One of the UK’s leading specialists in tooling, intelligent fixturing and components is launching a new range of ‘digital’ solutions that will connect manufacturing processes and enable easier, faster automation.

MetLase, a joint venture between Unipart and Roll-Royce, commissioned a dedicated team to develop ‘smart’ products, including the Digital Gauge (conducting a digital dimensional inspection process), Smart Bench (ensures no-fault forward in the assembly process as well as connecting up-front supply chains) and Smart Cell.

The latter covers multiple manufacturing processes and can enable human interaction with cobots and robots. This means tasks, including stock control and direct-to-bench supply of components, can be more easily automated.

Engineers at the Rotherham-based firm are taking a similar approach to Smart Machining by creating a smart fixture that can gather critical data from a component such as clamping forces, vibration, temperature, and dimensional measurement, providing better process control and ongoing improvements.

Richard Gould, Business Development Manager at MetLase, said: “Our digital products have to deliver bottom-line benefits to our clients, who operate in the automotive, aerospace, construction and renewables sectors.

“This involves taking traditional manufacturing principles focusing on assembly, bonding, measuring, workholding and assembly workstations, and exploring how we could digitise them in a way that would allow them to provide their core function whilst also gathering data.

“For us, digital manufacturing is not a standalone entity. Instead, it should be a critical aspect of the process and operation, and it should revolve around data and, specifically, digestible, actionable data.”

He continued: “With these new products, we have been able to demonstrate how easily and cost effectively data can be harvested, automatically digested and analysed, and then put to use immediately, in order to get the maximum benefit from it.”