The Future Manufacturing Event being held at the AMRC (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) at Sheffield University and organised by Mitsubishi Electric has proved so popular since it was announced in January that it has now been extended to a second day in order to cope with demand.

This event is still free to attend and will now take place on both the 17th and 18th of March 2015.

The event – part seminar, part exhibition, part live demonstration – will look at the big topics of today which are most likely to have a lasting effect on industry including energy, Industry 4.0 and new technological innovations.

One of the main organisers, Garry Lewis from Mitsubishi Electric said: “We got an indication that this event would be very popular as soon as we started to publicise it, so we have worked hard with the presenters, the venue and the exhibitors to offer a second day in order to try and satisfy demand. Both days promise to be alive and buzzing with technology, so I would advise anyone who is considering attending to register now.

“There is a lot happening in manufacturing at the moment, which has probably helped fuel interest in the event. The economy is strong and interest in investing in manufacturing is high. New technologies are promising to pay big dividends and the increase in machine intelligence and connectivity is opening up many new potential opportunities.”

The event’s wide ranging brief is reflected in the fact that it is organised by Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Automation and sponsored by gear specialist Radicon, electric motor maker Brook Crompton, vibration monitoring group Schaeffler, specialist energy management company Rumm, power quality experts PQM and Copadata, a prominent developer of process control software.

There will be specialist seminar sessions, display stands and many opportunities for networking between delegates.

Chris Evans of Mitsubishi Electric said: “It is clear from the popularity of this event so far that we have a heady mix of ingredients that are very relevant at this time. These include legislation, such as ESOS, G5/5 and IE motor regulations, hot topics like Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things and we are showcasing new innovative technologies which are “Industry 4.0 ready” and offer new opportunities for data gathering and integration.”

The exhibition part of the event will include displays from companies such as: 

  • Rittal/EPLAN (control cabinets and wiring)
  • Lutze (automation solutions)
  • Endress & Hauser (process instrumentation and automation)
  • Balluff (sensors)
  • Cognex (vision)
  • Schaffer (integrated control systems)
  • CLPA (CC-Link open communications)

Lewis again: “The seminars and papers will be the formal and structured part of the day but spontaneous discussions and chance meetings are always very important at days like this.”