Industrial Digital Technologies (IDT's) are disrupting industries across the globe. The breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance. There is overwhelming evidence that IDTs can provide a step change in industrial productivity.
The Smart Connected Factory is central to this goal; it will alter the way production is performed based on smart connected machines/devices but also smart products. However, the application of these technologies at scale presents many challenges, and there are few examples of Smart factories which provide full real-time data integration from the 'shop floor to the top floor '. These factories tend to operate with single vendor propriety technologies or have undertaken significant investment in creating bespoke integration of multi-vendor solutions. SCSF will accelerate the adoption of digital into industry to provide the stepping stone to industry 4.0 excellence within UK industry.
Research Highlights
Contracted to define and execute an industry 4.0 strategy with commercial off the shelf technologies to support a global digital transformation initiative whilst advocating the adoption of internal R&D technology to support value driven industrialisation into global GKN facilities.
WoT, funded in part by the U.K.’s Aerospace Technology Institute, is a fully transnational Airbus program involving global partners and teams across Airbus’ European sites. In total, three full-size prototype wings will be manufactured. The first will be used to understand systems integration, the second will be structurally tested to compare against computer models, and the third will be assembled to test scaling up production and to compare against industrial modeling. The three wing demonstrators will bring together more than 100 new technologies to explore new manufacturing and assembly techniques with the goal of making aviation more sustainable.
Research Highlights
Contracted to define a technology stratergy and associated use cases to demonstrate and deploy digital manufacturing solutions for wing assembly to achieve a high level of Industry 4.0 maturity and document the DELMIA 3DX end-to-end process for automated wing assembly which included generating IT/OT architectures, data flow diagrams and best working practice.
SAMULET II delivers rapid manufacturing capability for aerospace applications in the UK. In order to deliver fit for purpose parts to demonstrator projects and engine production programmes within accelerated lead times there is the need to develop new and innovative manufacturing and modelling technologies that meet the aerospace quality requirements within a much compressed timescale. This capability will maximise timely technology insertion to enhance product competitiveness.
Research Highlights
Contracted to provide virtual manufacturing capabilities via the catapult research centre network (mainly the MTC and NCC). This included generating multiple DELMIA 3D robotic simulations with kinematics to visulise and validate advanced manufacturing methods such as automated through thichness reinforcement of composite fan baldes and robotic assembly of guide vanes.
