SMART MANUFACTURING
the factory itself, between parts and assemblies, between a factory and its workers, between factories and shops that make up a supply chain or even from a final product back to the factory once it’s in use. At a cosmetics manufacturing plant set up by Siemens (Munich), Optima (Schwabisch Hall, Germany) and Festo (Esslingen, Germany), machine cyber-communication is combined with an innovative transport system to create an automated shampoo-filling and -packaging line that has unprecedented flexibility. The system consists of individual multi-format-capa- ble units, or carriers, that transport different containers through the production process, according to Siemens.
At the plant, RFIDs tell a hopper chute’s reader to ac-
cept rivets from a plastic jug because it holds the right fasteners for the job at hand; and they tell an assembly line which truck model it’s working on. Elsewhere in the line, robotic arms equipped with cam-
eras do inline metrology. If there’s a problem that needs attention in one module of the line, a skilled worker—an electrician, for example—gets a text message telling him where he should head to work on the issue. In the same plant, a wireless factory information system
measures cycle times so team leaders and shift supervi- sors, or even CEO Mark Fields, can use any computer screen, including process control boards hanging overhead
By merging the virtual and physical worlds, as shown in this photo illustration, Siemens, Optima and Festo collaborated to make one shampoo-filling and -packaging line that replaces the need for five individual machines.
Each carrier is equipped with an RFID tag so the machine knows which shampoo to dispense into which bottle, and which label to use on it. As a result, the filling and packaging line fulfills two seemingly conflicting needs: bottling and labeling differ- ent consumer products in one line with the efficiency of mass production. “In the past, we used five machines to produce five dif-
ferent products,” Marco Gierden, project manager, multi-car- rier systems for Siemens, said in a company video. “Today, we use one machine to produce five different formats.” In addition to merging the virtual and physical worlds
in its use, the system was largely developed and tested virtually, Siemens said. For another functioning example of smart technology,
look to Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn Truck Plant (Dear- born, MI), home of the aluminum-body F-150 pickup truck.
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and connected tablets and smart phones, to make sure production is on track. “Also, the riveting equipment is all closed loop,” said
Ron Ketelhut, Ford’s chief body construction engineer, who oversees Dearborn and 10 other plants in North America. “So, before the unit transfers from one station to the other, we get all the feedback from the rivet equipment that it’s OK to go.” In a pilot project, the factory’s 700 or so FANUC robots
even communicate back to their Japanese manufacturer via the Internet to help predict when unscheduled maintenance may be needed or to help with troubleshooting online. Regarding human workers, ergonomists at Ford com-
plete more than 900 virtual assembly task assessments per new-vehicle launch. Three core technologies—“full-body motion capture,” 3D printing of model parts and immersive virtual reality—provide the data they use to evaluate the safety of the assembly process for employees, Ford said.
Spring 2016 Photo illustration courtesy of Siemens
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