Made Smarter - Innovation Network: Circular Economy

Our series of Made Smarter | Innovation Network webinars – delivered as part of the ISCF Manufacturing Made Smarter programme –  showcases the journeys of manufacturers innovating with digital technologies to improve the performance of their business, alongside digital technology providers creating innovative solutions to aid the manufacturers journey.

You can register for one or more of the webinars based on your specific areas of interest.

Manufacturing Made Smarter (MMS) is one of the Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programmes, investing £147m into creating a fully connected, dynamic manufacturing ecosystem inspiring innovation across academia, technology providers and manufacturers.

Material resources have always been subject to fluctuating availability and prices, but, due to a variety of factors (eg. COVID) this reality is probably more visible than ever. One way of effectively retaining and optimising the value delivered by materials, products and the systems around them, whilst minimising environmental impact, is through a more “circular economy”.

There is a clear synergy between circular economy and digital technologies. For example, digital tech can help track products and components during their usage phase, and enable the return of the product at the end of its life. Once returned, digitally-enabled tech can help with cleaning, disassembly, diagnosis of wear and suitability for re-use/repair, and even adding material back to worn components. In short, digital can help deal with the complexities of a circular economy. The benefits for the manufacturer include reduced environmental footprint and costs and improved security of supply. The economic benefits are clear.

Our webinar on 8th June will explore how Renewable Parts have spotted and are exploiting this opportunity in wind turbines, with the help of Angus 3D. We will then hear from Hybrid Manufacturing Technology who are combining additive and subtractive manufacturing in one platform, and finally HSSMI who have a long history of helping businesses with these themes across sectors.

Then as usual we will have a panel Q&A with all four speakers, plus time for informal networking, helping you to connect with our community of manufacturers, innovators and other stakeholders.

Who should attend?

If you are a manufacturer aspiring to be more productive, efficient, competitive, resilient through the use of digital technologies, an integrator or a digital technology solution provider or developer who wants to reach a manufacturing audience, then this event series will be of interest to you.

Digital technology solution providers and developers engaged in the series will have early access to express their interest in taking a stand at Innovation Alley, within The Manufacturers inaugural exhibition Smart Factory Expo at Digital Manufacturing Week.

• 10:00 | Introduction
• 10:10 | The Manufacturer – WE DID IT! – Renewable Parts

Michael Forbes is a General Manager at the Refurbishment Centre at Renewable Parts, a specialist in supply chain and refurbishment within the wind energy industry. Located in Scotland, their focus is recirculating wind-turbine components with the vision to create a more sustainable industry. Michael will present how they achieved circular economy in the wind energy industry, the help and the challenges they had along the way.

• 10:20 | The Tech Provider – WE MAKE IT POSSIBLE! – Angus Solutions Group Ltd

Andy Simpson is the Managing Director of Angus Solutions Group, a manufacturing solution provider. They combine Additive Manufacturing with more traditional manufacturing methods, which allows for extended asset life. Andy will talk about how Additive Manufacturing contributes to Circular Economy and how it can be applied in manufacturing to keep assets in use.

• 10:30 | The UK Tech Founder – WE’RE INNOVATING IT – Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Ltd

Peter Coates is the CEO of Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, a hybrid-manufacturing solution provider. The company was founded in 2012 after having received an Innovate UK research grant. They focus on combining Additive Manufacturing with subtractive methods into one platform which can be put into any machinery. Peter will tell us about their journey and how their platform can be used to avoid scraping equipment.

• 10:40 | The UK Manufacturing Supporter – WE’RE SUPPORTING IT – HSSMI 

Savina Venkova is circular economy manager at the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI). HSSMI works across manufacturing industries to help companies respond to market challenges by increasing productivity, transitioning towards a circular economy, and upscaling their products and processes.

Areas of expertise include: advanced manufacturing simulation, circular economy, and digital manufacturing.

• 13th April | Industrial Energy Efficiency
• 20th April | Web Based Customer Order Tracking
• 27th April | Continuous Improvement
• 4th May | Factory Floor and Production Systems
• 11th May | Predictive Maintenance
• 18th May | New Product Development
• 25th May | Quality Management
• 1st June | Mass Customisation
• 8th June | Circular Economy
• 15th June | Design for Manufacture
• 22nd June | Servitisation
• 29th June | Flexible Manufacturing