Inside an electronics factory in China as late as early 2019, workers and smart machines were building circuit boards with chips in a multi-step process using a variety of machines from different vendors.
Although the first iteration of 5G technology has offered limited use cases in manufacturing, the next two generations, now expected to be available in the fall of this year and then the fall of next year because of COVID-19-related delays, will help factory owners achieve greater digital transformation of their factories.
Respondents in a survey said supply chain planning drives better business performance.
Dedicated in-house labs create and optimize laser welding processes for electric motors and batteries.
Like most of the digital architecture of manufacturing, computer numerical controllers (CNCs) have advanced rapidly in recent years, producing far more processing speed and implementing advanced algorithms, while at the same time offering simpler, more intuitive user interfaces.
Edge. Cloud. Digital twin. AI. AR. VR. Cobots. Once they were buzzwords. Now, they are becoming technical realities in mid- to large-scale manufacturing plants in North America.
As we enter Industry 4.0, the lines continue to blur between the digital and the physical. With this, the workplace is rapidly changing at every level in every industry.
BLM GROUP USA announced on March 17, 2020 the enhancement of its E-FORM tube end forming machine with a fully CNC electric rolling device.
Marposs, announced on March 24 the availability of its Aeroel MecLab.X laser micrometer systems. These provide diameter measurements for components such as electric motor shafts, gage or piston pins, hydraulic components or any number of ground or turned parts.
Amid predictions of global economic slowdowns and several recent PMI readings indicating manufacturing contraction, it becomes easy to see how slow production performance and data inefficiencies throughout the manufacturing supply chain contribute to economic uncertainty and concerns for future business.