SCADA & DATA ACQUISITION FEATURE
PREDICTING THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING A
s manufacturing facilities incorporate greater levels of automation the
demand for new technologies continues to grow. There are three particularly prominent automation trends for 2017.
MACHINE LEARNING Promising an answer to many modern manufacturing challenges, machine learning is one area of technology that has been subject to rapid development in the past year. it describes computer science techniques that allow a machine to independently learn a task rather than being programmed to complete that task. In the era of big data the greatest
advantages of machine learning will come to manufacturers with data-rich production lines. Using the technology, machines can derive patterns and information from existing datasets. Potential uses include optical part sorting, automated quality control, failure detection and improved productivity and efficiency. According to a smart manufacturing study by the National Institute of Standards (NIST) machine learning can improve production capacity by up to 20% and lower material consumption rates by 4%. Machine learning algorithms have the potential to
bring greater predictive accuracy to every phase of production and there are many manufacturing systems that use machine learning to improve operations.
MODULARISATION Fulfilling customer demand will always be a priority for manufacturers. Changing consumer needs and habits require manufacturers to offer a wider range of products without reducing quality and consistency. Considering the competitive nature of today’s industry, the potential to create flexible production lines could not be more valuable. Modularisation allows manufacturers to separate, connect or combine different production modules to create customised and varied products in one facility. This requires the interconnection of industrial machinery and implementation of intelligent control software. Increasingly, manufacturers are using modularisation to seed a new market with a particular product to prove customer demand before full scale implementation.
SCADA: MORE THAN DATA ACQUISITION SCADA applications already play a key role in smart manufacturing. However, according to a report by Technavio the
manufacturing industry is set to experience a significant growth in the adoption of analytical software through SCADA, making it easy for manufacturers to collect and archive production data and make future predictions based on this intelligence. However, SCADA systems provide much more than an insight into the lifespan of machinery. Integration with cloud computing has enabled operators to control production from any location, further improving plant flexibility. As with any cloud migration there are security concerns. However, as features become more sophisticated and SCADA providers increasingly adopt a security by design approach to their software, this concern is unlikely to deter manufacturers from embracing and benefitting from cloud-based SCADA. These industrial automation trends are
just a taste of the intelligent applications still to make waves in the industry. This year will be all about the great influx of supervisory control technologies designed to improve the flexibility, accuracy and security of production.
COPA-DATA UK T: 01633 415 338
www.copadata.com
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