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How is AI Transforming the Manufacturing Sector?
Undoubtedly, more than 60% of manufacturing organisations are utilising AI to reduce downtime and ensure high-quality end products in the industrial sector. Additionally, manufacturing businesses are integrating AI-based analytical tools into their information systems to increase productivity.
Factory AI impacts the smart maintenance of the production environment. To avoid sudden damage to machinery, plants use predictive solutions. These manufacturing organisations' AI-enabled solutions can predict equipment failure before it results in damage.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has many advantages for manufacturers. Here are a few manufacturing-related AI use cases that business leaders should explore.
How Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Affecting The Manufacturing Execution?
AI technologies have gained tremendous growth over the past few years. Its impact is on every sector, such as the manufacturing sector. Here are some ways that artificial intelligence technology is impacting manufacturers.
- Manufacturers continuously launch AI robots on the assembly line to guarantee a safe workplace and improve productivity.
- Manufacturers can find product defects and issues with quality and design using AI.
- With a combination of Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, and industrial revolution technologies, manufacturers can start creating thousands of design concepts in just a few seconds. Such design ideas assist manufacturers in generating end-product in a unique structure.
- AI solutions can help manufacturers handle inventory and balance supply and demand. AI inventory management systems or demand forecasting technologies can help manufacturing organisations manage inventory levels and secure profitable business.
What role does AI play in the manufacturing industry?
Here are the ideal AI applications in the manufacturing industry.
Quality assurance
It is the maintenance of a desirable level of quality in a service or product. Assembly lines are interconnected, data-driven and autonomous networks. These assembly lines collaborate based on variables and algorithms that offer guidelines to produce superior end products.
AI sensors can monitor the differences from the standard outputs using machine vision technology since most defects are visible. AI systems warn users when a final result is of lower quality than expected so that they can take action to make corrections.
Predictive maintenance
Although there are a huge variety of AI use cases in manufacturing, predictive maintenance often comes into focus for a good reason.
Guaranteeing maximum access to critical manufacturing systems while simultaneously decreasing the cost of maintenance and repairs is crucial. However, reactive (trying to fix something after it breaks) and preventative (regular intervals examinations) maintenance models are not cost-effective or flexible.
Leveraging machine learning for predictive maintenance allows producers to predict when equipment failure is likely to occur so they can proactively replace parts or schedule repairs. You can constantly supply data from IoT sensors into machine learning models that will compare this live operating data with historical information to offer extremely accurate predictions.
When combined with cloud computing, IoT also provides the ability to connect data from numerous machines to increase the accuracy of your predictions. The results are maximised efficiency, reduced downtime and drastically lower maintenance costs.
Process optimisation
Organisations can achieve sustainable production levels by optimising processes using AI-powered software. Manufacturers prefer AI-powered tools to detect and remove bottlenecks in the organisation's operations. For instance, in the manufacturing sector, timely and correct delivery to a customer is the ultimate goal.
However, creating a reliable distribution system is challenging if the corporation has multiple plants in various locations. Using Al-powered software solutions, manufacturers can analyse the performance of various areas down to individual process steps, including length, cost, and the person doing the step. These insights help streamline processes and identify inefficiencies so manufacturers can take action.
Generative design
Generative design uses machine learning to resemble an engineer's approach to the plan. Design criteria (such as materials, size, weight, strength, manufacturing processes, and cost limits) are entered by designers or engineers into generative design software, which then renders every possible result. Manufacturers can swiftly create thousands of design choices for a single product using this technology.
Cobots work with humans
Cobots, also known as collaborative robots, regularly assist human employees by acting as extra pairs of hands. Unlike autonomous robots, Cobots can repeatedly learn new tasks designed for a single activity. They can work alongside human workers thanks to their agility and spatial awareness, which also helps them to recognise and avoid obstacles.
Manufacturers usually employ cobots for heavy lifting or on production lines. For instance, cobots can lift bulky vehicle parts and hold them in position while human workers secure them. Cobots can find and retrieve objects in massive warehouses.
Inventory Management
Inefficiency in inventory management can lead to significant financial overheads for the manufacturing business. Leveraging AI technologies allows companies to handle order records and add/delete new inventory levels. Machine Learning plays an important part in managing demand and supply inventories. Artificial Intelligence is fueling production processes in radical ways. It can reshape your operations, enhance product quality, and cut expenses.
Is AI the future of manufacturing?
For any industry, artificial intelligence is a game-changing technology. AI is becoming more affordable for businesses as technology improves and costs decrease. It can effectively produce things and make them better and more affordable. Manufacturing has always been keen to adopt new technology and has been successful in doing so.
With the deployment of AI, they can now make quick, data-driven decisions, streamline their manufacturing processes, cut operating expenses, and improve their customer service. This does not imply that robots will take over manufacturing, as AI is a tool to support human labour, and nothing can replace human intelligence and flexibility.
FactoryWorx Artificial Intelligence (AI) System utilises deep IIoT connectivity and Machine Learning to offer manufacturing and distribution businesses opportunities to expand and drive innovation with unparalleled speed and accuracy all over internal operations and the entire value chain. Your company can effectively use artificial intelligence to make smarter decisions to save costs, boost productivity, and promote innovation, provided it can collect valuable data from every piece of machinery on the factory floor, as well as from larger business systems and external sources.
Artificial intelligence enables manufacturers of all types to operate more quickly and intelligently. Even though technology has made a significant difference, there is still a massive amount of unfulfilled potential that can help manufacturers improve every aspect of their operations.