Industry 4.0

The eSmartFactory Conference in Europe provides innovative, practical, and adoptable technologies for successful Smart manufacturing. Several presentations including one from Michael Ford will address such things as whether and how AI will change our manufacturing lives.

A combination puzzle like the Rubik's Cube is a strong analogy for manufacturing today. With so many moving pieces in play, trying to align processes, systems, data, workflows, and more can feel challenging, if not nearly impossible. Let's expand upon this analogy a little more.

During times of economic volatility, digital transformation is the key to the survival of manufacturing organizations, and enhancing process optimization is critical for thriving through times of change. In this blog post, we explore what Best-in-Class manufacturers are doing to navigate today’s complex manufacturing landscape.

This blog post covers the impact of COVID-19 on digital strategies, today’s top business initiatives, how organizations are responding to disruptions, and how the right manufacturing operations platform will enable data-driven decision making, digitization, innovation, and re-imagining.

This blog delves into the workforce shortages and post-COVID world challenges and explores how system consolidation, data contextualization, and artificial intelligence (AI) can help transform factories into Industry 4.0-enabled powerhouses.

To overcome the vast challenges and meet ambitious goals for the future, manufacturers must be operating at the highest level of performance. Unfortunately, however, not every company is configured to achieve its full performance potential. Is yours?

In this recent Automation.com interview article, Jason Spera, shares his vantage of the changes for factory floor automation in 2021.

The multitude of challenges that manufacturers face today is accelerating the need to adapt process innovation, embrace technology, and digitalize operations. Transformation is essential for manufacturers to become more resilient, agile, productive, and profitable throughout Industry 4.0.

Receiving the Dieter W. Bergman IPC Fellowship Award earlier this month, brings reflection on the meaning and importance of work contributed to IPC standard committees, not only by myself, but with other members of Aegis, together with hundreds of peers in the industry, experts in their fields, who collectively recognize the need and value of standards in the industry. But what is an IPC standard, how are they created, and what do they mean for us all?

Manufacturing organizations are implementing more analytics capabilities than ever before with the hopes of leveraging insights from their machines, people, and processes to drive positive outcomes that ultimately drive revenues. Unfortunately, simply connecting your machines, extracting that data, and then hoping for the best will set you up to fail.

Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing manufacturing processes today by bridging the gap between high-level Information Technology and floor-level Operational Technology—all while leveraging intelligent data insights to power factory-wide analytics.

Today too many companies are focused on the acquisition of data in the hopes that the data will create value. Industry 4.0 examines more than the simple internal machine stoppages. Industry 4.0 is focused on the analysis of time intervals in which there is zero data because the equipment or process is not actually working.

According to LNS Research, Industrial Transformation (IX) is defined as a proactive and coordinated approach to leverage digital technologies to create step-change improvements in industrial operations. Today, around 45 percent of companies are currently executing an IX program. But just because an organization is executing an IX program does not mean it is experiencing the benefits of IX. In fact, it is estimated that 15 percent of companies are stuck in the pilot phase.

As momentum around the Connected Factory continues to build, manufacturers are focused on reaching Industry 4.0 in their own factory environments. But to reach Industry 4.0 implies that it is a destination—and that, once reached, one’s quest for Industry 4.0 is complete. However, to reap the full benefits of the Connected Factory, it is critical that manufacturers approach Industry 4.0 as a journey.

It’s no secret that technology is a heavy focus for today’s manufacturers. Unfortunately, many manufacturers often focus on technology as an end, when in reality, technology is a means to achieving better business outcomes.

The promise of the benefits that can be reaped from big data and predictive analytics through access to machine and operator data is compelling enough for most manufacturers to seriously direct their IT and OT departments to look into ways to enable such machine and operator data acquisition.

People have begun describing their cloud systems as "the fog." I get the feeling the joke is based on actual events. Are we" venting" gases into the atmosphere with our data during this digital era just like we did during the industrial age?

The heart of the electronics factory is in its machines. However, even the lines and factories with the smartest and most versatile machines rely on intelligent and consistent support received by the central processes to reach maximum capability.

The catalyst for the now long-awaited Industry 4.0 revolution is the introduction of the IPC CFX (Connected Factory Exchange) standard for IIoT.

The Cyber Physical System (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Digital Twin are all central concepts in Industry 4.0, often used interchangeably in discussions about Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing.

For anyone currently considering investment in a modern digital manufacturing solution, inclusive of any form of discrete assembly manufacturing, it is imperative that expectations and requirements are redefined in the light of this new IIoT.

In this last segment of the series, we finish by looking further into the levels of MES functionality that enables final production to work effectively.

In this segment of the 3-part series, we will take a more detailed look into the deeper levels of MES, discussing other areas within the factory that MES manages, that enable the final production flow to work smoothly and effectively.

For the last two years, Aegis has taken on the role of help coordinating the IPC’s Connected Factory Exchange Standard (CFX), which, as of January 2019, has been unanimously approved by the IPC CFX committee.

By now, we are all familiar with the concept of Industry 4.0, a popular business model that enables manufacturers to become faster, more efficient, and more flexible to respond to inevitable market changes.

Many software systems in use in manufacturing today are holding the business to ransom. Well-meaning, mainly internally developed software utilities, have established a critical dependency on themselves.

In this blog post we’ll cover four potential starting points to jump start your efforts. Keep in mind that each of these key elements of digital innovation—IIoT connectivity, smart applications, and advanced analytics—will eventually play a critical role in your factory.

