You need to organize the material flow properly, be transparent about planning and control operations and identify standardization and modularization potentials throughout the entire order-fulfillment process, from costing to design and programming to production.To ensure data consistency throughout the streamlined production process, please uses Siemens NX.
Apart from designing and using our own standard components to build our molds, we count on standardized design, You need standard elements that are always designed exactly the same. That is one key aspect of it, but you must also standardize the process itself. Reduction is key here. Take, for example, reducing the number of tools. When you have 500 tools, it is unrealistic to think you could operate an automated line. Fifty would be a good number, because your tool library remains manageable, and you can reduce potential sources for error. And these 50 tools will have to do, no matter what.” Hofmann explains that you must also standardize programming through libraries, configurations and attributes to execute the process in a secure and uniform manner. An automated workflow from design to NC code helps reduce programming time and eliminates errors. Since we never manufacture the same workpieces, standardization and process reliability are crucial for us.
In order to automate processes, the company must invest in some kind of technology capable of taking on manual and commonly repetitive tasks performed by its team. Although this represents a cost increase in the long run, this is not the case.
The costs of production tend to fall, since the number of errors is also reduced from the automation of processes. In some cases, even the number of people involved in a team can be reduced, or better still, relocated to other areas in which their intellectual efforts may be better employed.
It isn’t a stretch to imagine these electronic agents being given autonomy to, say, publish a travel warning, alert area hospitals to be on the lookout for certain patients or symptoms, or even begin redirecting traffic in transit to mitigate and control the spread of disease.
Once the robots master a single function, their utility tends to spread. Anything that can be standardized–from emergency protocol to preparing equipment–is fodder for automation. In the end, EHRs may be the worst example of technology taking over the healthcare sector; thus far, EHRs still don’t follow a single standard. For now, at least, humans are still essential to making the data move.
Your company has decided to add automation to one of your most critical processes. What is the reason for the investment?
Most companies automate a process to improve results through labor cost reduction. Many organizations see automation as a way to decrease labor and create a lower cost outcome. In fact, as many as 78% of companies decide to add automated equipment for labor reduction alone.
It’s true that removing manual labor costs produces a quicker return on investment. But a larger opportunity awaits. Think bigger. Why wouldn’t you want to go beyond modest labor savings? Why not take the opportunity to improve process outcomes, quality costs and cycle times in a big way?
Preparation before your automation implementation is key to the best investment return. An essential step in preparation should be a process review. A process review includes process mapping, analysis and potential redesign of identified problems.
For manufacturers with no production standards, a good first step is to establish a centralized engineering group. This group should consist of manufacturing, controls and process engineers, who can lead the charge in developing production standards. Their focus should be on creating rigid or “bullet-proof” standards, which will help minimize the likelihood of change orders arising from problems that weren’t proactively addressed.
Many automakers are eager to capture the value of Industry 4.0 and thus want to begin their standardization efforts at the software layer. But it’s important to start at the automation layer.