Manufacturing Update - October 2022

In Weidmüller, you have a trusted and reliable partner with years of experience in cable preparation, processing and systemised marking.

Our THM thermal transfer printer integrates cutting and perforation tasks into the printing process; it can divide endless materials into arbitrary lengths. The result is a noticeably simpler production of custom cuts with a respective inscription assignment.

Using the Mulitmark printer, you reduce the potential sources of error with complete data consistency. You will streamline timeconsuming work processes and increase your productivity.

Weidmüller

Klippon House, Centurion Court Office Park Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1TP

Tel: +44 1162 823470

Fax:+44 1162 893582

Automation is fast becoming a key conversation within multiple industries in Great Britain, including manufacturing with robotics emerging as the solution.

Over the past few years, a need to move towards more automation in the manufacturing industry has been seen.

In fact, a survey done by ABB Robotics found that of 250 SME and manufacturing companies, 81.2% were considering incorporating robotics into their processes to combat issues with workforce shortages and supply chain disruptions.

In this article, we’ll look at how, in order to keep up with the demand British manufacturing faces, more businesses are adopting robotics as a solution. We’ll

also dive into what they can do for your business.

What can robots do for you?

A big question from businesses still on the fence about bringing in robots is what can they do to improve processes. By automating sections of your manufacturing processes with robots, you’re given an opportunity to stay competitive within a constantly evolving industry.

Substituting traditional labour with robots within your processes can help to provide added efficiency. Robots don’t require breaks, and they’re programmed to carry out specific practices with much smaller margins for error than humans. This results in a more cost-effective

output from your business, which could see greater revenue for less paid labour.

Robotics can also be useful when it comes to tasks that require a steadiness that can’t always reliably come from humans. Whether it’s handling or removing materials that can be harmful or dangerous, welding, or separating materials from one another, robotics makes those tasks much easier to carry out.

They work among us…

The UK’s manufacturing industry has leant into a ‘quality over quantity’ mentality, focusing on top value from each product made, and robotics are now being incorporated into processes.

Between 2020 and 2021, the UK became one of the top 15 for sales of industrial robots globally. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) found that 2,205 industrial robots were installed throughout 2020, which brought the total in the country to around 23,000. These robots are primarily found in the automotive manufacturing industry in the UK with around 875, making up 16% of those that were installed in 2020. Several sectors are seeing a benefit in robot application due to a lack of workers, including the food and beverage sector, which already uses industrial machinery and hydraulic cylinders, has seen an increase to 304 robots in 2020. This is a 96% increase in volume since the previous year.

Are Robotics Set to Play a Starring Role in the Next Ten Years of British Manufacturing?

Technology is constantly changing our day-to-day lives and has had a particular impact on the working world.

Looking to the future

Though these numbers continue to rise, the IFR still ranked the UK outside of the top 20 countries with robot density within manufacturing. We can take from this that there is still room for robotics presence in manufacturing to grow on our shores.

The government itself outlined how much growth was possible in a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), estimating that there was a potential 40% annual growth for robotics and autonomous systems in the UK between 2020 and 2030. This could in turn mean an extra £6.4 billion in value for the UK economy by 2035. And if our creation and sale of autonomous robots is set to increase, our use of them across

a number of industries may be set to increase alongside it.

Automating your business process with robotics is not something to be scared of. The myth that robotics steals jobs has long since been debunked, and there is plenty of room for improvements within the manufacturing industry that they can help solve. Implementing robotics can help keep your business competitive in the global market, as well as provide an efficiency that is impossible to achieve with manual labour. There are currently a record number of robots installed; however, there is still room for growth, and the amount of revenue that could stimulate the UK economy if more is installed is staggering.

How can my business reduce its carbon emissions?

As businesses step up on meeting ESG targets and cutting carbon emissions, we’re seeing an increase in clients asking for help to meet their sustainability goals. When scrutinising the entire supply chain, many manufacturers are finding that changing the chemicals in their cleaning processes can significantly reduce carbon footprint.

Historically, cleaning solvents were notorious for having very high global warming potential (GWP) and had seriously detrimental effects on the atmosphere but the new generation of solvents have been developed specifically with the environment in mind, and are far less harmful than comparable solutions.

Fraser Technologies, who have been supplying precision cleaning solutions for over 50 years, are committed to minimising negative impact on the environment and ensuring we offer the most advanced and sustainable products on the market. One such product is Opteon™ SF80 from Chemours. SF80 has an ultralow GWP of less than 2.5 and is just as effective as competitor products that have a GWP of up to 11,000, so changing can have a huge impact on helping to lower carbon emissions, and it can improve the cleaning process and save money in the process.

