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the engineer
Set to be launched at MACH 2024 in Birmingham, ‘The True Impact of UK Manufacturing’ report shows that the manufacturing industry is worth £518bn and supports 7.3 million UK jobs directly and across the supply chains/communities it operates in.
Carried out by Oxford Economics and the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the report also shows that manufacturing accounts for 34.5 per cent of all UK goods and services exports, whilst the median wage is £31,300, which is 11 per cent higher than the national average.
smmt
- Britain’s new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market grows 11.1% to 52,916 units in best March performance for three years.
- Growth in uptake of all LCVs besides medium-sized vans, with the largest models up 16.1% as demand for smaller vans bounces back with a 44.8% rise.
- Electric van uptake reaches highest volume on record for a new plate month – but a national plan for van-suitable public chargepoints remains crucial to tackling fleet charging anxiety.
engineering & manufacturing
Reciprocating compressors are working across the world in refineries, gas transfer stations and offshore installations, which makes many of them difficult to access. Rather than wait for days for support to arrive, mobile devices such as phones, tablets or virtual reality (VR) wearables will become commonplace. By scanning the local environment and recreating it in the cloud, it is possible for remote experts to assess the situation and provide live feedback and support.
The advent of the metaverse has enabled the secure exchange of huge amounts of data with greatly reduced costs. The technology has developed quickly and now it is possible to use virtual, augmented and mixed realities to deliver live expert support to technicians.
composites uk
On the 9th April the Prof. Alan Banks, Chair of Composites UK, its Vice-Chair, Luke Vardy, Neil Anderton from member company Slack & Parr and the Chair of the Composites Leadership Forum, Rob Blackburn, were among the invitees to a Make UK roundtable in Westminster to discuss issues with export controls with the Department for Business and Trade Export Controls Joint Unit (ECJU) team.
As previously reported, UK export controls have been a source of frustration for many Composites UK members and the Association is taking strides to overcome these with ECJU. Jo Thompson (Deputy Director of ECJU) gave an overview of the differences between the UK trade policy and that of the EU and our allies, which gives the UK tighter controls based on military end-use. Whilst done for the right reasons, it was pointed out this policy can cause issues downstream, based around the business readiness perceptions of UK companies, in that export delays damage our international reputation as being ‘open for business’:
engineer live
Evaporation is essential to many engineers in the process industry. Here we explore some of the key techniques used.
Evaporation is a process used to concentrate liquids that multiple industries and sectors employ. In the food industry, many products are concentrated to increase shelf life, reduce volume or weight, or reduce storage and transport costs. While in the pharmaceutical sector, evaporation is often used to create concentrated solutions which can then be dried to create powdered products. The basic principles of evaporation remain the same regardless of the sector.
the engineer
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to put your project, team, technology or people forward for what promises to be one of the year’s biggest celebrations of engineering excellence: the 2023 Engineering & Manufacturing Awards.
Free to enter, and with 15 categories covering all aspects of design, production and management, the awards were established to celebrate the people, teams, companies and projects at the forefront of UK engineering and to champion the role that engineers are playing in addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges.
electronic specifier
Researchers at Rice University have made strides in the field of soft robotics by developing an analytical model that precisely predicts the curing time of platinum-catalysed silicone elastomers based on temperature.
This breakthrough could streamline the manufacturing process for elastomer-based components, offering energy savings and improved throughput.
engineering update
According to U of A, haemorrhagic shock is currently the leading cause of preventable death in casualty care settings but existing methods often fail to detect blood loss until the onset of shock, thereby making early detection and management of bleeding-related conditions critical to improving survival.
The team is designing a mobile device that can detect blood pressure waveforms, which correlate with the volume of blood within the blood vessels (the ‘intravascular volume’) and can be used to determine if blood volume is falling due to haemorrhaging.
racecar engineering
Andretti Global has moved into a new 48,000 square foot (4,460 sq/m) facility at Silverstone as the American motorsport powerhouse continues to work towards a future Formula 1 entry.
Company chairman and CEO Michael Andretti, and his father, the 1978 F1 world champion and 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, were among the leadership figures present for the move-in ceremony this week. They were joined by 80 staff from Andretti Cadillac UK.
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An independent report published today by strategy&, part of the PwC network, has revealed the impressive scale of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme’s contribution to economies across Europe.
The in-depth report examines the entire spectrum of development, production and support activities, encompassing the four Eurofighter Typhoon partner nations of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain