Industrial IoT Applications In Manufacturing
MIT introduced the phrase “Internet of Things (IoT)” in the late 1990s. It describes a ‘devices or sensors connected worlds,’ in which items are linked, monitored, and optimized using wired, wireless, or hybrid systems. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a component of the Future Internet and can be defined as a dynamic global network architecture with self-configuring capabilities based on open, interoperable communication protocols. where physical and virtual “things” have identities, physical attributes, virtual personalities, and use intelligent interfaces, and are seamlessly integrated into the existing internet”.
The phrase “ Industrial Internet “ was introduced by General Electric to describe the Industrial Internet of Things, whereas others, such as Cisco, named it the Internet of Everything and others called it Internet 4.0. Energy production, manufacturing, agriculture, health care, retail, transportation, logistics, aviation, space exploration, and many other disciplines are all covered by the Industrial Internet of Things.
Iot detects manufacturing delays and assists in determining the root causes. Automation of numerous operations in the manufacturing business benefits production units tremendously. This optimizes the use of raw materials and manufacturing components. The Internet of Things allows for improved resource allocation. It enables users to concentrate on clients and revenues rather than on time-consuming and tiresome operations.
The internet of things (IoT) is a global technology that is revolutionizing the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Let’s look at some IoT applications in the manufacturing sector.
Quality control:
To assess product quality control, many manufacturing companies rely on manual methods. Inspector randomly selects a sample from one batch and inspects the product’s quality at various points along the line. However, such a strategy is ineffective. It has limits and does not permit active intervention in the manufacturing process.
Industrial internet of things allows manufacturers to analyze product data generated by sensors and devices and thus be informed about the quality of the products, in manufacturing process, in real time, is one viable answer. Product data can also be utilized to diagnose the product remotely. Manufacturers can be more certain in spotting quality problems at the source due to IoT’s support in monitoring both equipment settings and the outcomes of each manufacturing step. As a result, improvement measures can be implemented in a timely manner.
Predictive Maintenance
Manufacturers have always used a time-based strategy to perform maintenance checks on industrial equipment. A time-based strategy is ineffective as equipment failure can occur seemingly random which can prove costly. Machine downtime has the most detrimental effect on a manufacturing business.
Routine checkups, are automated thanks to the Internet of Things. That is, the systems perform their own maintenance check without the need for outside assistance and sends alerts to users using any user interface such as mobile application. Manufacturers can monitor the equipment’s operational environment and do analytics utilizing associated data in the cloud to analyse the actual wear and tear by employing IoT sensors (on the equipment) and Machine Learning techniques. To maintain track of its functionality, the device performs a routine self-maintenance check. It informs its authorities about bugs and damages, and then required steps are taken to resolve the issue. Prompt service and repair results in increased maintenance efficiency, better job allocation to field workers, and less downtime, as well as reduction in costs.
Inventory Management
Inventory management refers to the calculation of the available stocks. Inventory management is implemented in the various stages of the production line. It is a necessary tool for the ever-growing industries, whose demands for products are growing and delays cause a major problem. Many of the warehouses are still controlled manually. The company sends the inventories to the warehouses, where they are manually recorded. It is difficult to keep tracing the entire inventories manually. If there are any errors or any inventories missing, they will inform the shipping companies which is very time consuming and margin of error is large, which can prove very costly.
We can eliminate excessive manpower and automate inventory management between the measurement and order placing stages by applying IOT-based inventory management. This improves inventory management efficiency. As machines are doing the job margin of error is close to nothing. Solutions have been developed as an automated inventory management system recently, which uses RFID tracking system. Inventory management can be portrayed as a fluid and efficient process using RFID and IoT. Each item is equipped with an RFID tag, which creates its own Unique identification (UID). Manufacturers can better prepare to receive raw materials by measuring their pace of movement and traffic flow. This reduces handling times and allows for more efficient processing of those materials in the manufacturing process with help of IoT. Amazon has been using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), for warehouse inventory management.
Improved Safety
All of the data and sensors that a fully functional IIoT manufacturing operation requires are also helping to improve workplace safety. When all of the IoT sensors work together to monitor workplace and employee safety, “smart manufacturing” becomes “smart security.” Workers on the floor, on the line, and in distribution are all protected by integrated safety systems. If an accident occurs, everyone in the plant will be notified, operations will be halted, and company leadership will be able to intervene and ensure that the accident and incident are resolved. This incident may also yield useful information that may be used to prevent a recurrence in the future.
Wearable technology is a recent option that some manufacturers are implementing among their personnel. Wearables have been a part of the Internet of Things since its introduction, but they are just now being used in industrial IoT operations. Wearables assist leaders in keeping track of things like employee posture and ambient noise levels, which may subsequently be used to enhance working conditions and possibly boost performance. Employees can also be notified if they are not following standard workplace safety protocols, allowing them to change their actions and remain safe on the job.
Smart Manufacturing
Over the previous decade, lean manufacturing has been the most popular process optimization technique, with the goal of eliminating overload, inconsistency, and waste. Lean manufacturing aimed to make things in a smooth and uniform manner. Smart manufacturing is comparable to lean manufacturing in that it is a process improvement program; however, its goals are to blend the digital and analogue worlds by developing connectivity and orchestration to give improved processes that deliver items seamlessly and consistently. As a result, lean and smart are complementing process optimization methodologies that we will see in future factories working side by side.
