Thu, 20 December, 2018
TWI's Annual Digital Manufacturing Conference, held on the 28 November 2018 at TWI’s Headquarters near Cambridge, attracted almost 100 delegates from industry and academia to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in digital manufacturing focusing on joining and associated manufacturing technologies.
The one-day conference covered topics such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), digital manufacturing technologies and digital approaches for businesses. There were also presentations from organisations at the forefront of digital manufacturing, including Arm and IBM, as well as BAE Systems, Siemens, Comau, KUKA, Fronius alongside Lancaster University, Anglia Ruskin University, and the Digital Catapult.
Delegates found the presentations eye-opening and insightful, helping them to make sense of the rapidly developing digital manufacturing environment, and identifying the key challenges surrounding adoption of these technologies.
With digital manufacturing cutting across many different sectors, delegates were able to network with a variety of companies including SMEs, OEMs, universities and research and technology organisations focusing on R&D. The event also fostered a spirit of collaboration with opportunities for partnerships discussed during the conference.
For Professor Chris Dungey (Conference Chair and TWI’s and lead on digital manufacturing), the digital landscape is complex but the opportunities to create transformative solutions are significant and tangible, as demonstrated by the excellent industrial case studies presented during the day.
Professor Dungey noted, ‘In particular with AI, machine learning and digitalisaton at the forefront of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, the benefits of understanding the challenges and opportunities of the role these play in the smart connected digital manufacturing landscape are crucial to support the long term sustainability and productivity of UK industry.
‘With a better understanding of the industry 4.0 landscape, organisations can develop their transformative digitalisation manufacturing strategy with a greater degree of confidence and reap the benefits. The new Joining Industry 4.0 Innovation Centre (J4IC), set up in partnership with Lancaster University, provides an industrially focused research environment to compliment and strengthen TWI’s growing status within the digital manufacturing space.’
Watch our short video of the day and hear from a variety of delegates and speakers.
For more information please contact us.