Asia Manufacturing News March 2018

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Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

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March 2018

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Doan Potters, leading Vietnam ceramics manufacturer The Interview: Paul Lorentzen, Consoveyo Singapore Automate and be bored Exploiting Big Data

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Asia Manufacturing News

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How to make robots we can trust.

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EDITORIAL ASIA

MANUFACTURING NEWS

2018 HAS STARTED WELL FOR ASIAN MANUFACTURERS

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Managing Editor Doug Green Art Direction Kim Alves Advertising Enquiries Please visit

Doug Green

Manufacturing momentum has started well for 2018 with global demand for high-tech products from Asia’s factories.

The semiconductor sector along with smartphones, cars, and robots as well as computers are providing the main momentum.

As we know, China is riddled with smog which has seen authorities crack down on air pollution and extreme financial risks. Still, factory growth is standing up in that country, but the crackdowns may well weigh on activity eventually.

Capital Economics expects Asian manufacturing conditions to remain healthy, supported by robust external demand and an accommodative domestic monetary policy.

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Subscriptions publisher@xtra.co.nz Subscription Rate $24 p.a. Digital Single Copies $4 Asia Manufacturing News is published bi-monthly and offers the reader the latest in business and manufacturing news across ASEAN region.

Asia Manufacturing News welcomes articles and contributions and encourages readers to share their development stories and opinions with fellow readers.

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The cloud on the horizon, however, is the concern about American trade protectionism as the second year of the Trump administration swings into action.

information in good faith. We give no

In this issue we profile the Doan Potters of Ho Chi Minh City, a leading manufacturer of ceramics; India’s hopes of becoming an AI powerhouse and how Aayudh Tools is carving a niche in the competitive Indian market.

the basis of this information. Those acting

guarantee of the accuracy of information provided. No liability is accepted for the result of any actions taken or not taken on on the information do so entirely at their own risk.

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MANUFACTURING NEWS For a copy of the Media Kit 2018 please email publisher@xtra.co.nz Smart Manufacturing SM✓ Information, Technology and Human Ingenuity

Cover picture - Doan Potters Ltd of Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of ceramics.

CONTENTS 5 | COMPANY PROFILE Doan Potters Ltd., Vietnam.

6 | ANALYSIS The real risk of automation: Boredom 8 | IN LIGHT OF RECENT EVENTS The word ‘globalisation’ is out of date.

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10 | PRODUCT NEWS Design ScanArm 2.0 improves product design workflow.

Ultra-high speed wi-fi developed for Seoul’s subway trains.

11 | BUSINESS NEWS HIMA expert to speak on Singapore’s Safety Case Symposium.

12 | COMPANY PROFILE

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Aayudh Tools carves a niche in competitive Indian market.

14 | EVENTS Labelexpo South East Asia now taking registrations.

16 | THE INTERVIEW Paul Lorentzen, General Manager, Consoveyo Singapore.

18 | DEVELOPMENTS

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Brain-Like chips beats the human brain in speed and efficiency.

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20 | MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Revolutionary beam welding technology to fast-track manufacturing projects.

SDK to produce high-grade SIC epitaxial wafers.

Machine learning and Big Data offer massive potential, says Marianne Culver, President, RS Components.

India hopes to become an AI powerhouse, with inspiration from China.

26 | DEVELOPMENTS Grundfos and their IE5 rating efficient motor.

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27 | COMMENTARY Odds are you’re an AI laggard.

COMPANY PROFILE

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

LEADING VIETNAM CERAMICS MANUFACTURER GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Doan Potters Ltd., Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Doan is one of Vietnam’s leading manufacturers of ceramics. With more than 24 years in the business, they provide a good customer experience through their design, quality and reasonable pricing.

Established in 1994, Doan Potters Ltd had a turnover in 2017 of $12.5M. The company operates from a 280,000 square feet factory and has production capacity of 200,000 pieces per month and 2,400,000 pieces per year.

Their products are mainly shipped to the US market and have the advantage of being manufactured handmade, with special and unique charms.

The company has a highly skilled workforce. They conduct in house laboratory testing -lead test, frost resistant test and transit test.

Including for consistency of color for mass production, new development test, i.e.: new color, new clay, new technique.

Major customers include Lowes, USA; London Drugs, Canada; Home goods, USA; Westelm, USA ad Pier 1, USA. Products shipped for these clients include indoor and outdoor planters, lanterns, candle holders, stools, basket wares and other indoor home accessories.

Ian Trousdell, Director of Flowform International and Design for Life Ltd - www.flowform.net ian.trousdell@flowform.net currently expanding into China, experienced technical difficulty making figure 8 flow design, which lead them to Doan Potters.

“And, of course, because of their reputation for high quality production. American Vietnamese ceramic designer Trinh Le Nga introduced us.

“Doan agreed to help us because of the work we do to help improve water quality, and because of the interest in the figure 8 water flow and the beautiful designs. We look forward to ongoing working relationship, after experiencing the extraordinary care and attention to detail and quality of Doan.”

Doan Potters Ltd sees R & D as integral to their success in the current tough business climate.

The company exhibits at the Ambiente Fair I Frankfurt, Germany which takes place in February each year.

Doan Potters Ltd sees potential growth for their services and products in the USA and in Europe and they are finding current business conditions to be very good, even though there is a lot of competition.

As Hung Tran puts it, “We see plenty of opportunities to further develop our strength in the handmade pottery marketplace.”

Ian Trousdell, Director, Flowform International Ltd on site with some of the products made for his company by Doan Potters Ltd including Matatiki models.

Hung Tran, Senior Merchandiser is on the right.

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ANALYSIS

THE REAL RISK OF AUTOMATION: BOREDOM

A less effortful, more efficient life may not be a better life.

Are we at risk of boring ourselves to death? Less than 5% of occupations are 100% automatable, according to estimates.

However, 30% of the work involved in most jobs could be carried out by machines. For the overworked employee, a reduced workload sounds attractive. A roboticised future in which humans are on permanent vacation might be idyllic.

However, there is a bias common to cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and economics against the costly and tiring nature of effort. This bias may cause us to underestimate both the value of exertion and the risks boredom brings.

Image: The Oxford Martin School.

The future will be automated and augmented. Some roles will be entirely redundant. Many will be replaced in part. Already, complex tasks once considered too difficult to automate are being performed by machines.

Automated systems generate complicated medical diagnoses and treatment plans; algorithms create detailed, responsive exercise programmes; and artificially intelligent therapists offer patients low-cost programmes to overcome social anxiety.

Employment in high-income, cognitively demanding and creative jobs is likely to increase. While up to 20% of a senior executive’s role could be automated, according to some studies, such technology is likely to be assistive and enhancing, facilitating deeper insights, better decision-making and multiplied output.

Work may become less stressful, as machines help us to manage information flows more effectively and release us to focus on creativity, collaboration and complex problem solving. These

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are qualities that will be essential in the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Much low-income, manual work will still require human workers.

It will take time to roboticise these roles entirely. For example, automated vehicles will deliver goods to local hubs. But it will be some years until an army of cheap robots is smart enough to navigate the ‘final mile’ through unpredictable entrances, up stairways and into small, rusty letterboxes.

The greatest risk is for people in low-income manual work and medium-income work, in which most of the tasks are clearly defined and repetitive. More roles will become supervisory, interspersed with brief periods of activity. Paradoxically, work may become less effortful but more tedious and fatiguing.

The consequences of effort Prevailing models in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and economics suggest that mental or physical effort is costly. Given a choice, we prefer to avoid it. In this light, assistive technology which reduces effort may be welcomed. Perhaps it will make us less stressed, less tired and offer us more free time. A utopian angle might herald a future of automated abundance and mass leisure.

When we consider related historical transformations, automation rarely seems to displace human activity entirely. But it always changes the nature of human work. These changes are often unintended and unanticipated. Hintsa Performance is considering emerging research which increasingly recognises links between effort and motivation, cognitive control, value-based decision-making and health conditions. The perspectives we find offer new insights into the future of work.

The effort paradox Effort can be defined as the subjective intensification of activity - mental or physical - in the service of meeting our goals. As we focus on ways to reduce human effort, we may be overlooking its benefits.

Outcomes can be more rewarding if we apply more, rather than less, effort to achieve them. The ‘IKEA effect’ suggests that we will be prepared to pay more for objects that we have effortfully built, relative to identical objects that someone else built for us.

Effort can also be valuable and rewarding. Many individuals enjoy cognitive effort for its own sake.

‘Need for cognition’ is a measurable trait, associated with an

Asia Manufacturing News

individual placing a high value on mental effort and seeking it out.

Recent research sheds light on this phenomenon, helping us to understand why effort can offer intrinsic value.

The ‘effort paradox’ explores how the same outcomes can be more rewarding if we apply more, rather than less, effort. It explains how we may select options because they require effort, such as racing a triathlon or climbing a mountain.

Effort is a habit As we learn to exert ourselves, we seem able to make more habitual applications of effort over time. Effort plays a critical role in human performance; students show better learning outcomes when their work is effortful.

