This issue of the Journal has several stories that illustrate the collaborative nature of our research and the way we are addressing the challenges and opportunities of the digital revolution. It shows how our machining group has joined forces with world leading researchers in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering on a £10m EPSRCfunded project known as the Future Advanced Metrology Hub. Led by the University of Huddersfield, with partners in Bath and Loughborough, this research is critical to developing the faster and more responsive factories the UK needs if we are to keep pace with competitors around the world who are moving towards the mass customisation of lower-cost products on demand.