One of our customers, a leading aerospace manufacturer, was looking for an alternative to the high-GWP solvent they were using. They switched to SF80, reducing their overall usage of solvent by 28%. This saved them around £30,000 per year, and dramatically reduced their carbon emissions. Previously, their GWP of their previous product was 990 – so the CO2 emissions being created were equivalent to driving around the world 143 times. After switching to SF80, the new emissions were around the same as driving from Edinburgh to Moscow.

To know more about whether your organisation can reduce the carbon impact of its cleaning process, please contact one of our team. We can look at your existing set up and suggest efficiencies, and if superior solvents can be used. It could be one of the easiest ways to help meet your company’s sustainability targets.

For more information click here

sales@frasertech.co.uk

Cost-efficient & durable marking

Our laser marking system mp-LM 3 is characterized by high cost efficiency as well as abrasion-resistant and durable marking. Unique features are: The laser device can mark a wide variety of different materials and is unbeatable in terms of price-performance ratio.

Product information

Labeling solutions, hardware, software and accessories.

The interaction of hardware, software and accessories provides real added value with our laser marking system. The high degree of automation allows users to focus on their core competences and save resources. For the customer, consistent system integration ensures optimum labeling quality as well as very high efficiency and cost-effectiveness in everyday operations.

Go to Shop

Automated batch processing and marking software integration enable high output. The magazine filling aid mp-LM B enables a smooth and time-optimized labeling process due to parallel preparation of the magazine loading. The mp-LM carrier plates are used to flexibly hold various murrSystems labeling materials. They can be stacked directly in the labeling magazine. However, separator plates can also be inserted into the magazine. These allow mixed loading in one order. With the help of the mp-LM single-line adapters, individual lines of the plastic labels that have not yet been marked can be further processed in the laser marking device. No single lines remain.

The UniversalMarking software used with the mp-LM 3 can also operate other labeling technologies or devices: device-independent and process-optimized, time- and cost-saving, as well as intuitive and interactive.

Minimal operating and follow-up costs

The mp-LM 3 with high output requires no consumables. It is nearly service-free with low maintenance requirements.

Labeling of various materials

Various materials in different thicknesses, shapes and colors for different applications can be labeled.

Permanent marketing

Because the lettering is extremely abrasionresistant and UV-resistant, it is durable and long-lasting.

Very good price-performance ratio

Our laser marking device impresses with low operating costs, high productivity and marking speed (up to 10,000 labels/hour).

Standalone Flow Chemistry Module for Exothermic Reactions

Uniqsis has launched ColdChip™ - a new versatile mixer/reactor module enabling researchers to experiment with different chemistries particularly exothermic reactions that need to be safely run in a cooled environment with highly efficient mixing.

Compact

in design, and requiring no input power, the ColdChip™ is optimised for use with the Uniqsis FlowSyn and FlowLab range of flow reactors as well as standalone pumps.

Designed to work with most recirculating chiller/heater units - the ColdChip™ can deliver a stable operating temperature (-70ºC to +180 ºC) and pressure (up to 40 Barr) environment in glass static mixer chips ranging from lower volumes (270µl, 1ml or 2 ml) to single residence time chips (10, 15 and 20 ml).

To enhance operator safety and ease-of-use the ColdChip™ includes a PTFE safety cover, a glass window to view the glass static mixer and an open area located at the back for easy access to the glass static mixer inlet/ outlet turret connectors.

For further information please visit www.uniqsis.com/ or contact Uniqsis on +44-845-864-7747 / info@uniqsis.com.

ColdChip™ mixer/reactor module

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Could automation be the answer to the Great Resignation?

Regardless of location, if you are a manager in manufacturing, you will have seen the increasingly staggering data about the so-called Great Resignation, a phenomenon where employees voluntarily decide to quit their jobs. Neil Ballinger, head of EMEA at global supplier of quality automation components EU Automation, explores how automation can help manufacturing businesses cope as staff retention rates fall.

The Great Resignation, a term coined by Anthony Klotz, a professor at Texas A&M University, is a growing economic trend in which employees have been voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse since early 2021. Wage stagnation in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, job dissatisfaction and safety concerns due to COVID-19 are all contributing factors as to why staff resignation levels are persistently on the rise across the globe. So, what does this mean for the manufacturing industry?

