Eight Misunderstandings of Intelligent Manufacturing

Typical misconceptions of intelligent manufacturing: Intelligent manufacturing is about establishing unmanned factories and black light factories; Intelligent manufacturing is the replacement of machines with humans; Intelligent manufacturing is the establishment of automated production lines; Intelligent manufacturing=artificial intelligence AI+manufacturing; The more robots there are, the higher the level of intelligence. Multiple varieties, small displacement enterprises should not blindly establish unmanned factories.

There is one misconception in intelligent manufacturing:Emphasize automation over digitization; Not attaching importance to device networking and production line data collection makes it difficult to truly achieve visualization and transparency of the production process; Automated control systems are widely used, but the application of digital technology is relatively lagging behind; The disconnect between information technology and automation systems.

There are two misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:Heavy single machine automation, light system flexibility. Many manufacturing enterprises attach great importance to purchasing CNC machining centers or automated processing equipment. Many enterprises are equipped with industrial robots for loading and unloading, but often still rely on single machine automation and have not yet applied flexible manufacturing systems such as MES or flexible manufacturing units. The production process also requires manual handling, resulting in inventory of work in progress and low OEE of high-end intelligent equipment.

There are three misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:Many enterprises attach great importance to the automation transformation of bottleneck workstations or workstations that consume a lot of labor, and promote "machine replacement". Although this method can reduce labor and improve the efficiency of individual workstations, it is not significant for improving the overall efficiency of the production line, and often transfers bottleneck processes to other workstations.

There are four misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:Heavy unit system application, light overall planning and system integration, decades of application by managers, continuous refinement of industrial software functions, covering a wider range of businesses in manufacturing enterprises, and an increasing number of information systems applied by enterprises. Many enterprises often establish a set of information systems to solve a certain or a certain type of problem, meet the needs of a certain business department or business process, and lack overall planning, resulting in overlapping functions, blurred boundaries, and diverse data sources between systems.

There are five misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:In the process of promoting intelligent manufacturing, manufacturing enterprises generally face the problem of prioritizing construction over maintenance. During the system procurement and implementation phase, enterprises will conduct requirement analysis, system evaluation, feasibility analysis, and bidding selection. Senior leaders of major projects will also participate in the decision-making process, investing a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. However, after the system was launched, there was a lack of continuous operation and maintenance, and the application software was not maintained or upgraded for many years. The gap between system functions and actual business processes became increasingly large, and the value of the system was difficult to realize; Automated production lines also suffer from issues such as untimely maintenance and high failure rates.

There are six misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:Heavy emphasis on digital design, light emphasis on digital simulation and optimization. In recent years, digital design software has been widely used in system applications by enterprises. Some enterprises have extended to digital processes, but the application of simulation technology is still in its early stages, mainly focusing on motion simulation, structural and fluid simulation and verification. Simulation driven design and multi physics simulation analysis and optimization design have not yet been realized. Simulation applications are not systematic, lacking management of simulation standards, simulation processes, and material databases. Simulation personnel have not established specialized organizations, and the value of simulation software has not been fully realized.

There are seven misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:The application of information systems is emphasized, while the value of data and management improvement are emphasized. Many manufacturing enterprises have already applied many information systems in the process of digital transformation, but the effectiveness and value of system applications vary greatly. On the one hand, although the application areas of enterprise information systems are constantly expanding, enterprises lack analysis of the system's data itself, and the value of the data has not been fully explored, making it difficult to support enterprise decision-making; On the other hand, enterprises want to use information systems to manage most of their business problems, but when building information systems, they neglect the management improvements that the enterprise itself needs to implement. The norms and standards of business management are very incomplete, resulting in the application effect of the system not meeting expectations.

There are eight misconceptions in intelligent manufacturing:Heavy emphasis on display and light practicality, in the context of the country's vigorous promotion of intelligent manufacturing, some enterprises are willing to invest heavily to build luxurious intelligent factories, equipped with various intelligent equipment and information systems, including well-known brands' BI, ERP, PLM, MES, SRM, CPS production and logistics simulation systems, automated three-dimensional warehouses, AGV, Automated production lines, production command centers, etc. have been established with specialized intelligent manufacturing exhibition halls, on-site visit channels for workshops, demonstration production lines, etc., which are highly visible. But it is clearly lacking in practicality.

Information source: Intelligent manufacturing IMS (official account)