In competitiveness studies for economic development projects, a strong workforce is always one of the leading factors for a project win. A talented workforce is also necessary when a company is evaluating expansion opportunities.
NASA landed another rover on Mars in February, thanks in part to the work and leadership of Adam Steltzner. Smart Manufacturing interviewed him shortly thereafter—just as he got off the phone with U.S. President Joe Biden.
To achieve a better world, we have chosen Society 5.0 as our key driver. The evolution of automation technologies in the context of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 is fantastic, but the focus should be to benefit society, humankind and the earth.
The adoption of smart manufacturing processes reminds Bob Willig of his “lean manufacturing journey, years ago,” he said.
The current COVID-19 experiences have energized many conversations about our futures in the post-COVID world, and that includes the future of manufacturing.
Many process manufacturing companies are on the path to digitization and have piloted analytics to improve operational performance and improve their competitive edge.
A fully connected factory floor is the way forward for any manufacturer seeking to fully realize the Industry 4.0 vision.
Unplanned downtime and production loss due to equipment failure is one of the leading losses for manufacturers. Most shops perform maintenance on a fixed schedule or on failure. This means a machine will be maintained regardless of how often it is used and unexpected breakdowns will stop production.
Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY) continues its steady advance toward the complete factory digitization of all its manufacturing operations with the recent transformation of its Oguchi, Japan, facility into yet another Mazak iSMART Factory.
FANUC has made real one of the promises of Industry 4.0, that of predictive maintenance for factory equipment, with its Zero Down Time IoT solution. ZDT can be applied to any of FANUC’s robotic arms and their peripherals.
