New High Speed Manufacturing Institute announced

A new joint government and business initiative was announced last week to develop ‘new and innovative ways to improve manufacturing techniques and increase productivity’. The project centers on the building of a new High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute, based at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in Essex. With investment from the government and Ford Britain, the institute aims to bring together manufacturing experts from business, engineering and academia to develop new manufacturing techniques and skills. Joe Greenwell, Ford Britain chairman, commented, “The Institute will accelerate research and developments in innovative manufacturing systems that will help underpin the future of the UK's high value manufacturing sector. This complements the work that Ford is already doing in this area and also provides significant opportunities for supply chain partners."  For more on the aims of the new institute, read the whole article in Machinery magazine or online at http://www.machinery.co.uk/machinery-news/high-speed-sustainable-manufacturing-institute/43844/

Managing energy – new report from Siemens

After raw materials, energy costs are often the most significant area in manufacturing and set to rise further. With this in mind, Siemens undertook a survey of 600 firms to see how they approach energy management – the results of which are discussed in a recent issue of Engineering magazine. In the survey, only 69% of energy managers thought that their company was taking energy usage seriously, although many were planning to make energy saving investments in manufacturing technology. Such energy managers are involved throughout the company from gathering initial data to looking at the whole product lifecycle in a holistic approach. The article particularly looks at an important new area for energy saving – ‘the utilisation of intelligent process automation in industrial plants’ where estimates of energy savings up to 15 percent can be achieved. For more on the importance and role of an energy specialist or manager read the full article at http://www.engineeringmagazine.co.uk/features/Acompetitivefuture.html

Designing the future in aviation

 What could the future really look like in aircraft design?  Stuart Nathan, writing in The Engineer magazine, looks at some of the real blue sky thinking from the major players. At the Green Aviation symposium held recently at Imperial College, Airbus presented a concept plane and engine maker Pratt and Whitney looked at new ways to improve engine efficiency. The placement of the engine is key to some of the suggestions now being made, often with plans to place it the rear of the aircraft. This leaves more options open to designers in the shape of the wings and the rest of the fuselage. In the article, the Airbus concept plane is described as having ‘body-incorporated engines, swept laminar wings, and a transparent cabin roof.’ Another design from Reaction Engines is also shown compared to the present-day  Airbus A380. For more on the ideas from today’s aircraft designers read the whole article at http://www.theengineer.co.uk/home/blog/breaking-the-airliner-paradigm/1013042.article