But all that changed recently when I visited Rigibore, based in Hayle, West Cornwall. Hayle’s estuary is the UK’s most south westerly and the area is apparently also a haven for surfers and migratory birds. You live and learn.
True innovation comes in many guises and in the most unlikeliest of places. I’ve written quite a bit recently about Industry 4.0 and data-driven manufacturing and I’ve seen first hand how things have migrated from a series of buzzwords into reality in a relatively short period of time.
But Rigibore actually embraced the principles of Industry 4.0 about 20 years ago when its chairman Roger Bassett set about designing and manufacturing boring tools that were remotely adjustable. Even back then, Roger recognised the impending skills shortage. Manually adjustable boring tools did exist, but required high levels of skill to operate them accurately.
The breakthrough came when he developed a manually adjustable cartridge within the boring tool that communicated with a digital readout via radio waves Today, Rigibore’s Zenith is an all-encompassing, closed loop system which links the machine tool, in-process measurement and boring tool together. It operates via wireless connectivity and adjustments are micron accurate and totally autonomous. Two commercially-available, off-the-shelf 6V batteries are all that’s required to power the wireless connectivity and cartridge actuation.
Roger Bassett is 76 now and he’s as enthusiastic today about the technology as he was two decades ago. Since the early days, Rigibore has expanded its global reach significantly but its roots are still very much anchored in the west country. Apart from one or two components, the company designs and manufactures everything in-house.
Deskilling operations doesn’t always sit well with me but that’s because I’m reluctant to let go of a bygone era where Britain’s manufacturing heritage was founded on the best engineering talent in the world.
I have to face reality that things have changed. Upskilling the workforce to levels anywhere close to those halcyon days will be a slow process at best and impossible at worst, but we do have to maximise productivity to compete in a highly competitive global marketplace.
Manufacturing companies around the world are using data to streamline and optimise their production lines and processes via artificial intelligence and automation. It’s just the way it is. Companies like Rigibore, through their products and systems are driving manufacturing into a new age.