Industry 4.0 / IIoT

A new ebook titled “The Industry 4.0 Interviews 2020” has been released by distributor Farnell.

Manufacturers supported by Made Smarter, the movement helping SMEs join the Industry 4.0 revolution, are forecasting the creation of more than 750 new jobs from £12.6M of technology investment. Since launching two years ago, the North West technology adoption pilot has engaged with 1,131 businesses to help them introduce digital tools and technologies to help boost productivity and growth, and navigate the impact of COVID-19.

The world has changed significantly since I wrote about trends for 2020, one year ago. But while our personal and professional lives have experienced a massive twist, the pandemic and its associated impacts have been more an accelerator for these trends rather than changing them. Guest blog written by Philipp H. F. Wallner, Industry Manager - Industrial Automation & Machinery, MathWorks

Modern manufacturing relies on interconnected robots to make Industry 4.0 a reality. Here Neil Ballinger, Head of EMEA sales at EU Automation, explains how industrial robots could be hacked and what can be done to mitigate the threat of cyber crime.

Here, Chris Evans - Marketing and Operations Group Manager at Mitsubishi Electric UK looks at the effect the pandemic could have on the future adoption of automation in manufacturing within SMEs.  

It has been five years since Ukraine experienced a first-of-its-kind cyber attack on its power grid. Infiltrating the network through weak spots, hackers caused widespread black outs in December 2015. Unfortunately, Ukraine’s power companies are not unique in their technology or vulnerability. As Reinhard Mayr, Head of Information Security and Research Operations at COPA-DATA, explains, asset management is critical for ensuring security in industrial infrastructure and production plants.

There is a misconception that the benefits of industrial robots are reserved for few manufacturing giants. However, according to the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), enterprises with less than 100 employees and less than ten robots represent a growing segment of the robotics market. Here, Neil Ballinger, Head of EMEA at EU Automation, explains what to consider when implementing industrial robotics in small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses.

Stratus Technologies has announced a ‚Solution in a Box‘ process control architecture. The solution runs Rockwell Automation PlantPAx 5.0 software on Stratus ztC Edge, performance tested, characterised, and validated by Stratus and Rockwell Automation, to ensure reliable, rapid deployment by operations teams and systems integrators using a single industrial-grade, panel-mounted Edge Computing device

Food production must increase to feed an extra two billion people by 2050 - but how can this be done with limited land and workforce? Here Stewart Goulding, Managing Director of Electro Mechanical Systems (EMS), explores how technology can boost the productivity of agriculture.

Mitsubishi Electric has announced a new collaboration with Radiflow, a provider of OT cyber security solutions for industrial automation networks. The collaboration will help businesses leverage industrial automation solutions within a secure framework. Customers also benefit from a single point of contact to create smart manufacturing solutions with secure Operational Technology (OT) networks.