What is Industry 4.0 Smart Factory? Engineering companies seem to be faced with a vast array of sometimes confusing ideas of what the Smart Factory is and how to achieve it. First things first, it is a big subject and can mean different things to different sectors of the industry.
Put simply Industry 4.0 is about digitising your manufacturing, making the best use of modern technology in a manufacturing environment be it by monitoring, robotics, use of sensing technology – even staff training. It’s about having the right tools and process in place to make use of all this tech. It’s about being in control, empowering your workforce to be able to connect the right data with the right people in order to make informed decisions and all in real time.
In reality it’s really much more of an evolution than a revolution in the way we think and how we work, how we gather and make use of that collected data. You may find that the technology is already in place with the information we need all around us and some of it being collected, monitored and collated over several platforms – a combination of digital and manual process. The problem with this is that it can very quickly become unmanageable and is usually retrospective i.e. data is collected then becomes unused or out of date.
What if you could have a system that gathers the manufacturing data you require in real time so that you can be proactive in decisions, become leaner in manufacturing and give you the edge over your competitors?
- You want to be able to see what the shop floor is doing and at what stage the jobs are at
- How many parts have you made?
- If a machine is not running you need to know why and as it happens
- You want to be able to have control over your valuable CNC programs and be able to look at an audit trail of any changes made
- You also need to have a level of user control to ensure only the right people make the changes required
The path to a Smart Factory and the advantages it provides is far less difficult and much more affordable than you think! How do you start your journey to achieve all of this? Well that’s where we come in. At Cambridge Numerical Control we’ve been specialising in digital solutions for engineering companies for over 30 years. We are the leading UK supplier of DNC, Machine Tool Monitoring and File Management Systems from the world-leading Cimco range of products.
Let us assist you in your journey towards a smarter way of working, a smarter way of thinking, a truly Smart Factory.
To get your journey started give us a call on 01480 468639 or email sales@cnc.uk.com
