Articles Tagged with ''Industry 4.0''

Catheters, pacemakers, ventilators and dialysis filters are vastly different products. But, they all have one thing in common: they must be checked for leaks, whether into, or out of, an assembly.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is more than just the latest manufacturing fad. It promises to transform the way that many types of products are designed, assembled and serviced.

Capturing and controlling reliable production line data is the great mystery underlying the fulfillment of the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Beyond storage solutions, the data that’s available on machines hasn’t been communicated correctly with business systems. Accepted solutions for data exchange create organizational conflicts and security issues that raise difficult barriers.

The "father" of the programmable logic controller (PLC), Richard Morley, recently passed away at age 84. After he invented the device 50 years ago, it revolutionized plant floors around the world. The PLC eliminated the need for hard wiring and spurred the development of flexible manufacturing.

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are critical elements of Industry 4.0. When all production processes are linked and synchronized with the overall operation, manufacturers have a strategic tool that enables them to improve productivity, streamline costs, boost quality and reduce time to market.

One hundred years ago, a vertically integrated manufacturing complex in Schenectady, NY, defined the company behind the famous blue monogram. Today, the future of General Electric is in San Ramon, CA. That’s the home of GE Digital.

Industry 4.0 technology promises to transform plant floors during the next two decades. It will also change the way that engineers and assemblers interact with machines.

If you can’t see it, you can’t measure it, and if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it! This is the simple mantra of successful manufacturers the world over. Manufacturing excellence can only come from manufacturing visibility.