According to the Harvard Business Review, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are now self-evaluating, significantly reconsidering their career paths and prospects. Humans are creatures of habit, but the pandemic has caused a shift in both perspective and work-life balance for manufacturing staff.

In Germany, the main factor triggering this shift in the workforce was inflation. Price hikes across food and energy products meant that in 2021, Germany saw inflation rates of 4.1 per cent in September 2021 — the highest in nearly 30 years, causing employees to seek higher-paid jobs with benefits such as working from home.

What’s more, in manufacturing there are few options for remote work compared to other sectors. The Washington Post reports that manufacturing workers fear a new COVID-19 outbreak feel that their safety is not sufficiently protected. Other reasons for why staff retention has plummeted are the stagnation in pay rates, especially in manufacturing that involves ‘nondurable goods’, and harsh working conditions.

Leveraging automation

Job functions within the manufacturing industry often involve constant repetitive actions that might be monotonous and even lead to strain injuries. Leveraging automation systems across production lines to automate repetitive actions will reduce the chance of human error and increase levels of accuracy, but also allow employees to move into more fulfilling job roles, increasing job satisfaction. This might reduce the levels of staff resignation and increase productivity.

Pick and place robots are just one example of how manufacturers can leverage automation for increased efficiency. Using

advanced vision systems, these robots can identify, pick up and move objects from one place to another and can be configured with a myriad of end-of-arm tools, thus making the robot useful for an array of tasks. Automating repetitive processes such as this can help increase levels of production, allowing workers to focus on more complex and rewarding work.

Automating the quality assurance function of the manufacturing process can also assist managers with harnessing automation effectively. The process of quality assurance can become a tedious task for workers over time and inspectors can make mistakes due to the complex nature of the item they are inspecting, whose quality is best assessed by an automated solution. Replacing manual inspection with an autonomous machine vision solution will lead to higher inspection accuracy, while workers can be moved to tasks that require reasoning and decision-making. Navigating the automation industry and sourcing new parts for these manufacturing functions can be a costly process but sourcing your parts from a supplier of reconditioned and obsolete parts could be the solution.

Crucially, manufacturers should not hesitate to deploy new automated solutions for fear that breakages will lead to increase maintenance costs and more downtime. Liaising with a supplier such as EU Automation will allow managers to access parts easily and affordably, so that repairs can be made quickly and stress-free. While the Great Resignation movement continues, the manufacturing industry should accelerate the adoption of new technology to optimise productivity while moving their current employees into more rewarding, fulfilling jobs. Managers must see that automation is not just another expense but an asset to be valued.

Control module for heated & cooled flow chemistry applications

The Uniqsis Polar Bear Plus Flow™ is a compact, state of the art temperature control module, that can be used as a standalone unit or integrated with a flow reactor, for both heated and cooled flow chemistry applications.

Polar Bear Plus Flow™ temperature control module integrated with a FlowSyn system

Standalone Polar Bear Plus Flow™ temperature control module

Utilising highly efficient, compressor-based cooling and heating technology the Polar Bear Plus Flow™ can precisely and reliably maintain reactor temperatures anywhere between -40⁰C and +150⁰C. The module is easy to use and is completely self-contained, requiring only an electricity supply for operation - no more need for solvents, refrigerants, or messy heat transfer fluids.

The Polar Bear Plus Flow™ can also be integrated with a FlowSyn™ flow chemistry system or used as a heating/cooling unit as part of a FlowLab or FlowLab Plus modular flow chemistry system.

To achieve high reproducibility and facilitate reaction scale-up, precise control of mixing and temperature is essential. This is particularly important for highly exothermic or fast, mixing-dependent reactions. The Polar Bear Plus Flow™ is fully compatible with Uniqsis glass static mixer (GSM) reactor chips that ensure an efficient, turbulent mixed reagent stream that is not diffusion dependent. Uniqsis provide an adapter which fits to the top of the Polar Bear Plus Flow allowing a range of smaller volume GSM’s to be used in the adapter.

For further information on the Polar Bear Plus Flow™ temperature control module visit

www.uniqsis.com/paProductsDetail.aspx?ID=Polar%20 Bear%20Plus%20Flow or contact Uniqsis on +44-845-864-7747/ info@uniqsis.com.

For more efficient cleaning and higher system availability

The new compact conductivity sensors LDL100 and LDL200 from ifm impress with their fast and precise media differentiation.

