Smart Manufacturing and Automation
It would not be wrong to say that the ultimate goal of devices that make our daily lives easier by thinking on behalf of us, identifying needs, and deciding how to act is to facilitate the life. As we adapted quickly to these devices, we attributed “intelligence” to these products that increase our quality of life. Thus, we have determined the general name of the production model that will shape all future manufacturing systems. Discovering the power of smart production, which is shaping the future of industrial manufacturing and guiding the economy has become a big test for small and large-scale companies.
Changing Dimension without Becoming Mechanized
By combining the speed, that electric power has brought into industrial manufacturing with digital technologies, software, and the Internet, the workforce shifted from man to machine, which made it possible for the industry to switch to almost full automation. Provision of raw material procurement, follow-up of the products on the process band, quality control processes, monitoring of post-production maintenance and repair have gained a completely different dimension through to the machines and products in communication with each other. The control mechanism and reporting system that spanned to all phases of industrial manufacturing facilitated the collection of data in one hand as well as analyzing it. At this point, the strengthening of control mechanisms and data flow/analysis added to the speed in production also changed the meaning attributed to the workload.
Re-signification of Automation and the Artificial Intelligence Factor in Smart Manufacturing
Because of this new business model emerging as intelligent manufacturing, smart factories and smart products, automation, seen as mechanization since the Industrial Revolution, also needs to be re-understood. Not only manufacturing became easier and the productivity and profitability is provided to manufacturers, but the human-machine relationship has also gained a new dimension. We now call automation not only as the standard movement of mass production, where machines are involved in the production band, but as a whole, that provides the dialogue between the machine-product-producer and the user. Artificial intelligence, which has facilitating effects on the industry and everyday life of people during and after manufacturing, got the biggest share in the functionality that automation brought to smart manufacturing. Individuals began to feel this in a wide range of fields that vary from shopping to communication, transportation to health services during the new automation era by means of the smart devices of smart manufacturing. Thus, moving beyond what the industry needs in smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence has reached our daily lives as facilitators thinking on behalf of us.
How is Smart Manufacturing and Automation Developed?
In the intelligent production model, where communication between machines, products, and users is redefined, developing and perfecting automation processes that evolve rapidly undoubtedly requires engineering work for Industry 4.0, a whole new medium. In this sense, R&D studies supported by investors and state subsidies have vital importance in terms of smart manufacturing. Engineering studies that interpret the digital and technological transformation in innovation and technology centers and incubation centers are playing a big role in the development of automation.