Effort is associated with improved wellbeing, demonstrating positive associations with enhanced goal-directed behaviour: we get better at doing what we aim to do, rather than be side-tracked by distraction or temptation.

As we automate more and more number of human tasks, we should consider the value of what we are eliminating. What happens if we miss out on positive experiences associated with effort? Will we lose the ‘effort’ habit in the process, with deleterious effects further down the line?

Halfway between misery and sleepiness Automation may make boredom - inside and outside the workplace - an increasingly significant issue. This is not a recent observation. At the dawn of the industrial revolution, Nietzsche warned of ‘machine culture’ causing boredom for workers.

There are many definitions of boredom, but recent descriptions characterise it as a subjective state of low arousal and dissatisfaction, likely caused by a lack of interest, coupled with an inadequately stimulating environment. A study from 1980 put it more succinctly, placing boredom halfway between misery and sleepiness.

While automation may decrease workload and effort for employees, it has been implicated as a source of increasing boredom in some jobs. The risks of boredom are often highlighted in safety critical environments, in which automated systems have increased tedium. In 2009, two pilots were reportedly distracted by their laptops and consequently overflew their destination airport by 90 minutes. However, boredom is already pervasive in more benign office work environments and has been recognised as an important area for further study.

Boredom may be more fatiguing than effort In 2017, researchers set out to use electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the effect of effort and boredom on subjects’ brains.

They formulated a number of hypotheses, predicting that boredom would have a similar effect on the brain to effort.

As anticipated, participants exerted greater cognitive effort in an effort condition, and felt more bored in the boredom condition.

However, while participants in the bored condition initially

March 2018

reported levels of fatigue similar to the effort condition, they reported more fatigue as time went on. Boring tasks can be experienced as effortful and the findings of this study suggest that remaining bored may be more fatiguing than continuously exerting cognitive effort.

Individual susceptibility to boredom varies. Some people can report extreme boredom and others satisfactory interest, even if the environment is identical. Also, workers appear to adopt an array of techniques to avoid or reduce boredom. More research is needed to determine the most effective means, but approaches to alleviate boredom could be grouped into three categories: Stimulate: Introduce a secondary, more stimulating task. If 30% of your work is carried out by a machine, perhaps this creates more time for more creative, non-routine work.

Rest: Schedule tasks so that workers get enough breaks to recover from boredom.

Reconsider: Just because something can be automated, should we automate it?

Reconsidering automation Increasing automation is the end-goal for many designers.

There are many worthy and logical reasons for this, including enhanced safety, improved accuracy and decreased costs.

However, we should consider the impact on people’s wellbeing and performance. Not only because it is likely that automation will displace human jobs, but because the downstream effects of increasing boredom could be serious.

Boredom has been implicated in significant health problems: - Premature death due to cardiovascular disease - Increasing risk of anxiety and depression - A reason for recreational drug use in some populations Recent studies have also highlighted the potential for automation to reduce rather than increase system performance, in certain conditions.

Exponential change It’s likely that the following three trends will become more dominant: Automation: What can be automated, probably will be. What cannot will become increasingly valuable.

Augmentation: Those in high-income, cognitively demanding roles will be differentiated by their capacity to work with automated systems that assist and augment their complex work.

However, workers in low to middle-income jobs may find that their roles are less effortful but more tedious.

Agility: We are likely to live and work for longer than ever, while the world changes around us. We must care for our bodies and minds in a proactive, intelligent way so that we can adapt, continue to learn new skills, and maintain our wellbeing and performance for as long as possible.

While previous transformations have impacted technology, the economy and society in a linear manner, the digital technologies we have created are accelerating development at an exponential rate.

It took more than a century for the use of spindles – straight wooden spikes used for spinning fibres such as wool and cotton – to spread beyond Europe. It took just seven years for the Internet to cover the planet.

Every revolution in technology has brought challenges and opportunities, requiring humans to make difficult decisions and complex judgements. Are feasibility, efficiency, effort and cost savings the most important metrics when considering automation?

A less effortful, more efficient life may not be a better life.

Particularly if you are bored.

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IN LIGHT OF RECENT EVENTS

THE WORD GLOBALISATION IS OUT OF DATE. THIS IS WHAT SHOULD REPLACE IT The word globalisation has lost its relevance and lustre with the emergence of the new global economy of the 21st century. In fact, it’s become an anachronism.

Its deficiency is that it’s not a new concept which creates nuances of confusion.

Globalisation describes the international outreach of countries for the purpose of economic, social, political and cultural liaisons.

Global linkages between countries through military conquest, colonisation, multilateral free trade agreements and cultural exchange existed in an uninterrupted continuum in the evolving history of humankind.

Historically, however, the process of globalisation has taken different forms, and its meaning has changed and mutated since it was first used in English in the 1930s.

For lack of a better word, the term received an extension to its lifeline until the end of the 20th century despite the profound structural changes and technological advances that began to take place in the 1980s.

Therefore, globalisation has come to be used to represent “modern” 20th century economics and social processes, including the instant exchange of money enabled by internet technologies.

Yet because of its varied historical use, it does not truly reflect the electronic and digital empowerment that has been unleashed by the information technology revolution.

Therefore, globalisation is not an accurate descriptor of the 21st century and the internet-driven transformational change sweeping the international economic landscape.

And so I have coined the term internetisation which I believe should replace the concept of globalisation.

Internetisation: Time, geography are irrelevant Internetisation is the contemporary face of globalization. It includes the modern tools of electronic globalization and embraces the digital connectivity and empowerment of the internet and the World Wide Web. Although we could widen the term globalisation to include internetisation, I believe it is better to replace the word globalisation altogether because the long duration of its usage has given birth to evolving definitions and the creation of a plethora of different nuances.

If we embrace this new term, internetisation, within our modern economic vocabulary, it will permit a more accurate description of the engine which drives our new 21st-century global economy. By using the term, we will acknowledge the information technology revolution that’s profoundly altered the structural parameters and the modus operandi of most national economies.

Image: Internet Live Stats Ideas: New digital economy for the 21st century The role of information and communications technology in the new economy has been pivotal. This is particularly true of the changing structure of international production.

More specifically, information and communications

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technologies, or ICTs, have altered the production function, enhanced productivity growth, facilitated innovation, spearheaded the transmission of ideas and extended the reach of economic and social interactions.

The revolution of information and communications has given us tremendous capacity for connectivity. Time and geography are irrelevant. Communications have sped up and reduced the time required for connectivity to nanoseconds. Geographical boundaries have melted and become increasingly more porous and insignificant in terms of social, economic and political outreach.

The new economy is built on a culture of innovation and an emphasis on creativity. Indeed, the signature mark of the new global economy is new ideas, new technologies, new products, new directions and new initiatives.

In this context, firms are integrating the production and marketing of goods and services across national borders.

International economic transactions that were formerly conducted between independent entities are now being internalised within a multinational corporation.

Electronic financial transactions are the modern face of banking.

The new technological infrastructure has empowered services to be delinked from production and performed remotely.

In this contemporary venue, the market for a growing number of internationally integrated but geographically dispersed business enterprises is global rather than national. Indeed, ICTs have displaced the physical market with the virtual market of the internet for business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions.

Human capital: Our new No. 1 resource The 20th century economy was about resources under our feet while the 21st century economy is about the resources between our ears. In this context, human capital has emerged as a country’s most valuable economic asset. Indeed, the linkages between education, economic growth and prosperity are significant.

Internetisation has had a profound impact on formal education, lifelong learning and public education.

It’s created a more level playing field for educational opportunities and achievement. Both instructors and students, regardless of their geographical location in Western countries or “Global South” countries, as well as schools in the poorest neighbourhoods and those in affluent neighbourhoods, can theoretically access the same high-quality educational material.

Furthermore, internetisation has also enabled professionals, scientists and many other specialists with an effective and convenient manner for maintaining and updating their professional qualifications through electronic accessibility to lifelong learning.

However, the profound impact of internetisation is not limited to formal education. It also embraces public education and lifelong learning. Indeed, internetisation serves as a catalyst through the digital delivery of public education and electronic resources to create better-informed citizens.

In short, the word globalization has reached the end of its natural life. Indeed, its extended tenure in the economic literature has resulted in a lot of semantic baggage that detracts from an effective dialogue on the contemporary academic landscape.

In addition, globalisation fails to adequately describe the digital connectivity that is the hallmark of our civil society and the new global economy. Judging by the frequency of use of the new word internetisation among economists and interdisciplinary researchers in recent scholarly publications, it’s also gaining currency in academic circles.

PRODUCT NEWS

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

REVOLUTIONARY NEW BEAM WELDING TECHNOLOGY TO FAST-TRACK LARGE MANUFACTURING PROJECTS A new technology could improve the efficiency of large-scale manufacturing projects by enabling firms to perform electron beam welding without a vacuum chamber.

EBFLOW, which features a local coarse vacuum that can be transported to and operated on site, has been developed

by Cambridge Vacuum Engineering and was launched on 1st January 2018.

