Breaking the Bottleneck | Issue 22
[8/21/2023] Diverging Outcomes of Reshoring, Dassault PLM Survey, Dirty Batteries & Wes Anderson Video Club
Breaking the Bottleneck is a weekly manufacturing technology newsletter with perspectives, interviews, news, funding announcements, and a startup database. For a high-level market map on discrete and continuous manufacturing click the link here! I'd love to talk if you know anyone looking to chat about manufacturing tech!
Content I Enjoyed This Week 🏭🗞️🔬
News:
How a $500 Billion Boom Exposes American Failures [Bloomberg]
The current manufacturing boom in the United States has resulted in divergent economic outcomes for different communities. The article highlights that the manufacturing boom in the US is not evenly distributed by examining two North Carolina counties, Rockingham County and Chatham County. Rockingham County has faced decades of deindustrialization and poverty. Though it has attracted investments from companies like Nestlé Purina for pet food production, the jobs created are relatively low-paying. Furthermore, the county struggles to attract larger industrial projects due to limited available land, challenges with housing affordability and workforce development. Conversly, Chatham County is benefiting from its proximity to the thriving Research Triangle region, home to universities and tech companies. It has attracted significant investments, including from Toyota and VinFast, for electric vehicle manufacturing and semiconductor production. The county is leveraging its available land, well-educated workforce, and amenities to attract higher-paying manufacturing jobs.
China is 5 Generations Behind in Chip Manufacturing [Digitimes Asia]
The founder and CEO of China's Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC), Gerald Yin, has stated that the US and its allies have hindered China's semiconductor industry development, leading to a significant technological lag. The US has implemented 15 rounds of semiconductor-related restrictions since 2019, aiming to keep China's chip manufacturing technology at least five generations behind foreign countries, including the 14-nanometer process. This has pushed China back from the 3-nanometer process to the 14-nanometer process, limiting its semiconductor industry to working on mature processes of 28 nanometers and above. Yin noted that the gap between China's semiconductor manufacturing technology and that of foreign countries has now grown from a 2-generation difference to a 5-generation difference.
Plant-Based Plastics Gain Favor in Pursuit of Sustainability Goals [WSJ]
Plant-based plastics, or bioplastics, have historically made up just 1% of global plastic production due to their higher cost compared to traditional fossil-fuel-based plastics. However, their production is growing by 14% annually, and they are projected to reach up to 3% of the plastics market within the next five years. Bioplastics are derived from plants rich in starch, sugar, or pulp, such as corn, wheat, sugar cane, wood, and cotton. There are two main types of bioplastics: those with similar performance to plastic and those chemically identical to conventional plastics. While about half of bioplastics are biodegradable, many require industrial composting facilities for proper degradation. Industries like fashion and food packaging show strong demand for bioplastics, with interest also rising in cosmetics, electronics, and durable goods.
Nano Dimension Acquires Additive Flow [3D Printing Industry]
Israeli electronics 3D printer manufacturer Nano Dimension is acquiring the technology and intellectual property of UK-based 3D design simulation and optimization developer Additive Flow. This acquisition is part of Nano Dimension's strategy to integrate computer-aided engineering and design components into its design-through-manufacturing product strategy. Additive Flow's simulation software, called FormFlow, offers high-performance and high-quality simulation for mechanical, thermal, and thermo-mechanical properties. The software uses physics-driven algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), and graphics processing unit (GPU) technology to address complex performance issues in the design phase. The acquisition will enhance Nano Dimension's digital manufacturing solutions and allow customers to optimize their additive manufacturing processes for electronics components.
Safeguarding Against Robot-Related Threats [Hackernoon]
Manufacturers need to take precautions to protect their networks from cyber threats targeting robots including data interception, device hijacking, botnets, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, and unauthorized data access. Cyberattacks often target robots due to their use in botnets, networks of compromised devices controlled by hackers. Attackers may also hijack devices by exploiting vulnerabilities to gain control, as demonstrated by hackers who hijacked hospital robots using compromised interfaces. Overall there a few mitigating strategies companies should consider to minimize attack vectors. First one should drive adherence to cybersecurity standards and frameworks to enhance security measures / frameworks like ISO 27001, CMMC, and NIST. Second companies should work closely with robot vendors and partners to implement security protocols within robots and across the business. Finally, companies should divide the network into isolated segments to minimize potential damage from cyberattacks. Network segmentation ensures that if a hacker gains access to one segment, they can't easily move to others. This strategy is particularly useful for isolating robots to test for vulnerabilities.
Research:
Present and Future Outlooks of PLM in Manufacturing [Dassault]
Dassault asked 300 respondents who work across Industrial Machinery (30%), High tech and Electronics (30%), and Transportation and Mobility (28%) companies about their present and future expectations of PLM, how they use virtual twin technology, and how PLM supports them to achieve their sustainability objectives.
Podcasts:
Dirty Green Batteries [The Wright Report]
Manufacturing Pharma Drugs in Space [This Week in Startups]
Chart of the Week:
The IRA is a year old and since its signing, we've seen $86 billion in private investment, 51 new or expanded plants for producing solar panels, 10 new factories for making batteries, and 100,000+ clean-energy jobs [Link]
Manufacturing Deals
Boston Micro Fabrication - A company providing advanced additive manufacturing solutions based on Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL).
$24 million [Series D] - Led by Guotai Junan Securities
Mitra Chem - A company looking to develop, deploy and commercialize U.S.-made iron-based cathode materials for electric vehicles and energy storage solutions.
$60 million [Series B] - Led by GM
Olis Robotics - A company building a platform to remotely monitor, diagnose and control industrial robots or machinery
$4.1 million [Series Seed] - Led by PSL Ventures and joined by Tectronic Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures
Rondo Energy - A company developing a heat battery to power large industrial processes with renewable electricity
$60 million [Series X] - from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, SCG, Titan, Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, Rio Tinto, SABIC, Aramco Ventures and more
Weekly Planned Downtime
Wes Anderson Video Club