Right here, right now
Industry 4.0 is more than just a flashy catchphrase. A confluence of trends and technologies promises to reshape the way things are made – and it’s finally happening, as Mark Venables discovers
Mustang reborn
Ford's classic Mustang is now being manufactured at the AutoAlliance car plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, USA. Brian Tinham looks at the automation now behind the all American icon
Hospital robots
The robot revolution is underway and will be happening in a hospital near you very soon. So says Dr Patrick Finlay, director of Prosurgics, the company he founded back in 1995 to build medical robots. And he adds: 'Within the next 20 years, medical students will think it highly amusing that surgeons used to put their hands inside patients to carry out significant procedures.'
Working order
This year's Maintec exhibition seems set to do rather more than what it says on the tin - with a focus that extends from predictive maintenance to wireless systems for plant data gathering. As well as around 150 exhibitors - including Blackburn College, C-Cubed, Corus Northern Engineering Services, Flir, Fluke, FSI, GE Energy, Monitran, Pruftechnik, RMS, Schaeffler, SoftSols, T-Mac, Vega and Whitelegg Machines - there is a powerful programme of seminars and a new lunchtime briefing on the first day.