Smart Manufacturing: The Future of Production

Smart production processes are key to staying competitive in the manufacturing industry. Automation and digitalization enable companies to act sustainably, work cost-effectively and keep production in their own country. These are all vital advantages, especially because manufacturing is on the verge of change.

Manufacturers everywhere are facing political instability, scarce resources and cost pressure. The shortage of skilled labor and constant changes in the market and environment are also omnipresent factors. At the same time, however, the call for demand-driven and sustainable manufacturing with customized serial production is louder than ever.

Smart manufacturing, manifested in the smart factory, uses the most advanced technologies to perfect and automate manufacturing processes. Thanks to the smart integration of people, machines and systems, the efficiency, flexibility and sustainability of a company all increase.

In the past, production companies manufactured items in advance and in batches but today, it’s the consumers who set the pace. Planning is therefore more difficult, and the manufacturing processes require a great deal more flexibility. To achieve customized serial production, it takes integrated smart processes and there are a number of solutions that can help companies get started on the path towards their own smart factory.

1 | Data intelligence forms the foundation for success

Smart data is fundamental to success in smart manufacturing. The following three technologies are key to making your business more efficient:

These technologies are used in smart factories to efficiently coordinate the flow of goods. The right information has to be available for every component or item in each process step. A fully integrated software solution such as our logistics software suite KiSoft functions as the “mind” of smart factories.

All the various implemented technologies constantly gather information that is then pooled in a cloud. The software converts this information into smart data, which it then provides to the right user, at precisely the right time. For resource planning or predictive maintenance, this data is incredibly valuable.

2 | Automation and robotics translate into flexibility and scalability

Where can we store raw materials, semi-finished and finished products, as well as deliveries? How can temporary work stations and production lines be interconnected and supplied with items flexibly? Here, automation plays a pivotal role in ensuring efficient, flexible and reliable production processes. At the heart of an intelligent production facility is a central, automated storage system.

Additionally, autonomous mobile robots equipped with artificial intelligence handle both the monotonous tasks and do the legwork. They bring supplies to various work areas just-in-time and just-in-sequence – fully independently.

3 | Digital twin for more planning reliability

The digital twin, aka the avatar of the real system, is the key to greater efficiency in intelligent production facilities. Before startup, systems and processes can be simulated, tested and perfected over the long term. It also is great for optimizing the system during ongoing operation.

Using a digital twin saves time and costs, reduces risk, raises efficiency and perfects quality on all levels. At KNAPP, we have been using digital twins to plan and start up our new automated systems since 2021. We use it primarily for the following applications:

4 | AI and machine learning ensures absolute quality

Artificial intelligence and machine learning, as already mentioned, are used for predictive maintenance and the autonomous control of the AMR. Furthermore, AI offers even more applications for smart manufacturing such as automated data analysis, decision-making and process optimization.

Here, it is important to mention the quality assurance and quality optimization that AI can provide since every manufactured part must be precisely traceable along every step in the production process. This zero-defect goal is achieved with the help of intelligent software combined with image recognition and image processing technology. Our vision smartdesk, for instance, is a smart work station equipped with an intelligent camera system and is the perfect answer for quality issues.

What advantages might smart production processes have for your company? Here is a short summary of what smart manufacturing can do:

What then is the role of the human being in the intelligent production facility that is paving the way for Industry 5.0? Automated production lines already feature heavily in today’s manufacturing. Heading into the future, teamwork between human workers and smart technologies will be needed to meet new demands.

While robots take care of monotonous and strenuous work, and smart software aids in processing and displaying the enormous volumes of data, humans will be smart workers – who use their problem-solving skills and creativity to act as the decision-makers in production. Human motor skills are unmatched, which means that workers will handle machine maintenance but will also assemble complex products with the support of intelligent personal assistance systems.

Today, a number of companies in diverse sectors are already relying on our intelligent technologies for their smart factory.

Would you like to learn more about these companies? Take a quick look at our case studies: