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Foundries have made massive investments in computerized casting systems. Suggests that Cosworth Castings, Worcester, and VAW West Yorkshire Foundry, Leeds, are setting new standards in foundry automation.

When the Workmaster company collapsed last year one of its best assets was a heavy duty robot. Ajax Machine Tools who took over the rights of that machine have developed it to the stage of commercial exploitations. Brian Rooks has visited the company and found a strong resolve to ‘make it work’.

With sales of 350 robots in two and a half years, ASEA is taking business from the Japanese at the top end of the market. John Hartley reports.

Europe's largest manufacturer ASEA of Sweden recently opened their third Industrial Robot Systems Centre at Milton Keynes in the UK This follows the opening of other Centres at Detroit in the US and at Frankfurt in Germany.

Describes the fully automatic robot cell used by Dutch propeller manufacturer Van Voorden, in particular the Multicraft 560 robot at the heart of the cell. Explains the mechanics of the robot and its applications, and benefits for companies such as Van Voorden.

Lilliput Lane, based on the edge of the English Lake District, manufactures a range of miniature plaster cottages which are marketed to customers throughout the world, many of whom are committed collectors. This case study traces the early growth of the company in the 1980s, its subsequent setbacks, a successful turn‐around, followed by a flotation and sale in the 1990s. It focuses on the issues of strategic leadership, stakeholder expectations, core competencies, adding value, diversification and focus strategies. Lilliput Lane has been written for the purpose of class discussion. It should not be taken to reflect either effective or ineffective management.

RARELY has its sense of timing and pragmatic approach to current problems been better employed by the Industrial Society than in organizing a two‐day conference within four days of Britain's entry into the European Economic Community. The aim behind ‘Into Europe—People at Work’ was badly needed. No major policy has been so bedevilled by confusion and uncertainty as our entry, greeted with a fanfare by some and lamented by a dirge from others.

Many companies develop vision systems, but ultrasonics is now being used for some applications. John Hartley describes an unusual force‐sensing system from Hitachi.

This paper seeks to investigate the work of a small company involved in researching techniques and designing equipment for assembly automation.

The development of a fully automated CNC machine for drilling aircraft wing sub‐assemblies is described. The importance of accurate process simulation is discussed, and a research project combining physics‐based gaming hardware with factory simulation software is presented. Its application to the laying‐up of carbon composite materials is explained.

Effective and affordable simulation software is essential to small companies to avoid risk in one‐off projects. AMTRI leverages new developments and puts them together to form powerful new systems. The automation of innovative composite processing is intrinsically connected with the behaviour of the material itself.

The paper points out the importance of automation to the future of European manufacturing, in the light of increasing fuel costs.