UK manufacturing gets a £145m injection, plus motors could cut energy use by 31%
Drives & Controls
The UK's leading magazine for automation, motion engineering and power transmission
Each year, automation.com, a subsidiary of the International Society of Automation (ISA), surveys automation professionals in the US about how much they earn. This year’s survey, with 1,243 respondents, produces some interesting findings, perhaps the most startling of which is that American automation professionals with less than two years of experience now earn an average of $123,402 (£97,424). This has shot up from the $67,500 (£53,290) that the same group took home as recently as 2020. Those with 3-5 years of experience do not earn much more – $124,669 (£98,424) in 2023, compared to $99,500 (£78,553) in 2020. Automation.com speculates that the leap in early-career salaries could reflect the pressure that the Covid pandemic has put on worker compensation worldwide. The survey also reveals that 14.8% of all respondents received pay rises of 11% or more in 2023, while a similar proportion (14%) got no pay rise at all, with 11.5% reporting pay rises of just 1%. And finally, engineering managers are now the highest-paid automation professionals in the US, earning an average of $155,000 (£122.370), thus overtaking the previous front-runners, IT and cybersecurity experts, who earned an average of $145,000 (£114,475) in the 2022 survey. Below you will find links to some of the news items that we have posted recently on our Website. If you want to know whenever we add a new item to the site, please sign up for our Social feeds: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook.
Innovate UK, working with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is investing £145m in UK innovation in a series of schemes, including £27m for the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult to lead net-zero and industrial transformation projects that support the manufacturing and con ...
IDS NXT malibu combines consumer technology from Ambarella – known from action cams – with industrial quality and expertise from IDS Imaging Development Systems. The result is a new class of intelligent industrial cameras that act as edge devices and are able to display AI overlays in the compressed live video stream (RTSP). Thanks to the special chip, they are not only able to perform AI-based image analyses at high speed (>25fps), but also offer outstanding image quality thanks to the auto enhancements of the integrated ISP. This is new in the industrial camera market – click now and discover more.
ABB has analysed the performance of more than 2,000 industrial electric motors in a variety of applications and found that their energy use could be cut by an average of 31% by upgrading them or using better controls. The potential energy savings equate to more than 2.1TWh across the 20-year lifeti ...
Pilz claims to be offering the first safe field-level communication system based on the IO-Link communications system. Its new IO-Link Safety (IOLS) system comprises a master, field devices and accessories. The package is said to make it easier to integrate IO-Link Safety technology into plant and ...
The Trio Power 24 V power supply from Phoenix Contact sets a new standard in machine building. The plug-and-play solution for the control cabinet is optionally available with an integrated electronic circuit breaker. The power supplies are particularly space-saving due to their narrow overall width and capability of being mounted directly side by side. The low overall depth enables installation in 210 mm small housings. The power supply units also enable easy handling: Push-in connection technology allows for quick and tool-free installation. Integrated marking fields can be used to easily display equipment identifications and circuits. Due to an intuitive commissioning concept, the devices are quickly ready for use. The mechanical lock of the potentiometers ensures that the devices are also tamper-proof.
Nidec Drive Technology has developed a precision reducer for robots and machine tools, with built-in torque, temperature and angle sensors. The Smart₋-Flexwave device can detect the reducer’s output torque, its internal temperature and input axis angle while taking up no more space than a con ...
The current shortage of induction motors could be an opportunity for a cost-effective upgrade using a compact, stable, high efficiency BLDC. Like-for-like replacement induction motors are available from Oriental Motor, but it also offers developers the chance for an upgrade to BLDC motors with minimal disruption and financial outlay. Advantages of BLDC motors include a compact form factor, high efficiency and speed stability. These characteristics and many other features mean that they are increasingly used for new and emerging applications, such as autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) as well as conveyors, mixers, pumps, winding and tensioning machines, capping and packaging systems.
The use of DC (direct current) in industry promises new ways to simplify the integration of renewable energy and battery technologies, and to increase energy efficiencies. But, despite its potential attractions, DC is not widely used in industry today. One reason for this is the significant hurdles ...
The UK linear motion specialist HepcoMotion has developed a new guidance system for Beckhoff Automation’s XTS smart conveyor technology that moves items along rectangular paths. By removing the XTS system’s curved segments, the new GFX-r system can handle payloads of up to 40kg The absence of the c ...
Drives & Controls is the longest-standing exhibition in its field. Covering areas such as energy efficiency, machine safety, drives, motion control, robotics and automation plus much much more, the primary issues facing the industry are discussed at the event with specific focuses on: Supply chain, digital transformation, interoperability, regulation & standards, cyber security, innovation, sustainability, and skills. Drives & Controls will be returning in full force in 2024, collocated alongside Design & Engineering Expo, Maintec, Smart Factory Expo, Air-Tech Exhibition, and Fluid Power & Systems. This collective gathering forms a part of Smart Manufacturing and Engineering Week 2024, creating an unrivaled platform for networking and innovation. To book your stand email Laura Parris, lparris@drives-expo.com or call +44 (0)20 8947 9177
The Taiwanese automation supplier Delta Electronics has announced a new generation of elevator drives with safety as a top priority, offering built-in safe torque off (STO), as well as compliance with EN81-20 and EN81-50. The compact EB3000 drives ensure smooth, comfortable rides for passengers. Th ...
Once again a very pleasant read. Thank you for introducing our new intelligent camera!