The technology is designed to simplify the process of thick section welding in the manufacture of a wide range of large structures including ships, pressure vessels, wind farms and towers, nuclear plants, and many of the structures involved in oil and gas exploration and civil engineering projects.

To date it’s only been possible to perform electron beam welding – a key technology in the fabrication of large, heavy wall structures – at sites equipped with a vacuum chamber large enough to

house the structures under manufacture.

But EBFLOW’s coarse vacuum can be mounted on tracks and operated locally. The technology can be used in any plant where large components are welded.

In tests, EBFLOW has been shown to be 20 to 30 times faster than conventional arc welding, offering transformational gains in productivity. At the same time, it uses less power than conventional arc processes, lowering a plant’s carbon footprint.

Among the myriad of other benefits are the ability to perform low-heat input welds that result in reduced distortion – ensuring quality – and the option to perform NDT testing immediately after welding, fast-tracking the manufacturing process and driving down costs.

Speaking ahead of the launch Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering said: “This technology will transform the productivity of fabrication processes throughout the world of heavy engineering. In many cases the speed of welding can be 30 times faster than current methods.

“The technology has been fully developed and pioneered in Britain and we are now ready to introduce it to the world.”

RACING TOWARDS YOUR FACTORY OF THE FUTURE SPEED AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION WITH WELDING THAT'S 30 TIMES FASTER

PLEASE VISIT

www.ebflow.com FOR MORE INFORMATION

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PRODUCT NEWS

ULTRA-HIGH SPEED WI-FI DEVELOPED FOR SEOUL’S SUBWAY TRAINS A mobile hotspot network will enable riders on fast-moving trains to stream HD videos without interruption while underground, thanks in part to a newly-developed mmWave wireless backhaul technology.

The first commercial service using this technology will debut later this year.

Daejeon, KOREA: A mobile hot-spot network featuring an extremely fast 1.25 Gbps data transmission has been developed for public transportation systems by ETRI in South Korea. A pilot project featuring the new technology in Seoul’s subway lines will begin later this year.

The network is able to provide ultra-fast internet service in high-speed trains by combining two technologies. First, the network transmits data using millimeter waves with a frequency over 20 GHz, which enable data transmission 100 times faster than existing WiBro backhaul networks.

Backhaul networks work as intermediaries, linking receivers on the trains with the public Internet, via radio towers along the tracks.

The second key part is a fast hand-over technology that seamlessly transfers data transmission from one base station to another; no delay or disconnection like those experienced when a video freezes or a cell phone call is dropped when transitioning between service towers.

“The mobile hot-spot network (MHN) technology can provide high-speed Wi-Fi services even in a fast running subway train, just like home Wi-Fi,” said Hyun Kyu Chung, the president of ETRI’s 5G Giga Service Research Laboratory. “Our technology will provide

the world’s first commercial service using millimeter waves as a moving wireless backhaul for subways.”

ETRI demonstrated various 5G services based on MHN-E on buses during the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

ETRI successfully demonstrated data service up to 500Mbps in 2016, and then up to 1.25Gbps in 2017. The technology may enable a maximum of 550 users to watch a video simultaneously through Wi-Fi in a running subway train.

As high speed data communication such as virtual reality and augmented reality are required in the foreseeable future, this technology is likely to become a major need in public spaces. It is also likely that such technology will be recommended as an international standard for 5G networks (the fifth generation of telecommunication networks).

ETRI is currently collaborating with other institutes to develop an enhanced mobile hot-spot network (MHN-E) to provide service up to a whopping 10 Gbps. ETRI demonstrated various 5G services based on MHN-E on buses during the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

FARO DESIGN SCANARM 2.0 IMPROVES PRODUCT DESIGN WORKFLOW FARO’s next generation Design ScanArm 2.0 is specifically designed to address the most demanding challenges and requirements faced by product design and product engineering professionals. It offers an exceptional combination of flexibility, reliability, value and performance through best in class accuracy, resolution and ergonomics.

Performance Design ScanArm 2.0 delivers up to 25% improved system accuracy compared to the previous generation. Design and product engineering professionals can now have increased confidence that the real-world design output conforms even more tightly to the look, feel and complex geometry of the source object.

Furthermore, productivity is enhanced with the addition of FAROBlu Laser Line Probe HD that incorporates advanced blue laser technology and rapid scanning of up to 600,000 points per second.

Flexibility and Portability Design ScanArm 2.0 is now available in three highly maneuverable arm lengths - 2.5m, 3.5m and 4m - to ensure that end users can select the option that optimally fits with the specific design objectives for their projects. It includes the option of dual, hot swappable batteries that enable continuous operation wherever needed without the requirement for external power.

Users can now bring the scan to the project rather than needing to bring the project to the scan.

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Usability Enhanced ergonomics and a 25% overall weight reduction enables less operator fatigue. This leap forward in comfort, combined with improved maneuverability, significantly increases productivity by facilitating continuous use over extended periods during the workday.

Design ScanArm 2.0 enables a new level of efficiency with integration of a kinematic intelligent probe system for projects that require contact measurement. This system includes a tool less quick release for fast connect/disconnect and allows operators to quickly transition from contact to non-contact projects without needing to spend any significant additional time and effort to switch out or recalibrate probes.

BUSINESS NEWS

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

HIMA EXPERT TO SPEAK ON SINGAPORE’S SAFETY CASE COMPLIANCE AT TÜV RHEINLAND CONFERENCE This symposium, from 14 to 15 March and organised by TÜV Rheinland, focuses on facilities that are considered a Major Hazard Installation (MHI) under the new Workplace Safety and Health regulations. HIMA’s expert will speak on the role of functional safety in helping industry practitioners currently administering and overseeing the safety case for their facility to understand how to fulfil the technical requirements of the new legislation.

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower has introduced the Major Hazards Installations (MHI) Regulations under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, to be implemented from the last quarter of 2017 through 2019. The core feature of the MHI Regulations is the Safety Case Regime where the submission of a safety case is compulsory.

The Safety Case Regime is a structured set of documentation that sets out how major accidents are prevented and the risks to people and environment mitigated at MHIs. Sujith Panikkar, Senior Consultant Functional Safety/ Safety Instrumented Systems, HIMA Asia Pacific, who will be speaking at the symposium, said: “The safety case and functional safety are closely related. Moreover, the functional safety aspect of building the safety case tends to be the most important, and also the most technically complex. Many working in MHIs will need assistance in building their safety case to comply with regulators. So through our collaboration with TÜV Rheinland, we hope to help those tasked with this challenge.

“The complex operating environment and the presence of large amounts of hazardous chemicals at MHIs mean that any accident can potentially result in catastrophic consequences. Therefore, strict compliance with the legislation is essential in ensuring a safe work environment in MHIs.” Panikkar will address during his session: functional safety, safety instrumented systems and the safety lifecycle; functional safety documentation; the link between this documentation and technical aspects of the safety case submission. Plus, those attending will be given assistance in identifying gaps in their safety documentation so that timely action plans can be implemented before the safety case submission deadline.

About HIMA The HIMA Group is the world’s leading independent provider of smart safety solutions for industrial applications. With more than 35,000 installed TÜV-certified safety systems worldwide, HIMA qualifies as the technology leader in this sector. Its expert engineers develop customized solutions that help increase safety, cyber security and profitability of plants and factories in the digital age.

For over 45 years, HIMA has been a trusted partner to the world’s largest oil, gas, Sujith Panikkar, Senior Consultant chemical, and energy-producing Functional Safety/ Safety Instrumented companies. These rely on HIMA solutions, services and consultancy for uninterrupted plant operation and protection of assets, people and the environment. HIMA’s offering includes smart safety solutions that help increase safety and uptime by turning data into business-relevant information. HIMA also provides comprehensive solutions for the efficient control and monitoring of turbomachinery (TMC), burners and boilers (BMC) and pipelines (PMC). In the global rail industry, HIMA’s CENELEC-certified SIL4 COTS safety controllers are leading the way to increased safety, security and profitability.

Founded in 1908, the family-owned company operates from over 50 locations worldwide with its headquarters in Bruehl, Germany.

With a workforce of approximately 800 employees, HIMA generated a turnover of approximately €126 million in 2016.

For more information, please visit: www.hima.com

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Images © HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH

The leading independent provider of smart safety solutions, HIMA, is speaking at the Singapore Safety Case Symposium to address the functional safety aspects of the new legislation for process plants and bulk storage facilities.

AAYUDH TOOLS CARVES A NICHE IN COMPETITIVE INDIAN MARKET Situated at the manufacturing hub of western India Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Aayudh Tools has been engaged in cutting tool manufacturing since 1990. Driven by a passionate and experienced professional, Hemant Dadhe, the company has carved a niche for itself in the competitive Indian cutting tool market with its tailor made solutions and highly reliable tools.

After working with companies like TATA Motors (then TELCO) and Sandvik, Hemant Dadhe, started Aayudh Tools with a vision to become the most trusted cutting tool supplier in the domestic market.

“We started manufacturing HSS tools in 1990; from 1995 onwards the group progressed further by manufacturing Brazed Carbide Cutting tools. In 2003, we started manufacturing Solid Carbide Cutting Tools to cater to the growing needs of the manufacturing industry,” says Hemant Dadhe, Founder & Director, Aayudh Tools.