This helps you to control CIP processes efficiently and to increase the availability of your system. The new LDLs are also simple to commission: They are ready for use out-of-the-box and transmit the conductivity and temperature of the medium via a single M12 connection - digitally and loss-free thanks to IO-Link. As there is no additional evaluation unit required, you also save system costs. So easy, so good. ifm – close to you!

Titan Enterprises Goes Live with New Website to Better Serve the Flowmeter Market

Titan Enterprises is inviting visitors to explore their dynamic new website.  Designed for the evolving scientific, engineering and measurement marketplace, Titan’s new enriched content-led website gives the visitor a step-up in user experience. This next generation website has improved navigation and functionality at its core while allowing visitors to explore the full liquid flow measurement product portfolio Titan offers.

Created to give a user-friendly experience, the site includes many new features to enable visitors to easily navigate their way around the site, find the flow measurement products applicable to their application or process, and discover rich technicalbased content.

The dynamic design and new features include:

• Flow Meter Product and Application filters that allow users to narrow down the product portfolio by selecting flow meter operational attributes

• Quote Requests are now easily processed online through a new ‘cart’ functionality.

• Concise product pages provide the user with easy access to the technical information and option to request a quote for specific flowmeter model types.

• Rapid Response Functionality allows the site to be compatible with all browsers and mobile devices.

• Site-wide Search tool helps users find information relating to a flow measurement device or technical aspect of interest.

Samantha Hannay, Titan’s Marketing Manager says: “The enhanced media pages give users a richer online content with press releases, case studies and technical papers.”

Samantha continues: “Valuable content is also contained in the " Guides and Tools " pages so the user is never far away from useful and pertinent information, particularly in regards to the installation of their selected flow meter device.”

Visitors to Titan’s new website can stay informed with the latest flowmeter technology and industry news by signing up to their fLowdown e-newsletter.

For further information on flow measurement devices to suit specific applications, please contact Titan Enterprises on +44 (0)1935 812790 or sales@flowmeters.co.uk

Case Study: Fruit shake producer finds a new level of smoothness with MRPeasy

About Foga Shakes

Foga Shakes is a UK based instant smoothie blends producer, founded by husband-and-wife Phoebe and Ollie Thirlwell-Pearce in 2019. The operation started out on their kitchen table where the first smoothie blend recipes were born and produced. Today, Foga Shakes has more than 20 different blends available along with a branded blender system. The company operates from a small manufacturing site in Cambridge and has 7 full-time employees.

Need for traceability led to MRP software

As the company gained a market foothold, production capacity started rapidly increasing. With this, production planning as well as stock management became much more complex. They initially used multiple spreadsheets but quickly found limits in this approach in keeping tabs on the growing complexity of the manufacturing process. Foga Shakes thus set out to find a software solution that would set the growing operation on steady tracks.

Next to the increasing volume of production, the primary reason

for implementing an MRP system came from a need for end-to-end traceability. Two-way traceability is a key requirement in the food sector, helping to increase customer satisfaction and safety, stay in accordance with manufacturing standards and best practices, and more. Other reasons to commit to an MRP system included a need to more easily and accurately forecast stock requirements as well as to automatically keep track of batch numbers. With everything to gain, Ollie began the search for the right software companion.

MRPeasy proved to be the perfect companion

Since the owners had no prior experience with MRP software, their first move was to get acquainted with the many available providers by simply googling them. After identifying a few candidates, Ollie spent a while running a few trials and finally opted for MRPeasy. The key selling point was the software’s diverse capacity for integrations. Foga Shakes’s website uses WooCommerce and the company has Shipstation running their fulfilment platform –both fully compatible with MRPeasy.

The software’s capability to easily run requirements forecasts seemed attractive as well, and the owners also really liked the name and branding of the software.

Today, Foga Shakes is using more and more of MRPeasy’s capabilities and further integrating it with the production process. The software helps identify what needs to happen to maximise efficiency. Ollie ThirlwellPearce explained “It has given us much more efficient planning, forecasting and workflow for sure. As with any system, it is as good as the data you give it. There is still stuff to iron out, largely on our side, but MRPeasy has definitely given us a smoother and easier process from forecasting through to production.”

With MRPeasy, Foga Shakes has a firm handle on managing the manufacturing process, allowing the firm to focus more on sourcing and new product development for their growing clientele.

MRPeasy is a simple yet powerful ERP/ MRP system for small manufacturers and distributors. More information and a trial version are available at www.mrpeasy.com

This can be achieved through conventional Anaerobic Digestion (AD) or through Advanced Anaerobic Digestion (ADD) processes, such as Thermal Hydrolysis Process (THP). ADD can reduce the volume of solids and increase the yield of biogas used to power engines. This can make plants energy self-sufficient or generate income by exporting power to the National Grid.

