3D printing and industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution has arrived

The global manufacturing industry is undergoing a transformation, which is the industry 4.0 often mentioned by the media. What has led to this transformation is the emergence of new manufacturing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 3D printing and cloud-based platforms. It is estimated that spending on smart manufacturing technology will increase by nearly $300 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

 

3D printing and industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution has arrived

 

The factory has become more "smart"

 

3D printing and industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution has arrived

 

Simply adding advanced technologies and tools such as AI can't make a "smart factory," which is not as simple as it is and costly. In the past few decades, manufacturing companies have spent billions of dollars deploying agile methodology, enterprise resource management (ERP) and other types of IT systems with the goal of improving processes, increasing transparency and implementing low-cost, executable On-demand manufacturing plan. However, the benefits of such investments are not immediate, and the continuous optimization and efficiency improvement of the factory is not a one-off event.

 

One of the many challenges facing the manufacturing industry is the balance of business and management leaders who make checks and balances and make decisions together. They operate in different supplier ecosystems, and senior managers receive advice from consultants and other professional services companies; however, operations leaders deal with industrial technology suppliers. In the traditional manufacturing industry, the status quo of the current assessment indicators such as cost and revenue must be changed in order to liberate the productivity of the factory and enable the application of smart technology solutions to promote the upgrading of the industry.

 

With this foundation in place, Industry 4.0 solutions will help plants and supply chains increase efficiency by providing greater operational transparency and the ability to predict problems and control results. After the popularity of 5G networks, industrial IoT IIoT devices and sensors will be deployed in large quantities and become the source of factory big data; the data generated by the IIoT ecosystem will be quickly processed by AI to generate an automated solution for robotic process automation (RPA). In this way, it is possible to predict and discover efficiency bottlenecks in the plant, greatly improve the process, and improve production efficiency.

 

Andrew Kavni, Ernst & Young EMEIA Consulting Markets and Solutions Director, said: "Industry 4.0 is to make the factory truly smarter than just digital. In this transformation, managers may be the most important factor. Industry 4.0 technology does not eliminate existing technologies and equipment, but enables workers, technicians and equipment to operate in a better state, thus achieving superior manufacturing methods."

 

Refinement and the use of new manufacturing processes remain an important part of Industry 4.0. Studies have shown that when the Fine Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 programs are fully implemented, more synergies can be achieved at lower cost, rather than isolating the production process. A recent global survey reported that nearly two-thirds of employees would welcome AI if it eliminated cumbersome tasks and improved decision making; however, three-fifths of employers have not even discussed the importance of AI with their employees. effect. Therefore, high-level decision-making will also affect the process of manufacturing change to a large extent.

 

Manufacturing has become more dispersed

 

3D printing and industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution has arrived

 

Digital manufacturing technology will gradually change the existing models of traditional centralized mass production to achieve a more distributed model. Traditional manufacturing models focus on centralized, low-cost mass production to reduce product costs and gain labor advantages, while distributed models rely on smaller, flexible, and scalable production capabilities connected to digital networks. The distributed manufacturing model reduces the length, complexity, and cost of the supply chain and allows for rapid customization of products and enhanced local market responsiveness.

 

3D printing is more adaptive to on-demand manufacturing trends

 

Frank Thurson, Ernst & Young's global additive manufacturing director, said: "From a cost and cost perspective, 3D printing is still not a substitute for traditional mass production, but in redesigning parts for additional functionality, or integrating a set of parts. In terms of a more complex part, 3D printing has a unique advantage to further promote tailor-made parts or applications."

 

3D printing technology is at the heart of distributed manufacturing. The range of 3D printable materials continues to expand, not only for plastics, but also for metals, resins and ceramics. 3D printing technology enables more complex geometries than traditional molding, machining and casting processes. Although additive manufacturing technology has been widely used for prototyping, a survey in 2019 reported that more and more manufacturers have begun to use 3D printing for full production. The ability to directly prototype 3D printed prototypes or parts from digital files has spawned a new Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) business model that enables manufacturers to expand on-demand manufacturing services to achieve operational flexibility and reduce business costs.

 

3D printing will not replace existing traditional manufacturing techniques, but it will be a new process that goes hand-in-hand with traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. Flexible product customization capabilities are better suited to changing consumer needs, lower inventory and logistics cost requirements, and closer production capacity and shorter lead times. These are just some of the benefits offered by distributed production environments.

 

Cleaner materials and less waste

 

3D printing and industry 4.0 manufacturing revolution has arrived

 

Customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders increasingly expect manufacturers to use environmental impacts, save energy and natural resources, and demonstrate the safety of the production process to residential communities. Manufacturers around the world are investing in sustainable production practices and products to replace traditional physical processing, high temperature processing and other old technologies. These more sustainable investments will create approximately $2 billion in value in terms of cost savings and revenue generation.

 

The clean materials revolution is part of it. The role of abundant energy sources such as carbon is being weakened by nanoscale engineering to create new materials such as graphene that can replace scarce and expensive metals. Ultralight aircraft made of graphene can reduce fuel costs. Boron materials are boron atoms of various crystal structures. New materials composed of a single layer structure are likely to be used as anode materials for the manufacture of more powerful lithium ion batteries, and as sensors for detecting microscopic atoms and molecules.

 

Ultra-thin materials, some of which can change or evolve under the influence of heat, light or electricity, can extend battery life, make solar cells more efficient, and desalinate seawater. Self-healing materials can extend the life of the product and allow them to be diverted from the waste. As concrete production accounts for 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, laboratory scientists are working to process nanoscale particles or use limestone-producing bacteria in cement to create more durable, less resource-intensive products.

 

Some studies have shown that perhaps one day we can manipulate atoms and molecules to achieve atomic-level precision and construct larger, more complex objects, which is the dream of molecular manufacturing. At a higher level, the concept of molecular manufacturing envisions a nanoscale tool that self-assembles, positions, and generates molecules in a specific instruction or environment.

 

Some researchers are using self-assembly techniques to create novel materials and explore molecular manipulation and synthesis using programmable nanobots. For example, researchers at the Femto-ST Institute in France recently built a small house of only 20 microns at the end of the fiber using a nano robot manufacturing system. At the University of Manchester, scientists built nano-robots of 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms that can be programmed to move and manipulate individual molecules using tiny robotic arms. The related invention enables molecular robots to be used within 10 to 20 years to construct molecules and materials on assembly lines of molecular factories.

 

Manufacturing upgrades and the advancement of Industry 4.0 are a system-level project, and a series of new technologies such as artificial intelligence AI, industrial Internet of Things IIoT, big data, 3D printing, new materials, new batteries, nanotechnology, and molecular manufacturing will gradually Mature, market-oriented, entering factories and workshops. Traditional manufacturing will not disappear, but more efficiently, cleaner, sustainable, and on-demand production of the goods we need.