Indian manufacturing industry was scaling new heights and witnessed huge demand from automotive and infrastructure sectors. It also prompted several global OEMs to set shop in India.

As the FDI was increasing in the country, the demand for high

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precision tools was also in constant demand.

“During 2009-10 we were catering to some global automotive OEMs and their expectations from the cutting tool supplier were very high. We wanted to give our best but finding the right machine was increasingly becoming a challenge. There was a requirement for a machine that could provide us high repeatability and micron level accuracy, which our then set up was not able to meet. That is when we came across ANCA and made our first ANCA Purchase, TX7, a high-end CNC grinding machine,” adds Hemant.

Talking about the benefits of ANCA machine, Hemant says, “ANCA helped us to achieve the much-needed web-centrality. It means at the centre point of the tool there is a kind of web which is maintained at about 0.1 mm. The centrality of that web compared to X & Y-axis needs to be controlled within 10 microns. When it’s controlled at the said parameter, the performance of the tool improves. This was something we were not able to achieve earlier.

ANCA was able to deliver us the perfect geometry.”

One of the most important aspects when it comes to cutting tool business is repeatability of the performance, i.e. the first tool and the last tool should have the same kind of accuracy with exactly the same geometries.

“It might seem there is hardly any difference between the finish of mid-range machine and high-end machine, but the difference can be seen in the micron level. ANCA machines helped us to achieve high accuracy and repeatability. The minute difference in the geometries improves the lives of the tool and reliability, which is very important for us,” he adds.

Aayudh Tools boasts of about 350 customers and manufactures tools as per the customer’s demand. The company has developed over 40,000 varieties of tools to date. Their long list of happy customers includes large domestic and foreign automotive OEMs. With the help of ANCA’s MX5 and TX7, Aayudh Tools have

Asia Manufacturing News

increased productivity by about 30% and looking to enter new and challenging sectors like aerospace.

“The software team at ANCA is very experienced and has always helped us in design activities. Their open-ended software is helpful in designing new tools especially for companies like us who makes only customised tools. Our suggestions were also implemented in the next version. We couldn’t be happier,” he adds.

ANCA control system is also equipped with CAM feature, which can be used to export data into Unigraphis. It helps to make the necessary changes in the design of the tools. ANCA is also trying to develop post processor that will allow 3D model geometry to create CAM programme in the machine itself.

Says Hemant, “As the government of India has taken several initiatives to promote Electric Vehicles, we are aware that there will be a significant drop in the demand for machining activities in the automotive industry. At the same time, we see great opportunity for die mould and aerospace industry in the country and we are prepared to face the change in demand.”

Backed by technologies from ANCA, Aayudh Tools is well-equipped to serve the challenging aerospace and die mould

March 2018

industry.

Aayudh Tools boasts of about 350 customers and manufactures tools as per the customer’s demand.

“Since 2011, the market was stagnant and there were too many players. This made us focus on the development of new tools and geometries and invest in right technologies. Investment in right technologies like, ANCA helped us stay ahead of the competition,” concludes Hemant.

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM PROVIDES EMERGENCY LOAD MANAGEMENT Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has developed a container-type large-scale ‘Fortelion’ energy storage system to provide emergency load management and counter instantaneous voltage drop, and released the developed system in cooperation with Japan Facility Solutions, Inc. (JFS), a 100% subsidiary of TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc. (TEPCO EP).

The system’s storage block uses Murata’s ‘Fortelion’ lithium-ion battery, manufactured by Murata subsidiary Tohoku Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and is used in combination with an AC-DC converter made by Meidensha Corporation or YAMABISHI Corporation.

Instantaneous voltage drop, or a momentary drop in power system voltage, due for example to lightning strikes on power transmission lines, may have large impact such as the stoppage of production lines in factories, while data centres, and factories that manufacture high value-added products require more stability of power supply than ever before.

Murata’s ‘Fortelion’ lithium-ion battery uses a cathode composed of olivine-type iron phosphate, with a high

safety standard and no risk of fire, and a useful lifespan of up to fifteen years. In addition, the battery provides a higher amount of power than that of general lithium-ion batteries, which leads to installation space savings.

The product also has a demand response function that can help to level power supply by making use of energy storage to achieve efficient energy use.

Going forward, Murata will continue to develop high input (2C charging) high output (6C discharge) large-scale energy storage systems and provide various solutions that realize not just instantaneous voltage drop compensation measures and demand response, but also mitigation of short-term fluctuations and adjustment of frequencies.

asiamanufacturingnewstoday.com

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EVENTS

LABELEXPO SOUTHEAST ASIA OPENS REGISTRATION FOR VISITORS

Trade visitors can now register online for Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2018. Focused entirely on label and package printing, the show makes its debut as it runs 10 - 12 May at BITEC in Bangkok, Thailand.

Aimed at printers/converters, brand owners, label and packaging technicians, buyers and design specialists, the event expects visitors to attend from across Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Australasia.

Supported by the Thai Screen Printing & Graphic Imaging Association (TSGA) and the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) under the Minister of Industry, the event will cover over 3,500sqm and host 200 of the global industry’s principal manufacturers and suppliers.

Confirmed exhibitors so far include HP, Bobst, Epson, Flint Group, Konica Minolta, Lintec, Omet, UPM Raflatac, Xeikon, Yupo

Corporation and Zhejiang Weigang Machinery Co. In addition to a sold-out show floor packed with real-time live machinery demonstrations and the multiple product launches due to hit the Asian market, Labelexpo Southeast Asia will also offer a variety of valuable learning opportunities.

Running alongside the exhibition, visitors will be able to attend a range of topical conference sessions, or register for access to two exclusive workshops being held in association with the Label Academy covering shrink sleeve technology and die-cutting and tooling.

Labelexpo Southeast Asia is free to attend and visitors can register for their full expo pass by visiting www.labelexpo-seasia. com.

VITAFOODS ASIA

11 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2018 SANDS EXPO & CONVENTION CENTRE AT MARINA BAY SANDS, SINGAPORE The 8th Vitafoods Asia will take place on 11-12 September 2018, at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, enabling attendees to source high quality ingredients, products and services within the nutraceutical sector. Plus, industry thought-leaders share knowledge, identify market trends and offer regulatory advice covering the Asia Pacific region.

Vitafoods Asia enjoyed record-breaking attendance following its move to Singapore – the heart of innovation in the region.

Vitafoods Asia 2018 will bring a growing number of 5,500+ industry professionals, 300+ global suppliers from 60+ countries across the entire nutraceutical supply chain in the Asia Pacific region to do business. There is no better time to be part of the fast-growing nutraceutical sector.

INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION ASIA-PACIFIC A Hannover Messe Event, will take place from 16 to 18 October 2018 at the Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Singapore-based SingEx Exhibitions, the event organiser, will bring the event into Asia through their collaboration with international partner Deutsche Messe.

The 2018 event will be the first in Asia for the world’s largest

trade show for industrial technology.

Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific is the region’s leading Industry 4.0 event comprising a combination of trade show, conference, workshops, opening session learning, networking, business matching; curated for the specific needs of Asia-Pacific.

ASIA

MANUFACTURING NEWS in April/May Design for Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Productivity

The Circular Economy

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Climate Change

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Deadlines Editorial and advertising deadline is 29 March 2018 Banner advertising to be addressed to

publisher@xtra.co.nz D J Green, Publisher

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11-12 September 2018 Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The nutraceutical event for Asia Source innovative products & ingredients Do business with 300+ global suppliers Discover product development solutions Meet technical experts

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15

THE INTERVIEW

THE INTERVIEW: Poul Lorentzen, General Manager, Consoveyo Singapore Please share about Consoveyo, its history, and how it has evolved.

Headquartered in Porto, Portugal, Consoveyo is a global leading expert for automated material handling and storage systems.

The company has more than 30 years’ experience in providing its customers across Europe and Asia with automated materials handling and storage systems for intralogistics. With more than 200 global references with established companies, Consoveyo has supported customers from different industries including the Automotive, Chemical, FMCG, Food and Beverage, Paper, Pharmaceutical, and Spare Parts markets. Consoveyo also works closely with third party logistics operators and retailers.

Previously known as Efacec Handling Solutions, the company took on a new corporate identity when it was acquired by the German international technology group, Körber AG. Consoveyo has also been part of the Group’s Business Area Logistics Systems since September 2015. As part of the Logistics Systems business, we now have opportunities to work with our sister companies including Aberle, Aberle Software, inconso, Langhammer, Riantics, and most recently DMLogic and High Jump, to develop more complementary logistics solutions for our customers.

The corporate rebranding is an important milestone for us, and we are working hard to communicate our new corporate identity to existing customers and new markets. By leveraging on expertise and technical capabilities within the Körber Group, we can better meet the needs of the markets that we support.

What are some of the services Consoveyo provides?

As a system integrator and leading provider of automated material handling systems, Consoveyo designs and develops a wide range of integrated solutions for customers. We specialise in providing Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), distribution centres, order fulfillment systems, and automated internal transport systems.