SMT Hybrid Packaging show, taking place in Nuremberg from the 5th to the 7th of June, takes the strain as the focus of attention for technology and innovation in the electronics assembly manufacturing market.

Today’s shop floor is a highly-complex, continually-shifting environment. A recent study by Aberdeen Group polled today’s best-in-class manufacturers and found the top reported pressures of modern manufacturing.

Well, if after my last blog about the IPC APEX show, there was excitement and expectation, people who then went to the show, or joined in from all over the world to see the CFX data being collected live, were not disappointed.

If you are one of the few remaining people who has not heard about the event of the decade coming up at the APEX tradeshow at the end of this month, you really need to read on.

With companies like Microsoft promoting their HoloLens for design and manufacturing environments, Augmented Reality (AR) is finding its way into today’s factory, promising value through increased visibility.

This time last year, many people, including myself, were confident that 2017 would be the year of shop-floor IoT communication. While progress has been strong, 2018 looks more realistic for practical application of IoT in manufacturing.

What is a Digital Twin and how are manufacturers leveraging this concept to drive efficiency in an Industry 4.0 environment? SCOOP Founder Phil Stoten interviews Oren Manor, Director at Mentor, and Jason Spera, CEO of Aegis Software.

Productronica used to be about evolving machine and materials technology. Not anymore, factories focus more on high-performance flexibility than speed alone. Western manufacturing is more like rallying than a drag-race.

We recently held an Aegis Software user group meeting, the first to occur in the UK. Face-to-face meetings may seem “old-fashioned” but in this world of increasing digitalization, the values of the face to face communication persist.

Atrenne Integrated Solutions, customers include Aerospace and Defense companies, requiring the utmost quality control and production efficiency. Aegis’ FactoryLogix MES offers real-time visibility, streamlined processes and ensures quality.

SMTAI Rosemont was busier this year than the last two years. A major focus in technology as interest in Smart, digital factories and even Industry 4.0. IPC meetings focused on industry leader’s know-how forming consensus-based standards.

SMTAI Rosemont is a “must” on the calendar for manufacturers of any size or sector who want to see how to get with the trend, digitization in manufacturing and using it to take their operations to the next level, rather than be left behind.

Challenges like Industry 4.0 are turning the manufacturing world upside down, in a good way, we see solutions being quite brutally put together, through acquisition or partnership, which are expected to be seen as the solutions of tomorrow.

What we think we know is a less dynamic concept than actual reality. Many things progress so quickly, that we simply cannot keep up any longer. How do we know whether the grass is really greener on the other side?

Aegis CEO Jason Spera sits down with SCOOPTalk’s Kim Sauer to discuss how AR and AI fit within the Industry 4.0 road map, and how AR and AI might enable humans to make sense of ̶ and manage ̶ tomorrow’s truly ‘Big Data’ in the factory.

As we look back on 2016, it’s only natural to reflect on what’s ahead for global manufacturing in the coming year. Let’s take a look at the top manufacturing trends for 2017.

Before you invest in a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for your facility, you need to consider how easily and efficiently it will be deployed throughout your operation, and what the long-term relationship with your vendor will be like.

Quality management systems often fail when managers do not use them to their full advantage or lack the knowledge on how to use them properly.

Last week in Las Vegas the electronics industry gathered to explore the latest developments, while there were the usual growths as products are getting faster, more efficient and cheaper, there was little revolution except in IoM.

In an interview with Kim Sauer, at APEX 2016 in Las Vegas, Jason explains how Industry 4.0 goes beyond communication around the SMT line and highlights how materials management is a key component a fully integrated SMART Factory approach.

It’s an odd premise but more than one person at APEX in Las Vegas told me that robots could be part of the drive to save manufacturing jobs in places like the USA where labor rates are higher.

It doesn’t matter which tech company you admire, engineers largely start them all, be they hardware guys like Steve Wozniak, or software guys like Mark Zuckerberg.

There’s no doubt that Industry 4.0 has been top of the agenda for the electronics manufacturing industry in Germany for a couple of years now. Elsewhere less so, but now the debate around this topic seems to be gaining momentum in China.

The first industrial revolution was built on machines lubricated by oil, the current revolution is built on computers lubricated by data.

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, 2015 closed on the heels of a very successful presence at Productronica in Munich, Germany.

Trends around IoM (Internet of Manufacturing) and Industry 4.0 are all largely focused on operations but where does the potential lie for big data within the supply chain?

In 2013 there had been a lot of Industry 4.0 talk at the show, lots of companies pinning their colors to that German-led smart factory mast, but very little in real solutions.

People’s perception of what constitutes the paperless shop floor may vary from individual to individual and indeed from company to company.

The benefits of going paperless are many, including reductions in costs in terms of print consumables, people’s time and waste due to errors.

We all know that for any change to be successful everyone must benefit. Nowhere is this truer than in the change to a paperless factory floor environment.

The automotive electronics segment is worth close to $180 Billion annually, plus another $35 Billion for infotainment, and this is a segment with current and projected double-digit growth.

Remember a few years ago when geek became chic? No, me neither, but apparently it did, and programmers became cool and among the best paid people in Silicon Valley.

What is the Internet of Manufacturing (IoM) and why should we care about it?

Customisation has thus far always been the prerogative of a select few involving a time-intensive process with a complex, fragmented and costly supply chain.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is central to the premise of Industry 4.0, a world where a product self identifies at the start of its life.

Not so long ago, traceability was predominantly a function required only by certain quality sensitive manufacturers, particularly those within the automotive, medical, military and aerospace sectors.