Vietnam’s R&D thrives

The S&T institutes and centers under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) have made significant contributions to the mechanical manufacturing and automation industry through the development of new and improved designs and localization of equipment and spare parts, as well as the mastering of imported equipment production lines. They have also been involved in the restoration and repair of high-value equipment, spare parts, and machinery for various industries. The MoIT’s Science and Technology Department has assessed many of these research outcomes as highly effective and they have been implemented in construction and manufacturing.

Notable examples include a project improving the design and manufacturing technology for testing an electrostatic precipitator with a capacity of 1,000,000 Nm3/h, implemented by the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, and the design and manufacturing of a coreless rotary head device for cleaning deposits inside high-pressure heat exchanger tubes. Other projects include research and construction of a processing system for screw presses in the production of bricks and tiles, which increases work efficiency by up to 1.5 times equivalent to 1,200,000 products/batch, and the design and manufacture of a cooling system for the generator bearings of the Son La Hydroelectric Plant, as well as the bauxite ore conveyor belt system for Alumin Lam Dong and Nhan Co plants.

The Than Uyen Tea Joint Stock Company operates a synchronized automatic control and monitoring system for its tea production and processing line

The research centers have also made significant strides in designing agricultural machinery that can handle different stages of production, including cultivation, harvesting, preservation, and processing of agricultural and fishery products. They have also developed storage facilities for export products as well as investment projects in the manufacture of agricultural and industrial processing equipment. In addition to domestic use, some of the agricultural equipment has been sold to several countries in the region and beyond.

The Research Institute of Agricultural Machinery has worked on initiatives such as studying the application of synchronized machinery and equipment systems in high-tech agricultural production using renewable energy sources from agricultural waste, contributing to environmental treatment and development of green and sustainable energy, and research, design, and manufacture of equipment for converting household waste into high-quality energy.

A variety of DCS and SCADA industrial control systems have been designed, integrated, programmed and deployed by the MoIT’s research institutions across a range of industrial sectors. Other systems based on research results include the contactless measurement device VMES.01. The Vietnam Research Institute of Electronics, Informatics and Automation undertook the design and manufacture of an automatic contactless measuring machine using machine vision technology, which was tested at Samsung Vietnam. Similarly, the institute’s research, design and manufacturing of an Integrated Control System for underground coal mines and thermal power plants has been commercialized for use in Vinacomin’s coal mines.

The Than Uyen Tea Joint Stock Company in Lai Chau Province has also put in place the synchronized automatic control and monitoring system for the rolling-star green tea manufacturing line. The majority of the crucial steps on this manufacturing line, which is the largest and most sophisticated green tea production line in Vietnam, have been automated utilizing cutting-edge technology like AI and IoT.