Processing's Weekly Mixer: 4 key trends shaping industrial AI, and more
Welcome to the latest installment of Processing's Weekly Mixer, which highlights recent content from EndeavorB2B brands relevant to process manufacturers.
This week's entry features content from Plant Services, Pharma Manufacturing, Food Processing and Automation World, as well as this week's content from Processing.
The 4 key trends shaping industrial AI
From Plant Services: NVIDIA and Dassault Systèmes outline how physical AI and industry world models can democratize advanced simulation for manufacturers and engineers.
Managing editor Anna Townshend writes:
NVIDIA and Dassault Systèmes announced a major expansion of their long-standing technology partnership at 3DEXPERIENCE World in Houston last week. The announcement positions industrial artificial intelligence (AI) as the next important step beyond generative AI technologies for industry.
Speaking during a press briefing ahead of the conference, executives from both companies described a shared vision for industrial AI, grounded in physics, engineering, and decades of industrial knowledge. The new industrial AI architecture is enabled through virtual twins and industry world models from Dassault Systèmes and large-scale AI infrastructure from NVIDIA.
Key highlights of the article include:
- Physical AI integrates physics-based digital representations, enabling systems that understand real-world behavior.
- Virtual twins now serve as operational decision support tools, embedding modeling, simulation, and domain expertise .
- Industrial AI and AI-powered virtual assistants aim to democratize high-fidelity simulation, making advanced decision-making accessible to a broader range of industry professionals.
- AI factories will use simulation and physics-informed models to validate designs virtually before deployment, reducing risks and accelerating time-to-market.
Podcast: Designing CGT manufacturing for scale, speed and access
From Pharma Manufacturing: The latest episode of Off Script features a conversation with Jon Ellis, CEO of Trenchant BioSystems, about the current state of cell and gene therapy manufacturing and where the industry must go next. The conversation explores why traditional centralized manufacturing models are struggling to scale, how automation and digital batch records can significantly compress manufacturing timelines, and how emerging platforms are rethinking cell recovery, analytics integration, and starting material strategies. Listen below.
Blue Diamond increases throughput via line upgrade
From Food Processing: This case study outlines how Key Technology’s Zephyr horizontal-motion conveyors feed almonds into chute-fed optical sorters, creating an even distribution of product for optimal inspection.
According to the case study:
In 2023, Blue Diamond upgraded the main production line at its Salida, Calif., facility with the latest technology, increasing throughput by 35% while enhancing grading precision and minimizing product breakage.
“This is one of Blue Diamond’s most important lines, processing a significant amount of our almonds,” says Adrian Bradshaw, senior site engineering manager at Blue Diamond Growers. “Part of the old line had reached the end of its useful life, and we wanted more capacity and less mechanical damage to the product. After thoroughly evaluating several suppliers and their solutions, we decided to work with Key Technology because their equipment offered the best combination of performance, reliability and hygienic design, backed by great support.”
Strategies to protect vulnerable SCADA systems from cyber threats
From Automation World: Industry experts from Emerson, Schneider Electric and Siemens Digital Industries reveal how manufacturers can assess vulnerabilities to protect aging SCADA systems from escalating cybersecurity threats.
Contributing writer Mat Dirjish writes:
Recapping the week on Processing
Articles
Controlling dust in bulk solids mixing and blending processes
Common causes of water pump failures and how to prevent them
A material difference: Why a metal manufacturer opted for plastic in cooling tower upgrade
Podcast
Pros and cons of new versus used processing equipment: Part 2
Video
How high-capacity water treatment systems change reuse economics in the oil and gas industry
Brent Halldorson, Produced Water Expert, United States, for LiqTech explains how recycling has shifted from a sustainability premium to a cost advantage.