The-Gatherer-Volume-8

While automation is pervasive in manufacturing, humans still play a big part in the manufacturing process, we are now assisted by a mix of collaborative robots, or Cobots

or product directly to a customer to a servitisation business strategy. Instead of just selling a product, the producer is selling the use of the product, providing access to the device or equipment with on-going maintenance for a subscription fee, this reduces the CapEx required for customers to modernise their infrastructure and creates a predictable revenue stream for the manufacturer.

The Internet of Things is enabling new business models One of the most exciting developments of Internet of Things being introduced to the manufacturing industry is the wealth of new business models and new value it enables for manufacturers. I noticed a growing trend of businesses moving from a traditional model of selling a device, equipment

for short and AI. At Hannover, several companies demoed production assistance systems.

These systems used computer vision to track the actions of workers and notify them when mistakes are detected, allowing for corrections early on in the process and resulting in a lower defect rate at the end of the manufacturing process. One of the big promises of Industry 4.0 is enabling the fabrication of highly customised and even personalised goods. SEW Eurodrive, a company known for producing conveyor belt motors, demonstrated how the car assembly of the future would be used to create customised cars which might have different fabrication steps and require a flexible assembly line. Automated Guided Vehicles or AGVs are used to transport cars through the factory floor. Factory workers wear smartwatches which they use to signal when they are available to carry out the next step in the assembly process. AGVs drive the car being assembled or the tools and parts a worker might need to the worker, enabling them to carry out the next step in the assembly process.

INDUSTRY 4.0 REVOLUTION How the Internet of Things i s transforming the manufactur ing industry

T he Internet of Things (IoT) is not only providing us with consumer goods like smartwatches and smart light bulbs, it is also changing the way we manufacture. In April I represented Sheda at Hannover Messe, the world’s biggest manufacturing fair to explore the newest trends in the manufacturing industry.

The fourth industrial revolution is here Industry 4.0 was a huge topic at Hannover Messe, I’ll be outlining some examples of the companies and products I encountered at Hannover Messe but first, what’s Industry 4.0? Industry 4.0, or sometimes called the fourth industrial revolution, is the next evolution in automation, where machines and sensors are receiving real-time data as part of the fabrication process and making decisions based on this information. These machines with sensors are usually networked and connected to each other and are referred to as Internet of Things devices. Data analytics tools and artificial intelligence provide constant optimisation of the different manufacturing steps and the process as a whole. All this results in a highly optimised and efficient use of time and resources. An example of this I saw at Hannover Messe was from a company called Zeiss. They demonstrated a spectroscopy system analysing the colours as well as fat and moisture content of potato chips in real-time in order to guarantee that the chips look and taste as expected.

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