We have the expertise to customise a complete ASRS solution for customers looking to optimise available space, operation capacity, and inventory management within their warehouses. The ASRS enables companies to stay ahead of competition, reduce reliance on human labour, create safer workplaces, and enhance security.

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Separately, Consoveyo designs other warehousing solutions such as inter-floor or inter-building conveyor solutions, picking solutions, transport systems like Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), and utilises in-house software solutions like Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).

Depending on our customer’s requirements, we recommend customised warehousing technologies to suit.

For example, in a previous project with British multinational retailer, NEXT, Consoveyo integrated a finished goods ASRS solution with Rail Guided Vehicles (RGVs), lifters, and conveyors linking the production line to the automated warehouse.

In another local project with JTC, Consoveyo will incorporate an inter-floor transport system comprising conveyors and lifters. This allows various end users located in different units and floors to transfer finished food products from production on upper floors to a centralised storage area at the ground floor.

The system also allows the transportation of raw materials from the ground floor to upper floors. The entire operation is carried out without traditional forklifts with operators using cargo lifts to make multiple trips.

We also have the capability to go a step further and design automated warehouses that cater to industries with specific requirements. Whether it is designing ASRS for chill/cold room applications (with temperatures as low as -25 degree Celsius) for the food and beverage industry, or ensuring compliance with strict storage restrictions for pharmaceutical and chemical applications, Consoveyo can provide manufacturers with the support needed to automate all their warehouse management processes.

What kind of processes does Consoveyo undertake when attaining key contracts, and what are some main projects has the company attained recently?

There are important considerations when it comes to attaining key contracts. At Consoveyo, when we attend trade events to create greater awareness about the company, we also take the opportunity to identify business leads. A major factor in obtaining key contracts lies in Consoveyo’s capabilities.

Thanks to our resourceful and experienced engineering teams, we can propose competitive and effective solutions for our customers. We will continue to invest in research and development activities to create automated materials handling technologies and expand our portfolio of solutions. In parallel, Consoveyo will also provide our customers with valuable consultation advice and logistics solutions.

In recent months, we have secured projects with customers from the banking, pharmaceutical, and tobacco industries. We have also been working towards completing turnkey projects for our customers including PT Smart TBK in Indonesia, Lian Hock Hardware in Singapore, and a print and supply chain solutions provider also based in Singapore.

Earlier in September, we announced a new partnership in Eastern Europe with JYSK, a Danish global retailer of household goods. Consoveyo will customise its automated and distribution solutions to cater to two of the customer’s new warehouses.

Amongst the technologies that we will implement, Consoveyo will provide JYSK with 14 high-rise stacker cranes that serves heights of 40m and cover 120,000 pallet locations. Both high-bay warehouses will be connected to the inbound, picking, and shipping areas by Consoveyo’s RGVs.

Asia Manufacturing News

One of the many benefits of using RGVs is that they can economically serve long distances, and can be used to smoothly connect different areas of interface to the ASRS’ pick and deposit conveyors. As RGVs are modular and allow scalability, more can be added to improve performance and redundancy.

For example, in lieu of future warehouse expansion plans, the customer may first commission a limited number of RGVs, and then purchase additional units at a later stage to increase capacity.

Using RGVs enables future proofing and helps warehouses avoid having major disturbance to the systems during expansion operations.

Furthermore, in the event that a single RGV unit breaks down, it can be removed effortlessly from the rail loop, and the remaining loop will function as normal, albeit at a corresponding reduced capacity due to the additional workload.

This project is an exciting opportunity for us as we will be working with inconso, a sister company within Körber’s Business Area Logistics Systems, who will apply its comprehensive experience of SAP-based software implementation to this project. inconso will integrate a Warehouse Management System, SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) 9.4, with a material flow system, SAP EWM Material Flow Systems (MFS), and two SAP-based inconso add-ons – inconsoSIM and inconsoS/Line. inconsoS/Line improves communication between SAP logistics systems and subordinate control levels, while inconsoSIM performs emulations to ensure all warehouse procedures are thoroughly tested before the distribution center switches to full-load operations.

What are some of the major logistics trends that may have an impact on Consoveyo?

Consoveyo has observed growing interest surrounding last mile delivery and automation in logistics. Pertinent to companies like Amazon and Rakuten, last mile delivery focuses on transporting goods from a warehouse or distribution center to final delivery destinations. Presently, Consoveyo does not cater solutions for end customer delivery, but we will continue to focus on refining our capabilities to help expedite seamless movement throughout the supply chain.

Increasingly, integrating automation in logistics solutions for last mile fulfillment, is becoming the norm. Utilising automated logistics, technologies can help companies to overcome manpower shortage and greatly reduce the need for staff training. This is especially true for our customers who are based in Asia. Due to a shrinking labour force brought on by declining birth rates, companies are more inclined to adopt automated technologies.

Additionally, with countries changing their labour regulations to protect employees from excessive physical work, companies are leaning towards alternatives, and many are choosing to integrate automated technologies instead of hiring and training manpower.

This is an area where Consoveyo can assist our customers, and we can support companies as they seek to improve overall productivity within their warehouse operations.

What defines Consoveyo and differentiates it from its competitors?

Consoveyo has been operating in Asia for over 20 years, and in Europe for over 30 years. The time we have invested in this region has been valuable as it has given us insight to develop targeted warehousing solutions and to recommend suitable technologies for our customers.

We have good knowledge of the rules and regulations that apply within the logistics industry, and our experience has also helped our customers better integrate automated technologies in their warehousing operations.

We are fully invested in designing first-in-class logistics solutions for our customers. Research and development activities

March 2018

are an important priority at Consoveyo, and we actively look to refine and develop high-quality warehousing solutions. The people behind Consoveyo are also significant. We surround ourselves with qualified employees and that has benefited us.

Over the years, we have received positive references from our customers about the work that we do, and we strive to continue delivering quality service and warehousing technologies across a variety of applications.

Consoveyo is working hard towards being more visible as an innovative player in the global logistics market. We have lined up exciting plans for Consoveyo, and look forward to leveraging our Singapore office as a springboard for the other sister companies under the Group.

What do you think is the future of the industry, and how does Consoveyo fit into that?

The topic of Industry 4.0 has influenced global industries and we believe that it can lead to a positive impact on the logistics environment. Enabling the creation of more ‘smart factories’, Industry 4.0 can become a push factor that encourages tighter integration of production and logistics in all aspects of the supply chain.

One of the key benefits of automating the warehouse environment is the overall reduction in downtime, which can be attributed to a lower incidence of human error and higher productivity levels with continuous 24/7 warehouse operations.

Technological advancements will ultimately be key in separating the forward-thinking companies from the rest of the industry. In the logistics setting, manufacturers may look to implement solutions such as ‘just-in-time’ (JIT) warehouse maintenance and delivery to support efficient business processes.

Apart from retaining their competitive edge, companies can leverage on the JIT warehousing concept to collect data that will ultimately help to reduce storage of excess inventories.

Also, in recent times, Consoveyo has supported several small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their quest to integrate elements of automation in selected warehousing processes. We completed a turnkey project this year for Lian Hock Hardware, a specialised hardware company based in Singapore.

Consoveyo helped the customer to transition from a manually operated warehouse to a fully automated ASRS warehouse.

It is interesting that even SMEs are beginning to adopt more advanced technologies to achieve higher productivity and to stay competitive, and we believe that this momentum will only continue.

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DEVELOPMENTS

BRAIN-LIKE CHIPS NOW BEAT THE HUMAN BRAIN IN SPEED AND EFFICIENCY -Shelley Fan Move over, deep learning. Neuromorphic computing—the next big thing in artificial intelligence—is on fire.,849 1.4KMove over, deep learning. Neuromorphic computing—the next big thing in artificial intelligence—is on fire.

Recently, two studies individually unveiled computer chips modelled after information processing in the human brain.

The first, published in Nature Materials, found a perfect solution to deal with unpredictability at synapses—the gap between two neurons that transmit and store information. The second, published in Science Advances, further amped up the system’s computational power, filling synapses with nanoclusters of super magnetic material to bolster information encoding.

The result? Brain-like hardware systems that compute faster— and more efficiently—than the human brain.

“Ultimately we want a chip as big as a fingernail to replace one big supercomputer,” said Dr. Jeehwan Kim, who led the first study at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Experts are hopeful.

“The field’s full of hype, and it’s nice to see quality work presented in an objective way,” said Dr. Carver Mead, an engineer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena not involved in the work.

Software to Hardware The human brain is the ultimate computational wizard. With roughly 100 billion neurons densely packed into the size of a small football, the brain can deftly handle complex computation at lightning speed using very littlie energy.

AI experts have taken note. The past few years saw brain-inspired algorithms that can identify faces, falsify voices, and play a variety of games at—and often above—human capability.

But software is only part of the equation. Our current computers, with their transistors and binary digital systems, aren’t equipped to run these powerful algorithms.

