![]() Sales are down across the board for Caterpillar with $US20 billion in profit lost over four years, and $US8 billion in the past year, indicating the severity of the global mining slump. Considered the world’s number one mobile plant manufacturer, Caterpillar’s latest sales figures show decline for the past 39 months. Worst hit were resource industry sales in the Asia Pacific region, down 56 per cent in the February quarter 2016.
Construction has not fared as badly, with worldwide figures down 12 per cent in the same period. Wordwide, resources sales are down 42 per cent, compared with a 38 per cent loss in the December 2015 quarter. Retail sales of longwall and highwall miners were not included in the report. In January the Ernst and Young Yellowgoods report showed the resale value of mining fleet equipment in Australia had plunged 46 per cent in the past 12 months. Sustained low commodity prices combined with the increasing production from the low-cost major miners has put unwanted pressure on higher cost producers, leading to reduced need for load and haul fleets. There have been many contracts cancelled with mining service contractors, and Ernst and Young estimates there is anywhere between $600 million and $1 billion worth of machinery parked up. Source: Australian Mining
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MTduo 2016 (Taipei Manufacturing Technology Show) is gearing to present top automated machinery and manufacturing solutions catering to the global manufacturing sector. ![]() MTduo 2016, which is scheduled to be held in Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 from May 5 to 8, 2016 is attracting around 270 exhibitors, who will occupy more than 1,000 booths. Taiwan is one of the top countries in the world in providing affordable solutions in smart manufacturing segment and the MTduo 2016 show will showcase the strength of Taiwan in the sector. Despite current economic situation and challenges, all exhibitors are putting great effort to present their top-notch products and cutting-edge technologies to international buyers in the show. In addition to CNC machines, components and accessories, control system, inspection and measurement, CAD/CAM soft and hard ware, 3D printing, industrial robots, MTduo 2016 show also features smart machinery and automation equipment. In order to address the fourth Industrial Revolution, “Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing Pavilions” will be set up in the trade fair to exhibit Taiwan’s strength in smart manufacturing technology development and system application, which helps manufacturers to increase efficiency, boost competitiveness, reduce costs and in turn expand their businesses.
Besides showcasing new products and solutions by the exhibitors, there are abundant industry related trade activities during the four-day expo in Taiwan. Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the organizer of MTduo 2016, is inviting international buyers to visit the international trade fair through its 60 overseas offices across the world. Buyers will be connected to the right exhibitors in the “One-on-One Procurement Meetings” to fulfill their purchasing needs in one stop. In addition, “New Product Launch Events,” “Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, Smart Factory” and “Innovative Technology Application” seminars will serve as a great networking platform for all participants including exhibitors and visitors to interact and discuss market trends with each other. [MTduo 2016 FACT SHEET] ◎ SHOW NAME: Taipei Manufacturing Technology Show (MTduo 2016) ◎ SHOW FREQUENCY: Biennial ◎ SHOW DATES: May 5-8, 2016 ◎ SHOW HOURS: 10:00a.m-6:00 p.m. Trade & by Invitation also open to public by ticket. ※ Children under 12 are not admitted to the showground. ◎ VENUE: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1, Ground Floor Add: 1, Jingmao 2nd Rd., Nangang District, Taipei 11568, Taiwan Tel: +886-2-27255200 ◎ EXHIBIT PROFILE: 1. Industrial Robots、Machine Components & Accessories、Control System、Information and System Integrator 2. CAD/CAM Soft/Hard Ware、Inspection & Measurement、3D Printing 3. Smart Machinery, Included: Metal Cutting Machine Tools、Metal Forming Machinery、Industrial Automation Equipment (NEW !) 4. Industry 4.0 Pavilion (NEW !) ◎ EXHIBITORS (projected): Total 270 exhibitors, 1,000 booths To get more information on MTduo 2016, please visit www.mtduo.com.tw Show Manager → Mr. Alex Pen ext: 2615 Publicity Manager → Ms. Grace Yu ext: 2612 Exhibition Department, TAITRA Tel: 886-2-27255200 Fax: 886-2-27251959 E-mail: [email protected] Source: Automotive India News
It is one of the most advanced factories in the world.
The Tesla Factory in Fremont, California, contains 5.3 million square feet of manufacturing and office space. Everywhere you look, robots are churning out cars in precisely synchronised movements, producing an estimated 100,000 vehicles a year. Tesla owner, Elon Musk, is usually secretive about what goes own behind its closed doors - but a new time lapse of the assembly process has given the world a glimpse of its manufacturing technology.
The 15 second video, dubbed 'Symphony of robots building Model X,' gives a brief look at Tesla robots putting together a firm's latest car.
While it doesn't show too many details of exactly how the car is built, it does reveal the remarkable efficiency and laboratory like settings in which Tesla operates in. Another recent video provides a glimpse of the $80,000 Model X getting its 'wing' doors attached at the same factory. And a few weeks ago, a CBS5 KPIX TV was granted access to Tesla’s factory where they captured never before seen footage of Tesla’s massive factory floor. The company is planning to start rolling out Model X vehicles sometime later this year. The car features all-wheel drive and a 90 kWh battery providing 257 miles of range. It can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in as quick as 3.2 seconds.
In January, Musk said his 12 year old company will this year be focusing on Silicon Valley to recruit some 1,600 software engineers.
