North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event
By Frank Arteaga, Head of Product Marketing, Market Region NAFTA, Bystronic Inc.
In manufacturing there has always been the need for data analysis. Continual improvements are a mainstay of remaining competitive, and without data and the means to store and analyze the data, there is also no means to measure the process. Fact is, you cannot improve what you cannot measure.
Industry 4.0 is a term that references the collective machine interconnectivity and big data that is now a large part of the manufacturing process chain. It refers to the physical computing, logical devices and machine sensors that communicate data, the networking of these systems to communicate their data in real-time and the ability to utilize the collected data not only for automated decision-making systems but for data services used by humans involved in the manufacturing process chain. The origin of the term Industry 4.0 is from a German government project that promotes the computerization of manufacturing and is a reference to the 4th industrial revolution in manufacturing. The 1st revolution being mechanical production equipment driven by water and steam power, the 2nd based on mass production enabled by the division of labor and the use of electrical energy, the 3rd based on the use of electronics and IT systems to further automate production.
Decentralization of Decisions:
The interconnectivity of devices has enabled data to be communicated from one system to the other in real-time and allowed automated systems to make decisions that were once centralized with human activities. ERP systems can now automatically break down orders into bill of materials and machine routings, raw materials automatically ordered and jobs released to the automated job management systems that can collect, group and optimize jobs based on material requirements and order due dates. As soon as the job management system has optimized the materials, the orders can be sent directly to the machines based on reaching automatic criteria such as achieving effective material yields. Automated material handling systems can take the raw material information and retrieve the correct material and present it for processing as well as unload the cut sheets when finished.
Finding Efficiencies Through Process Chain Connectivity:
High-performance software is fundamental to modern sheet metal processing. Bystronic Manufacturing Execution System (MES) will be introduced at FABTECH 2017. This is a new software solution that creates digital transparency across the entire process chain. MES allows users to plan, direct and evaluate work flows according to defined timelines.
Bystronic will also introduce ByCockpit, a new app that identifies opportunities in the production process by analyzing and visualizing sheet metal production data. ByCockpit enables real-time decision-making by the personnel that require data to make on-the-fly decisions and improvements.
Join Bystronic at Booth A1819 where we will showcase new and innovative high-performance solutions that cover the full spectrum of file-to-part manufacturing.
About Bystronic
Bystronic Inc. has offered customers single source service expertise for over 35 years. They provide innovative laser cutting, press brakes, automation, system software and comprehensive customer training and support. The company’s North American headquarters is located in Elgin, IL. Offices are also located in Toronto, Canada and Monterrey, Mexico. For more information on Bystronic Inc., visit www.bystronicusa.com.
For questions/comments regarding this article, please contact:
Judy Bellem, SMM Advertising
631-982-4004 (direct) | 631-875-4663 (cell)
FABTECH 2024
About the Expo
North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
