AFRC and Siemens seal deal to make Scottish factories smarter
23 Oct 2019
Strathclyde university’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) has officially agreed a collaboration with Siemens to promote uptake of digital technologies within Scotland’s manufacturing.
The so-called Tier One Partnership will see Siemens will provide support in kind to the value of £200k per year.
It will supply innovative software and hardware, consultancy and access to research, working with the AFRC’s digital manufacturing team to provide a testbed for de-risking innovation for firms.
Siemens technology is already in use across the AFRC’s collaborative research and development projects, including the creation of a digital twin for the whisky cask filling process and a platform offering an industry 4.0 based solution for machinery.
The two organisations are also collaborating with another AFRC Tier One Partner, Virtalis. using a virtual reality environment to help firms enhance their decision making and plan for the future using digital technology.
AFRC technical director Michael Ward said:
“As the manufacturing sector shifts towards a more data-led approach, it’s crucial that we’re working with industry and supporting companies to use digital technology on shop floors to enhance the factories of the future.
Chief technologist at Siemens Alan Norbury said the partnership would help firms accelerate investment cycles with enhanced access to skills, technology, processes and research that would reduce risks associated with investment in smart factories.
He added: “The early stages of adopting industry 4.0 technology are often where companies hit hurdles."
Photo: AFRC chairman Keith Ridgway and Siemens Digital Factory managing director Brian Holliday