That’s where neuromorphic computing comes in. The idea is simple: fabricate a computer chip that mimics the brain at the hardware level. Here, data is both processed and stored within the chip in an analogue manner. Each artificial synapse can accumulate and integrate small bits of information from multiple sources and fire only when it reaches a threshold—much like its biological counterpart.

Experts believe the speed and efficiency gains will be enormous.

For one, the chips will no longer have to transfer data between the central processing unit (CPU) and storage blocks, which wastes both time and energy. For another, like biological neural networks, neuromorphic devices can support neurons that run millions of streams of parallel computation.

A “Brain-on-a-chip” Optimism aside, reproducing the biological synapse in hardware form hasn’t been as easy as anticipated.

Neuromorphic chips exist in many forms, but often look like a nanoscale metal sandwich. The “bread” pieces are generally made of conductive plates surrounding a switching medium—a conductive material of sorts that acts like the gap in a biological synapse.

When a voltage is applied, as in the case of data input, ions move within the switching medium, which then creates conductive streams to stimulate the downstream plate. This change in conductivity mimics the way biological neurons change their

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Shelly Xuelai Fan is a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, where she studies ways to make old brains young again.

In addition to research, she’s also an avid science writer with an insatiable obsession with biotech, AI and all things neuro.

She spends her spare time kayaking, bike camping and getting lost in the woods. “weight,” or the strength of connectivity between two adjacent neurons.

But so far, neuromorphic synapses have been rather unpredictable. According to Kim, that’s because the switching medium is often comprised of material that can’t channel ions to exact locations on the downstream plate.

“Once you apply some voltage to represent some data with your artificial neuron, you have to erase and be able to write it again in the exact same way,” explains Kim. “But in an amorphous solid, when you write again, the ions go in different directions because there are lots of defects.”

In his new study, Kim and colleagues swapped the jelly-like switching medium for silicon, a material with only a single line of defects that acts like a channel to guide ions.

The chip starts with a thin wafer of silicon etched with a honeycomb-like pattern. On top is a layer of silicon germanium— something often present in transistors—in the same pattern.

This creates a funnel-like dislocation, a kind of Grand Canal that perfectly shuttles ions across the artificial synapse.

The researchers then made a neuromorphic chip containing these synapses and shot an electrical zap through them. Incredibly, the synapses’ response varied by only four percent—much higher than any neuromorphic device made with an amorphous switching medium.

In a computer simulation, the team built a multi-layer artificial neural network using parameters measured from their device.

After tens of thousands of training examples, their neural network correctly recognized samples 95 percent of the time, just 2 percent lower than state-of-the-art software algorithms.

The upside? The neuromorphic chip requires much less space than the hardware that runs deep learning algorithms. Forget supercomputers—these chips could one day run complex computations right on our handheld devices.

A Magnetic Boost Meanwhile, in Boulder, Colorado, Dr. Michael Schneider at the National Institute of Standards and Technology also realised that the standard switching medium had to go.

“There must be a better way to do this, because nature has figured out a better way to do this,” he says.

His solution? Nanoclusters of magnetic manganese.

Schneider’s chip contained two slices of superconducting electrodes made from niobium, which channel electricity with no resistance. When researchers applied different magnetic fields to the synapse, they could control the alignment of the manganese “filling.”

The switch gave the chip a double boost. For one, by aligning

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Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

www.10thousandtrees.com

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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

INDONESIAN PORT OPERATOR ORDERS FIVE MOBILE HARBOUR CRANES PT Pelabuhan Indonesia 3 (Pelindo 3) has expanded its fleet of Konecranes equipment by placing an order for three Model 4 and two Model 5 rubber-tired mobile harbour cranes for its Tanjung Perak Port to serve vessels carrying containers, general cargo or bulk as required.

Pelindo 3 successfully operates Konecranes Automated Rubber Tired Gantry (RTG) cranes at its Semarang container terminal. It also operates a large Konecranes Automated RMG system, along with many Konecranes STS cranes, at its Lamong Bay Terminal in Surabaya.

Pelindo 3 subsidiary PT Berlian Jasa Terminal Indonesia (PT BJTI) has Konecranes Gottwald Mobile Harbor Cranes at terminals in Surabaya and placed an order for eight Konecranes Gottwald cranes earlier this year.

Since Pelindo 3’s cargo handling business is significantly growing, and its subsidiary is familiar with Konecranes Gottwald equipment, Pelindo 3 decided to purchase mobile harbor cranes for its own use at Jamrud Terminal in Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java from Konecranes.

The five new cranes are scheduled for hand-over in late summer of 2018, and will provide the versatility needed to handle different types of cargo at the terminal. Indonesia’s dispersed archipelagic form means that Pelindo 3’s terminals play a major role in the

country’s national and international logistics.

They will be fitted with state-of-the-art, eco-efficient technology. With an external power feed to hook them up to the terminal’s grid, these electrically powered cranes will help the customer to reduce costs and its carbon footprint significantly in the long term.

Gottwald Model 5 Mobile Harbor Cranes have a lifting capacity of up to 125 t and a maximum outreach of 51 m. The new Model 4 cranes have a lifting capacity of up to 100 t and a maximum outreach of 46 m. To handle A Konecranes Gottwald Model bulk cargo, the cranes will 5 Mobile Harbor Crane handling be equipped with motor containers at Pelindo 3 grabs.

HILLSTONE AND FLOWMON JOIN FORCES TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO BUILD COMPLETE CYBERSECURITY PLATFORMS Hillstone Networks a leading provider of network security solutions, has announced a partnership with Flowmon Networks a vendor developing next generation monitoring and security solutions for network infrastructures.

The joint offering between the two visionary companies will help customers build a complete cybersecurity platform. The joint network security solution, consisting of the Hillstone Networks Intelligent Next-Generation Firewall (iNGFW) and Flowmon Anomaly Detection System (ADS), can effectively intercept cyber threats from the Internet and internal networks, defend against modern network attacks, and comprehensively monitor and protect the overall network security posture.

The Hillstone Networks iNGFW and Flowmon ADS work in conjunction to support the deployment of linked security policies across internal and external networks. The Hillstone iNGFW is used primarily for threat prevention for external networks, while the Flowmon ADS mainly detects internal network threats and passes details of the internal threat to the iNGFW, in order to complete the risk interception of threats and deliver a closed loop to the security administrator.

“Cooperation with Hillstone is a perfect fit. Flowmon ADS eliminates risks that bypass traditional solutions. Its engine utilises sophisticated network behavior analysis, an advanced artificial intelligence based on machine learning. It permanently observes and analyses data communication seeking anomalies, revealing suspicious behavior and thus taking the entire security to the next level,” said Petr Springl, Director of Products and Alliances at Flowmon Networks.

The Hillstone Networks iNGFW and Flowmon ADS joint solution

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can effectively intercept threats from the Internet and internal networks, defend against modern network attacks, comprehensively cover the overall network security posture, and make the internal network and external network stable, reliable, secure and credible.

The solution brief is currently available on both Hillstone Networks and Flowmon Networks websites.

Hillstone Networks’ Layered Threat Protection provides continuous threat defense at perimeters, internal networks and Cloud. Established in 2006 by NetScreen, Cisco and Juniper executives, Hillstone Networks is relied on by more than 15,000 customers around the world, including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, financial institutions and service providers.

Hillstone Networks’ US headquarters is in Santa Clara, California.

To learn more, visit www.hillstonenet.com.

Flowmon Networks empowers businesses to manage and secure their computer networks confidently. Through our high-performance network monitoring technology and lean-forward behavior analytics, IT pros worldwide benefit from absolute network traffic visibility to enhance network & application performance and deal with modern cyber threats. Driven by a passion for technology, we are leading the way of NetFlow/IPFIX network monitoring that is high performing, scalable and easy to use. With solution recognised by Gartner, Flowmon is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. For more information, visit www.flowmon.com.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

SDK TO RE-EXPAND CAPACITY

TO PRODUCE HIGH-GRADE SIC EPITAXIAL WAFERS Showa Denko has decided to re-expand its capacity to produce high-quality-grade silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial wafers for power devices, which have already been marketed under the trade name of “High-Grade Epi” (HGE), in addition to currently conducted expansion work of HGE production facilities.

After the initial expansion work which is scheduled to be finished in April, SDK’s capacity to produce HGE will be increased from current 3,000 wafers*1 per month to 5,000 wafers per month.

After the re-expansion work which is to be finished in September 2018, that capacity will be increased to 7,000 wafers per month.

When compared with the mainstream silicon-based semiconductors, SiC-based power devices can operate under high-temperature, high-voltage, and high-current conditions, while substantially conserving energy.

These features enable device manufacturers to produce smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient next-generation power control modules. In addition to the traditional use as power sources, SiC-based power devices are now replacing conventional silicon-based power devices for on-board use such as inverter modules for railcars, on-board battery chargers and rapid charging stations for EVs, in parallel with rapid expansion of the EV market.

SDK’s SiC epitaxial wafer business has been achieving growth rate higher than that of the market because manufacturers of power devices appreciate the lowest incidence of crystal defects and the highest homogeneity of wafers in the world which SDK’s HGE achieved.