Smart sensors communicate with one another and connect to systems that can manage and control the manufacturing process by detecting the state of the product in the manufacturing process. In order to examine and establish the status of each product, real-time data from machines and sensors must be collected and processed. One of the goals of smart manufacturing is for parts and components to be recognizable and intelligent, such as being able to identify themselves and save vital information. Parallel processing, real-time answers to process control, and collaborative machines on the manufacturing line will all require industrial internet business operations. This leads to process automation, which is good since it eliminates the overhead of maintaining many ways to achieve the same objective.
Smart packaging
The main purpose of packaging is to protect the product against deteriorative effects caused by exposure to and usage in the external environment. In addition, product packaging serves as an effective means of marketing to communicate with the consumer. It comes in various shapes and sizes and, as a user interface, provides consumers with both ease of use and convenience.
Smart packaging is a whole package solution that, on the one hand, monitors and reacts to changes in the product or environment. Smart packaging uses a range of sensors to keep track of a package’s quality and safety, such as detecting and analyzing freshness, pathogens, leaks, carbon dioxide, oxygen, pH level, time, and temperature. From food safety and drug usage monitoring to tracking postal delivery of things via embedded security tags, smart packaging technology offers a wide range of possible applications. Such opportunities are viewed as value-added benefits from the customer’s standpoint. New techniques of tracking and monitoring purchased goods with related apps has emerged into a key economic potential for organizations to boost consumer happiness and loyalty in this day and age of people being always connected to the Internet. Smart packaging can also be used to spot inefficiencies in the supply chain, cut costs and errors, improve product performance, and boost profit margins.
Supply chain management
The traditional paper-based supply chain management method is no longer adequate to support the smart manufacturing process. As a result, rather than clients calling, e-mailing, raising documents, and faxing orders, the process must be automated and digitalized. Suppliers must design a demand-driven model that reduces inventory and replaces material based on sensing components stock movement and counts, in addition to connecting via business-to-business communication channels.
IoT devices track and monitor data from supply chains in real time. Authorities can remotely monitor and control machinery, equipment, and supply systems. Every element of the supply chain becomes a data point with RFID and IoT, giving supply chain participants real-time visibility into the status, locations, and conditions of parts and supplies, work in progress and finished commodities, equipment, and vehicles. IoT-driven supply chain management enables end-to-end visibility into the supply chain, increased operational efficiency, efficient waste management, and better customer service.
Digital Twins
The approach of making perfect duplicates or clones of actual hardware devices utilizing the cloud is known as digital twins. Before developing the real-life model, IoT scientists and IT officials construct these models for testing and deployment. A digital twin is a virtual replica of whatever it creates, from a circuit board to a complete manufacturing facility.
The company may determine where bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or unforeseen demands, such as additional materials or safety precautions, by doing a digital rehearsal of, say, an engine’s assembly. These insights, obtained through analytics, aid in the optimization of manufacturing. Technicians, for example, can use digital twins to discover quality flaws in real time, make fast design modifications, and adjust supply and materials.
Real-World Smart Factories
Smart Factory at Audi
With the smart factory, Audi is optimizing its production for the future. Big data — the creation and intelligent connection of massive volumes of data — will enable data-driven, hence highly flexible and efficient manufacturing in this factory of the future. Modular assembly is a technique of production in which Audi may no longer produce its cars on an assembly line but rather according to a totally new, disruptive concept. In addition to this important project, Audi is working on a number of other fascinating concepts for future manufacturing, ranging from the use of virtual reality glasses, metal 3D printing, predictive maintenance to AI powered quality inspection.
GE’s Brilliant Factory
Airbus: Smart Tools and Smart Apps
Airbus is collaborating with National Instruments to develop what they call the “factory of the future”. Airbus is adding intelligence to its tools and shop floor systems to simplify the production process and enhance efficiency by managing and checking the tasks the operator is doing, taking advantage of proven and available technology to modernize airplane assembly operations. These “smart tools” can connect with a central database, operators locally, or other smart tools as needed to provide situational awareness to operators.
Siemens’ Amberg Electronics Plant
The 100,000-square-foot Amberg factory in Bavaria has a particularly difficult job: it produces over 1,200 different goods. This means that its production line has to change setups 350 times every day. Previously, this was a time-consuming operation that needed workers to spend time manually changing equipment and machinery. A computer model now develops a digital version of the items, the production line, and the manufacturing process itself before anything even enters the line, helping to simplify and increase the speed with which new configurations are set up. Siemens recently added augmented reality to its array of analytics-driven production tools. Factory managers and designers are now integrating themselves into virtual manufacturing environment.
The Internet of Services, where manufacturers can build or consume existing services within their value chain, is a key component of Industry 4.0. Inventory control, logistics, and smart transportation are examples of services that will cut costs, increase efficiency, and ultimately increase production.
Businesses will have to make some fundamental modifications in every part of their business in order to adapt and take advantage of the immense possibilities offered by the Industrial Internet and Industry 4.0. The transformation of the business to run seamlessly in a digital world is the first and most important prerequisite for implementing IIoT or Industry 4.0.
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