IoT technology provider PTC, University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Deloitte announced the opening of the Connected Factory, an Industry 4.0 exploration facility.
The new facility makes use of digital manufacturing technologies – including PTC’s ThingWorx ® software suite.
The technologies demonstrate benefits of both specific solutions and of their integration and resultant business value.
Located on the shop floor of the Factory 2050, the Connected Factory provides an environment for manufacturers to explore the impact of Industry 4.0 in relation to key manufacturing functions.
These include inbound inventory, shop floor management, process technologies & methods, asset maintenance, quality, and environment, health and safety.
The facility supports discussions on benefits in terms of improved agility, transparency and optimisation of manufacturing processes – as well as practical demonstrations of supporting technologies and insight into how organisations are successfully navigating digital disruption in manufacturing.
Ben Morgan, head of integrated manufacturing at Factory 2050, said: “The AMRC is excited to be working together with Deloitte and PTC and for Factory 2050 to be the home of the Connected Factory.
“The collaboration and resultant shop floor demonstration is giving companies from OEMs to SMEs the chance to explore and understand what the Fourth Industrial Revolution can do for them. The AMRC is well placed to de-risk and prove business cases for these potential solutions before they can be realised in production through Deloitte and PTC.”
The UK’s biggest digital manufacturing show!
Liverpool and the North West’s advanced manufacturing is in the spotlight as the region plays host to 4,000 manufacturers from across the country at The Manufacturer Smart Factory Expo.
The UK’s largest standalone Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) expo coincides with the government’s much anticipated Industrial Strategy, and features:
- Dedicated Exhibition Zones – Industrial Automation, Digital Transformation, Smart Factories, Industrial Internet
- Free conference content – Close to 100 presentations from world-class manufacturers and technology experts over two days
- Innovation Alley – lifting the lid on the UK’s manufacturing tech start-up scene
- Hack & Pitch – real engineers, tackling real problems, in real time!