SDK decided this time to conduct re-expansion of its HGE production facilities since the initially expanded HGE production facilities are expected to reach full capacity operation by the middle of 2018.

SDK will continue responding to the demands of the market through establishment of stable supply system of HGE.

*1 This number is based on a conversion into SiC epitaxial wafers for power devices having withstanding voltage of 1,200 V. Showa Denko K.K. is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries.

SWITCH TO FAIRCHILD TRANSDUCER DELIVERS IMPROVED DIE CASTING PERFORMANCE Fairchild, a Rotork Instruments brand, manufactures precision pneumatic and electro-pneumatic industrial control components.

In a recent application, the introduction of Fairchild electro-pneumatic transducers has improved the performance of die casting machinery and reduced overall costs.

Suzhou Mingzhi Technology based in China manufactures low pressure die casting machinery that is designed to produce high quality, high volume metal components. The high quality of the components is dependent on accurate high flow, low pressure air pressure control, for which it was previously necessary to use four pressure transducers in each machine.

The switch to Fairchild has enabled a single Fairchild T9000 Series IP transducer to perform this duty with increased accuracy.

Outlet air pressure is regulated in proportion to an analogue

electrical input signal by a closed-loop integrated microprocessor control system. The highly accurate output pressure is maintained by an internal feedback sensor.

Designed for arduous and challenging industrial environments, Fairchild T9000 IP transducers are resistant to shock and vibration and can be installed in any orientation.

Fairchild feed and bleed technology enables the T9000 Series to provide a complete range of high performance transducers for many applications.

In this case the high volume, low pressure performance has enabled a single unit to replace four units from another manufacturer, delivering cost savings as well as improved performance.

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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

MACHINE LEARNING AND BIG DATA OFFER MASSIVE POTENTIAL Marianne Culver, President of RS Components, looks at the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of Big Data and how it can be exploited for machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.

Just a few decades back, the defence industry was quick to exploit the potential of intelligent machines and systems that could use in-the-field data in order to ‘think for themselves’; primarily to make simple, fact-based decisions that removed the workload from human operatives.

This concept of data-based machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now seeing much wider deployment in civilian applications too – with many of us not actually realising that we are the information sources creating the data upon which these systems base their decisions. Leading tech firms, such as Google and Netflix, regularly leverage huge amounts of on-tap user-specific data to feed algorithms that ultimately help them streamline and enhance their customer offerings.

Replace the term ‘user-specific data’ with ‘machine-specific data’ and it quickly becomes clear that Big Data and machine learning have the potential to revolutionise the manufacturing, process and, indeed, any other networked or machine-based industries.

In fact AI-driven procedures are already making a difference across a number of industries, with companies such as Presenso and Predikto already providing AI-based analytical solutions for maintenance operations.

Predictive maintenance is a perfect illustration for AI-based systems, as it can leverage a relatively small number of simple but incredibly informative data sets and then use them to predict and provide remedial actions. With the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and, as a result, Big Data, coupled to an almost exponential expansion in the number of data-providing end points or nodes, this type of capability will become more prevalent, powerful, informative and effective.

However, even a single simple manufacturing cell can generate in excess of 50 points of data per second, and over the period of a shift this can quickly turn into a tidal wave of ones and zeros. This is where AI and machine learning will step in.

As part of Big Data analysis, AI will distinguish relevant data from noise, define logical connections and correlations between

these data sets, remove any non-connectable data and then provide pertinent information upon which decisions can be made – either automatically or via human interaction.

The good news is that future AI and machine learning can be catered for now, by any company running any solution. Adding intelligence and data gathering capabilities to even the ‘dumbest’ manufacturing operation is relatively straightforward and can be achieved with a very palatable financial outlay.

Even if the data generated is not leveraged immediately, the solution will be ready for when it can be; and the historical data can be put to very good use.

The chances are that these AI systems and analysis solutions will take the form of cloud-based subscription services, which will also leverage data from other similar entities and applications in order to present the best possible solution.

And, with a younger and more tech savvy, multi-skilled workforce stepping into the shoes of older engineers, data, especially its collection, collation, translation and deployment, is creating the next industrial paradigm. Luckily Big Data does not need deep pockets.

There’s no better time to start collecting than now.

At RS, we already have many systems and initiatives in place to both cater for the demands and exploit the benefits of the Big Data-driven manufacturing economy, and we are feeding these products and support solutions to our customer base. Even the most basic manufacturing data – especially when leveraged intelligently – can make a huge difference and the path to adoption is already wide open and incredibly well supported for applications of any size and budget.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 the switching medium, the team could predict the ion flow and boost uniformity. For another, the magnetic manganese itself adds computational power. The chip can now encode data in both the level of electrical input and the direction of the magnetisms without bulking up the synapse.

It seriously worked. At one billion times per second, the chips fired several orders of magnitude faster than human neurons. Plus, the chips required just one ten-thousandth of the energy used by their biological counterparts, all the while synthesising input from nine different sources in an analogue manner.

The Road Ahead These studies show that we may be nearing a benchmark where artificial synapses match—or even outperform—their human inspiration.

But to Dr. Steven Furber, an expert in neuromorphic computing, we still have a way before the chips go mainstream.

Many of the special materials used in these chips require specific temperatures, he says. Magnetic manganese chips, for example,

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require temperatures around absolute zero to operate, meaning they come with the need for giant cooling tanks filled with liquid helium—obviously not practical for everyday use.

Another is scalability. Millions of synapses are necessary before a neuromorphic device can be used to tackle everyday problems such as facial recognition. So far, no deal.

But these problems may in fact be a driving force for the entire field. Intense competition could push teams into exploring different ideas and solutions to similar problems, much like these two studies.

If so, future chips may come in diverse flavours. Similar to our vast array of deep learning algorithms and operating systems, the computer chips of the future may also vary depending on specific requirements and needs.

It is worth developing as many different technological approaches as possible, says Furber, especially as neuroscientists increasingly understand what makes our biological synapses—the ultimate inspiration—so amazingly efficient.

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

INDIA HOPES TO BECOME AN AI POWERHOUSE, WITH INSPIRATION FROM CHINA Artificial intelligence (AI) has finally caught the Indian government’s attention.

On Feb. 01, delivering his budget speech, finance minister Arun Jaitley told parliament that the government think-tank, Niti Aayog, will spearhead a national programme on AI, including research and development.

The intent showed in the numbers: Budget allocation for Digital India, the government’s umbrella initiative to promote AI, machine learning, 3D printing, and other technologies, was almost doubled to Rs3,073 crore ($477 million) this year.

“It’s extremely encouraging to see the government recognise the need for research in cutting-edge technologies,” Subrat Kar, CEO and co-founder of Noida-based video intelligence platform Vidooly, told Quartz. Niti Aayog’s support will “allow us to indigenously develop technologies on par with our Silicon Valley counterparts, and reduce dependency on them,” Kar said.

Niti Aayog, led by CEO Amitabh Kant, has been a key promoter of various digital campaigns in the country, including the massive biometric programme, Aadhaar, and the India chain project, which is creating blockchain infrastructure to support IndiaStack, a set of codes developed around Aadhaar. That’s why the AI initiative has charged up tech companies.

Meanwhile, the department of science is also set to launch centres of excellence (CoEs), investing in research, training, and skilling in digital manufacturing, big data analysis, quantum communication, and internet of things (IoT).

Yet, all this may have come a little too late.

Back of the line Globally, several countries have already committed millions of dollars to developing AI programmes. The US leads the pack, thanks to decades of public and private investment. Over the last five years, San Francisco’s Bay Area, in It helps that the US is home to institutes that champion AI research. particular, has attracted 41% of all global investments in AI, according to China-based Synced Review.

It helps that the US is home to institutes that champion AI research such as Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the world’s biggest tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google.

China, a close second, is swiftly ramping up efforts. Canada, reportedly the birthplace of AI research, is fast turning into a hub with tech majors like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook setting up research labs in Montreal.

The Chinese example To play catch up, India is following its neighbour’s footsteps.

“Arguably, China has set the example for India,” said Kartik Hosanagar, professor of technology and digital business at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Last year, the Asian nation laid out an AI development plan, outlining goals for the next three years and a blueprint for its strategy until 2030. Not only are its local players, including search giant Baidu, taxi company Didi Chuxing, or internet firms Alibaba and Tencent, spending aggressively on AI, global companies like Google have also set up labs there.

India isn’t faring badly, though. Over half (58%) of the companies

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using AI in the country work at scale, beyond pilot and test projects. However, the sector is dominated by American firms like Accenture, Microsoft, and Adobe, which have their innovation centres here. Home-grown efforts on the academic, business, and investor fronts are few.

Percentage of companies using AI who are doing so at scale, beyond pilots Between 2014 and 2017, AI start-ups in India raised less than $100 million from venture capitalists. In any case, hardly any new Indian tech companies are research oriented. There is also a severe dearth of data, which hinders research. And finally, even those who do set up AI-based ventures struggle to find the right talent and skills.

