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AMNYTT #2
2015
The Smart Factory Conceptual Models Must Adapt
The way we think about things influences our perception of what’s possible. When
considering the use of a set of disruptive technologies such as those in that make up
the Industrial Internet of Things, are conventional conceptual models for industrial
production a help, or a hindrance?
T
he concept of the ”lights out factory” has often been portrayed as the culmination of factory automation, where robots, automated production systems, intelligent machines, sensors,
and equipment produce products without the
intervention of human workers or any manual
activity. While the reality of the lights out factory remains in the future for manufacturing
at this juncture, remarkable progress has been
made in automating the production process.
In industries like automotive, electronics and
semiconductor, and food and beverage packaging, automation has evolved from moving production lines that ushered in the era of mass
production to complex robotic work cells. These work cells are a marvel of integration and
orchestration where robots are integrated with
automated conveyanc e, tooling, and fixtures,
and actuators that perform multiple assembly
functions and tasks.
Automation Remains a Key Component of
the Smart Factory
Today, manufacturers across many industrial
sectors use highly automated production systems that communicate across work cells, production lines, and push real-time production
information to supervisory levels, operational
dashboards, MES, and other operational and
business intelligence applications. Moreover,
automation suppliers have developed vertical
integration architectures that allow production
data to flow upward from connected machines,
production lines, and work cells; and automation components such sensors, actuators, and
drives. In this vertically integrated automation
architecture the data continues its upward flow
to control levels (PLCs, PACs, CNCs), and higher
graduated levels for manufacturing intelligence
and manufacturing operations management
(MOM).