They are to help develop Autopilot, Tesla's autonomous car IT system, with capabilities like the Summon function that can allow Tesla owners to call the car from the garage to their side. In a sign of his determination to beat Detroit at its own game, last November Musk used Twitter to get his message out. 'We are looking for hardcore software engineers. No prior experience with cars required,' he said. 'Should mention that I will be interviewing people personally and Autopilot reports directly to me. This is a super high priority.' Autopilot is crucial if Tesla aims to have a fully self-driving car by 2018, and increase production 10-fold to 500,000 cars a year by 2020. Ramping up production to that level, supported by Tesla's own battery plant under construction in Nevada, is crucial to lowering the price of its cars to a more affordable level. Such promises have kept financiers and investors still firmly behind Tesla, even though the Palo Alto, California company has continued to lose money. If it meets its goals, Tesla could remain a player in the industry. But it is surrounded by likewise eager competitors. All of the large Asian, European and US automakers are ramping up their work on electric, driver-less cars. Crossing into the field with their substantial resources and tech capabilities are Internet giants like Google, Apple, and Uber.
Also crowding into the race are Tesla-wannabes: startups like Chinese-backed Faraday Future, which unveiled its own Batmobile-looking electric in Las Vegas last week, Karma Automotive, Atieva and NexTex.
All of them appear to agree that the future of the industry is in electric cars that can drive themselves. And they are all battling for the best brainpower Silicon Valley has to offer. Tesla has a march on the competition; the question is whether it can hold on. Its Model S and new Model X SUV both have Autopilot capabilities which allow hands-off driving in some situations, and it promises incremental expansions of those capabilities. Karl Brauer, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book, says Tesla 'has the cachet, they have the prestige the competition doesn't have. Tesla is the Apple of the automotive industry.' Even so, he warned, to hold its lead, Tesla needs to keep an eye on the calendar as well as innovate. The new Model X was around two years late on its original timeline. But former GM executive Bob Lutz thinks Tesla, as it bleeds money, is a poor bet to win the race for the car of the future. 'Tesla is still doomed,' he said. 'Whatever uniqueness they have it's disappearing...They have to learn how to make money like other car companies.' Source: Daily Mail Machine Tool Orders measures the change in the total value of new orders placed with machine tool manufacturers. Two versions of this report are released, preliminary and final. Not going to have any impact but one for general filing. USDJPY kicking its heels still at 112.60 Source: Nasdaq
Predictive Maintenance is one of the hottest topics concerning Industry 4.0. It promises enormous savings to machine operators, and opens up the whole sector to a flood of digital transformations, with digital business models on its new horizons. Schaeffler AG shows where this journey is leading. ![]() All stakeholders in Industry 4.0 are expecting great things of Predictive Maintenance. And this hope is not wholly unjustified – a study by the World Economic Forum and consultants Accenture shows that: 12 percent of planned repairs can be avoided by Predictive Maintenance, and almost 30% of maintenance costs. The study even predicts a saving of 70% of unplanned outages. All this is made possible by sensor technology and intelligent data analysis. Plant and machine operators can use these to capture status data from machine components continuously, combine the status data with information from third-party systems such as ERP or CRM, and analyse the results so as to predict the optimal time for carrying out maintenance. Impending faults can be recognised before they occur, speeding up processes and avoiding production outages. Machine 4.0: Looking for new added value
A machine that provides data-flows of its own status is already a reality, as are analysis tools that process this data into meaningful messages. A prototype has been in mass production since autumn 2015 at Schaeffler’s works in Höchstädt. It is the result of close co-operation between Schaeffler, a leading worldwide producer of automobiles and industrial machinery, and DMG MORI. The machine is equipped with sensors at dozens of points that can capture the measured values of pressure, vibrations or forces. Their data is recorded in a network within the machine, and is stored in the Cloud. Online calculations can be initiated via a web service or app, regarding such aspects as the remaining expected lifetime of bearings and the ideal time for carrying out routine maintenance. Why is Schaeffler one of the first machine manufacturers to turn the vision of Industry 4.0 into practice? “It’s important that we learn, from a real production example, how Industry 4.0 functions in practice, what the real requirements are, and how added value can be generated”, says Joerg-Oliver Hestermann, Schaeffler’s head of Strategic Application Technology for production machines. And in the end, it is all about survival – for only those who can use the digital transformation to offer useful new services to their clients will be able to profit. Digital business model for machine-building What do digital business models look like for machine-builders, in terms of the Internet of Things? Dr. Hans-Willi Kessler, Schaeffler’s head of Development for Industrial Service Products, highlights the so-called Micro Services -- analytical tools with which machine status data can be processed in the Cloud. It is the machine-builder, himself, who must undertake the development of this analysis software. “The Schaeffler group has 100 years of knowledge about roller bearings, which we must convert into software and make it run on appropriate software platforms – and it is important to protect this knowledge. It is our specialist knowledge, and we cannot relinquish it to anyone else”, declares Dr. Kessler. These Micro Services will provide the decisive advantage to future machine users, for example in the form of Predictive Maintenance – and they can be built into a new business model: “The engineering services that we include today in the price for one of our bearings will in future be calculated via these Micro Services. Thus we can re-finance the costs of developing the necessary software and IT infrastructures for Predictive Maintenance”. So, will machine-builders in Industry 4.0 have to develop into IT service providers? “No, we will not be IT service providers”, clarifies Dr. Kessler. “The machine-builder will still need to be a technician. But we will need to specialise much more in IT.” Source: HANNOVER MESSE |
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