“We should recognise that India is so far behind in this race that I’d put the odds for success to be low,” Hosanagar said.

“India might end up as a big consumer of the new tech-economy featuring AI- and IoT-related technologies. But will it be a big producer in this economy? Today’s environment suggests that it’s unlikely.”

China, meanwhile, has been luring top global AI researchers, many from Silicon Valley firms. It has built a $2 billion research park dedicated to AI in western Beijing and its spending more millions on AI research at universities and private firms.

The research community in China is also far more robust than in India.

The Chinese government spends 2% of its GDP on research while India’s marks a dismal 0.6%. And its implementation is also far ahead: The country, with its lax privacy standards compared to the rest of the world, is already using facial recognition technology in daily life there already, from buying KFC to boarding planes.

Moreover, regular collaboration between Chinese corporates, universities, and the government over the last many years has now begun to pay off for that country. A survey by technical recruiting platform HackerRank ranked Chinese programmers as the world’s best. In recent years, they’ve often won international machinelearning competitions.

In India, AI has only just begun to make its way into classrooms, and a lack of qualified professors is not helping at all.

Moreover, large-scale, real-world applications of AI will take time to emerge. And initially, it is likely to be restricted to laboratories.

“The return on investment in AI won’t be evident for a while,” said Anindya Ghose, the Heinz Riehl professor of business at New York University (NYU). The entire ecosystem—government, companies, employees—needs to brace for this period of limbo as the domains where AI can be used shape up.

Whether India can persevere through this is another matter altogether.

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March 2018

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DEVELOPMENTS

EXTENDED APPLICATION PERIOD FOR SECOND EDITION OF FREE ELECTRONS GLOBAL STARTUP ACCELERATION PROGRAM The application deadline for the second edition of Free Electrons has been extended. This application is a global acceleration program for startups that TEPCO launched with 7 other international utilities in December 2017 to recruit energy startups that will drive the next generation of ideas in clean energy, energy efficiency, e-mobility, digitization and on-demand customer services.

Startups chosen for Free Electrons participate in three separate week-long acceleration modules in the Silicon Valley and two other locations around the world.

Free Electrons was initiated by eight international utilities, AusNet Services, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), ESB (Electricity Supply Board), EDP (Energias de Portugal), innogy, Origin Energy, Singapore Power (SP) and TEPCO. A win-win approach for startups and utilities The utilities behind the Free Electrons program are committed to a future where energy is smart, clean and accessible to everyone.

The global accelerator program is designed for energy startups

to further refine their products and services, with the potential of scaling them for a global customer base of 73 million.

Industry leaders will offer expertise, resources and access to their customer with opportunities for investment and partnership.

A global calling Energy startups around the world with a working prototype are encouraged to apply to Free Electrons. The brightest startups will be selected by the eight utility partners to participate in the six-month accelerator program.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is the largest utility in Japan serving millions of homes and businesses.

Worldwide the company has more than 34 subsidiaries and 32 affiliates in 8 countries and employs approximately 42,060 people.

Consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, totalled 5.3 trillion Japanese yen. The company was established in 1951 and is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

GRUNDFOS INTRODUCES ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST EFFICIENT MOTORS WITH AN IE5 RATING For the first time in the Asia Pacific, pump manufacturing pioneer Grundfos has launched one of the world’s most efficient motors. New generation Grundfos MGE motors – from 0.25 kW to 11 kW – are now capable of attaining this ‘super’ status.

Achieving the highest efficiency level available for electrical motors in the market today, these MGE IE5 motors will enable Grundfos pumps to reach 10 per cent in energy savings and 25 per cent in payback time, as compared to the IE3 solution.

Reaching IE5 in efficiency means that businesses, residences and industrial players will not only meet but exceed IE3 premium efficiency legislative standards set worldwide, including the European Union, the US, and Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and China in Asia Pacific Region.

To align with international standards, minimum energy performance standards for industrial motors in Singapore will be set at IE3 level from 1 October 2018.

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Eric Lai, Regional Business Director – Industry, Asia Pacific Region, Grundfos said the pump manufacturer is dedicated to supporting worldwide efforts to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement commitments.

“Sustainability is a very important part of Grundfos’ DNA and we aim to create cleaner and more energy efficient technologies to enable our customers to reduce their water and energy consumption to limit the impact on the environment.

“Our new MGE motors are a result of our continuous development efforts and extensive experience in the pumps sector. They perform to the highest standards and we are proud to announce they have been awarded IE5, the highest energy efficiency rating worldwide,” Eric Lai said.

The key to Grundfos’ new MGE motors’ unparalleled performance is their state-ofthe-art intelligent solutions as they adapt to the surrounding system which, coupled with the high-efficiency IE5 motor, drive down energy consumption.

With their integrated frequency converters, these motors combine the accumulated pump experience of Grundfos into their dedicated control software.

This combination of pump and customisable software optimises a system’s performance for any load point, delivering an unsurpassed reduction of energy consumption.

The new IE5 classified MGE-motors have a wide range of applications in industrial and commercial building sectors making them the ideal solution-ofchoice for businesses in the thriving markets of the Asia Pacific.

COMMENTARY

Asia Manufacturing News

March 2018

ODDS ARE, YOU’RE AN AI LAGGARD - ALREADY TOO FAR BEHIND

by Mike Azzara The following post was previously published in an earlier edition of AI Insider: Very important artificial intelligence research was presented last fall at the Oaklins Desilva+Phillips 2017 Dealmakers AI Summit, an elite invitation-only event in Manhattan to which a friend wrangled plebeian me an invitation.

The research, “Reshaping Business with Artificial Intelligence,” produced by MIT Sloan Management Review and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reveals stark differences between companies that are leading the charge to adopt AI (“Pioneers”) and those that are not (“Passives”).

From my own point of view, the report lends credence and a strong fact base to a favourite theme I’ve pounded on in previous columns: Companies that don’t begin working with AI now will never be able to catch up to their competitors who do.

Most of the 3,000+ respondents across 112 countries and 21 industries, of course, are NOT Pioneers. Only 5% have “extensively incorporated [AI] in processes and offerings,” while another 18% have incorporated AI into “some” processes and offerings. That makes for a total adoption level of 23%. Another 23% are only piloting some AI projects, which leaves 54% who have not yet taken even that step.

Based on adoption level and questions that get at how well the respondent understands AI, 19% of the study respondents ended up in the Pioneers pool -- they both understand AI well and are adopting it. Next, at 32%, are Investigators, who understand AI but are still piloting; followed by Experimenters (13%), who are “learning by doing” — that is, they’re relatively clueless about AI but are nonetheless piloting or adopting in order to learn. Finally, 36% were deemed Passives -- “organizations with no adoption or much understanding of AI.” According to Martin Reeves, the senior partner and managing director of BCG who presented the findings, it is extraordinary for such an embryonic market that EVERYONE -- from Pioneers to Passives -- has very high expectations for how AI will impact their industry.

For example, 84% of respondents agreed with the statement that “AI will allow us to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage.”

Quips Reeves: “There’s going to be a lot of disappointment and disillusionment. Clearly, 84% of companies are not going to come out of this competitively advantaged.”

Importantly, marketers are among those who may be affected most -- and earliest. Respondents from what BCG designated the technology, media, and telecom industry reported the “largest

effect” when asked to rate, on a five-point scale, “To what extent will the adoption of AI affect your organisation’s offerings today and five years from today?”

Although I don’t have access to the underlying data, a close read of the charted data shows about 21% or 22% of the tech, media and telecom group reported a large effect today, climbing to about 72% or so who anticipate a large effect five years from now. That was the most of any industry, both for today and tomorrow.

Differences in understanding AI are where the biggest challenges lurk for those organisations not yet adopting the tech. As Reeves explains, Pioneers are wrestling with real-world issues, bumping up against privacy and regulatory concerns, and challenges like finding and hiring AI talent.

Passives, meanwhile, are dithering, not understanding how to make a business case for AI and facing no executive support nor tech DNA. In other words, every day, and in every way that matters, the Pioneers are lengthening their lead over the Passives, like Secretariat in his never-equalled, epic 1973 Belmont Stakes run, still the world record for the mile-and-a-half on dirt (2:24).

Reeves emphasised a big misconception Passives have about the relative value of AI algorithms and data sets. Of note, subsequent speakers achieved consensus around the idea that 70% or more of the hard work and value creation in AI apps comes from the data you need to train the algorithms — and then the data they subsequently analyse.

By comparison, algorithms are relatively cheap and often open-source.

But Passives seem to think when they finally decide to do AI, they can buy some AI software and be off to the races. They don’t understand the hard work that must go into TRAINING AI systems.

You have to “raise” them, like children. Organisations that lack data experience and prowess may soon find themselves afloat on a river of excrement without an explicit means of propulsion.

Over time, notes Reeves, competitive advantage will accrue to those organisations that own high-quality data sets, that develop the ability to learn faster than their competitors, and who “experience effects.”

There are more worthwhile insights in the study, which is fairly broad and far-ranging, and I hope to unpack more in future columns.

Meanwhile, remember: Just do AI. It’s good for you.

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