measuring and post-processing. The 3D scan data can easily be imported into all commonly used software solutions for accident reconstruction, architecture, civil engineering, construction, forensics, industrial manufacturing and land surveying. Distance dimensions, area and volume calculations, analysis and inspection tasks and documentation can thus be carried out quickly, precisely and reliably.