Creating a Win-Win Situation
Today's manufacturing environment is more challenging and demanding. This requires a paradigm shift from conventional production methods to Smart Manufacturing, which will ensure increased productivity and error proofing. Time to market and flexible production to suit market dynamics are also the need of the hour. Our Smart Connected Assembly offers assembly solutions, complementing the needs under Industry 4.0 and digitalisation of assembly manufacturing factories.
Smart Manufacturing: Where does India stand?
The implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts is a development and change journey for any country, even though the initial phase will have limited impact. India stands at the door step of transformation of age-old practices to adapt new practices fulfilling the market demands and effectively utilising the abundant human resource. The automotive industry is currently leading the development of manufacturing and assembly concepts and processes. The development is driven by environmental requirements, with the introduction of alternative drivelines, and fierce market competition, with an explosion of the number of models and variants.
Industry 4.0 for SMEs
Adapting new technologies is the most important criteria for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while entering into the world of digital factories. Low-cost automation is not everything under internet of things (IoT)/Industry 4.0, mistake proofing and continuous improvement drives are equally important. These parameters can be implemented in existing set-up rather than completely changing the existing manufacturing processes. PLC-free error proofing solutions, coupled with process data traceability is an apt platform for SMEs to implement as a first step.
Practical tips to adopt Smart Manufacturing solutions
The first step is to ensure that the existing factory equipment are IoT-enabled. A key enabler is the emergence and use of new technologies for connecting people, equipment and machines and with it, the improved capacity for integrated analysis and use of large amounts of data across value chains. We need to have systems which will enable us to analyse the data for improving productivity and overcoming errors.
Our Smart Assembly Manufacturing Solutions (SAMS) offer a multifold platform for process integration and improvement, achieving process traceability coupled with data analysis.
Technologies changing manufacturing landscape
New-age technologies like 3D printing (additive manufacturing), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), IoT/IIoT, Cloud, etc are bound to change the manufacturing landscape by creating flexible and lean production lines. Also, the "time to market" will be shortened and will complement the market demands of a digital world.
Safety and security in connected, automated factory Data security remains of prime importance and this would enable new business opportunities in data security. Needless to say, the quality of network and the infrastructure needs to be assured for production uptime and overcoming uncertainties due to black out.
Robotics: The productive arm of manufacturing
Robotics in automotive industry has dominated the body shop/paint shop areas and is used extensively in hazardous and unsafe environment. On the other hand, a collaborative robot offers a more productive and safe environment for operators. In India, human resource along with automation will work wonders for the manufacturing industry.
We offer COBOT based assembly solutions, amalgamating operator effectiveness with smartness and intelligence of robotic automation.
Sustainability: A key in Smart manufacturing
In a typical industrial environment, much of the energy is consumed by production equipment in stand-by. Recent studies indicate that up to 80 per cent of this energy is consumed when the equipment and tools are in stand-by mode. Significant reduction in energy use is possible having one physical machine controlling multiple processes. For factories powered by wind and solar, it is not only for cost reduction, it is a necessity to meet stringent environmental policies. Multiple wireless assembly tools running on one assembly process controller is one of our key initiatives, continuing our promise of offering sustainable productivity solutions.
Skill development and Smart factory
Human factor would be still a vital factor in the Smart Manufacturing industry. Smart factory or automation initiatives are to be used for reducing operator risk, increasing productivity and introducing methods for reduction in errors and generating data with strong analytical power.
Smart Manufacturing for success of Make in India
Make in India drive has lead to ample opportunities for SMEs and large-scale industries, and has projected India as a global manufacturing hub. To complement, Smart Manufacturing will implement solid practices, which will assure products without any quality defects, generate data giving us the power of analysis and traceability.
Nitin Lall is the General Manager, Industrial Technique Customer Center, for Atlas Copco India and neighbouring countries. He has been associated with Atlas Copco since the past 26 years.