i4.0 Manufacturing in Tool Shops: What a Production Application Should Do
Management must adapt to the type of production according to the methods and technologies available at a given time. In recent years, primarily supported by the Internet, technologies have emerged that have enabled the emergence of new forms of management. Examples include cloud computing, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, 5G communications, the democratization of sensors and actuators, and image and sound recognition, among others.
The complexity of production management in tool shops stems from intermittent production. The manufacturing of unique parts, the variety of tasks to be performed, and the different variables and imponderables in the processes. This complexity makes it difficult to establish standards that allow us to estimate and execute a predefined sequence of operations.
The organization of production resources must adapt to these new possibilities. If we previously organized machines by the type of operation they perform (by sections), today it is more appropriate to consider organizing them by type of part, that is, by manufacturing cell. The combination of both Section/Cell topologies will look great in your tool shop.
The software that manages a manufacturing cell must be able to make decisions in response to process variables. The system must manage redundant resources. It must be robust and not allow for human error. Failures can only occur due to external factors, such as a power failure. In the event of a failure, the system must recover quickly and automatically. It must allow for the removal of a resource for specific use in a manual operation or for maintenance, and for its reintegration to continue operating smoothly.
In the tool shop, examples of the use of this concept include cells with milling, dimensional control, sinker erosion, wire erosion, grinding, and other technologies.
The software must manage the range of operations per part, following the planned manufacturing process, where knowledge of each technology involved is essential for real-time decision-making.
In conclusion, I anticipate that, in the very near future, the automated management advocated by the i4.0 concept will become widespread in tool shops, initially in resource groups (cells), but will quickly spread throughout the entire factory and also to groups of manufacturers organized in synergistic partnerships.
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