Digital Transformation In Manufacturing

Digitization – A force that is pervasive and has integrated into all walks of our daily life is also set to disrupt enterprises, including the classical manufacturing value chain.

- Jacob Peter

With customer centric design, and shrinking cycle times becoming an implicit expectation, manufacturing will have to adopt new technologies to be able to meet these requirements. This is ushering in the dawn of fourth Industrial revolution where autonomous and cyber-physical systems would be pervasive. “Smart manufacturing”or “Industry 4.0” is no longer a future trend – for most companies but it is now at the heart of their strategy for the future. Companies are combining advanced connectivity, automation, cloud computing, sensors and 3D printing, to transform their businesses.

Evolution of Manufacturing

The first industrial revolution saw the transition to new manufacturing processes that included moving from hand production to machines. The power of steam was harnessed to mechanize production - this also marked the development of machine tools and rise of the factory system

The second industrial revolution was a phase of rapid industrialization, it used electricity for production and brought about the concept of assembly lines. The unprecedented expansion of rail and telegraph lines helped in the movement of people and ideas that was never seen at such a massive scale in human history before, which culminated in the advent of globalization

The third industrial resolution used electronics and information technology to improve and automate manufacturing as we know it today. Technologies like field bus which have enabled PLCs to communicate, automation and MES systems were cornerstones of this revolution.