Anglian Water’s Cotton Valley

At Cotton Valley Sludge Treatment Centre (STC), one of Anglian Water’s ten main STCs, competitor’s progressive cavity pumps were installed to back mix the dewatered sludge and pump it into the THP. The two pumps were costing overall circa £100K per annum due to rotor and stator changes every 3-6 months.

Maximise Thermal Hydrolysis Production with Correct Pump

According to government sources, there are 7,078 sewage treatment works (STW) in England and Wales, and 10,814 STW in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Pumping and storing sludge cake during the wastewater treatment process can be costly, driving water companies to technologies that reduce their volume to minimise such costs.

Their inability to transfer no more than 3.5m3/h (bottleneck and limiting biogas production) meant the site was not able to meet the design criteria limiting the amount of imported raw cake being handled to only 120 tonnes per day. Additionally, before pump maintenance could be carried out, the silo had to be emptied. This also meant cake imports from satellite sites had to be diverted, which resulted in substantial logistical costs.

SEEPEX supplied and installed two custom-made open hopper pumps with a dimensionally identical hopper to fit within the same footprint of the original pumps whilst

delivering over 55% increased throughput capacity from 3.5m3/hr to 5.5m3/hr.

Prior to the installation of the new pumps, Anglian Water was processing approx. 120 tonnes per day of imported sludge cake with both pumps running. With the new pumps installed, the customer is now able to exceed this by 50% (from 120 tonnes up to 180 tonnes) whilst maintaining the same footprint and motor size.

“Due to the reliability and performance of the new SEEPEX pumps there is an increase in uptime of the cake import

Zero downtime and no drop off in performance with SEEPEX PC Pumps and Digital Solutions.

facility at Cotton Valley,” explains Luke Fish, Production Manager at Anglian Water. “This has not only allowed us to increase the sludge throughput on site and therefore generate more biogas but has also given us significant savings in logistics and raw cake storage costs.”

At a Major Advanced Digestion plant in the UK

Existing competitor’s progressive cavity (PC) pumps at a large AD plant were unreliable, causing downtime to the thermal hydrolysis streams. When the THP feed pumps were offline, this affected production and biogas generation. To address this, SEEPEX delivered a custommade open hopper PC pump fitted with Maintain-In-Place technology to replace the original pump, incorporating condition monitoring and digital solutions.

SEEPEX Maintain-In-Place technology includes Rotor Joint Access (RJA) and Drive Joint Access (DJA) which simplifies maintenance and improves availability of equipment. To complement these features, the pump’s baseplate is manufactured in three pieces (on wheels) which enables individual sections of the pump to be removed for maintenance or major overhaul.

SEEPEX Digital Solutions facilitate preventative maintenance, equipment availability and process optimisation, which has a direct impact on reactive costs and biogas production – contributing to net zero objectives and increased sustainability.

Since installation, there has been zero downtime and no drop off in performance, and the sludge handling process has gained resilience.

At another Major UK Thermal Hydrolysis Plant

SEEPEX open hopper pumps were used to replace unreliable chain conveyor systems. These pumps are used in two applications. Firstly, to transport the imported dewatered sludge from the imported belt facilities at a capacity of up to 75 m3/h with dry solids up to 32% to either of the two pre-THP silos, enabling a 20-minute turnaround time for the trucks to unload and prevent backlog of vehicles. Secondly, to transport the indigenous dewatered sludge from the four decanting centrifuges to a third pre-THP silo.

Pump maintenance is carried out at ground level, improving health and safety issues associated with working at height with the previous conveyor installation. In addition, with the new SEEPEX pumps, the site now benefits from increased availability of their THP streams with subsequent improvements in gas yield.

The Key: Reliability and Right Feedstock

To achieve the full benefits of advanced digestion by thermal hydrolysis requires reliable and efficient delivery of feedstock to the process. SEEPEX solutions combine back mixing expertise with open hopper PC pump technology to both transfer and blend imported and indigenous dewatered sludges to the precise DS % content. This ensures optimum digestion and maximises biogas production, reducing carbon footprint.

www.seepex.com

SEEPEX 9 m. open hopper pumps fitted at cake belt reception facility.

SEEPEX custom made 5m long pumps installed under existing silo at Anglian Water’s Cotton Valley STC