Technology That's Changing the Manufacturing Sector

Manufacturing is changing, as you might expect since the world is becoming more programmable and efficient.

The German government has coined the term manufacturing 4.0 to account for some of the significant changes happening in the sector. The changes in manufacturing are likely to enhance production by making it cheaper and more efficient. 

Ultrafast 3D Printing

3D printing has been around for a while now, but it is not extensively used in the manufacturing sector due to productivity constraints. In comparison to traditional injection molding techniques, 3D printing is time-consuming and expensive as layer upon layer of plastic must be printed out. 

That’s not the case with ultrafast 3D printing. This technology is called high-speed sintering, and it’s revolutionizing the manufacturing sector. Instead of waiting for plastics to be printed and fused, the sintering process uses inkjet heads to print faster and an infrared lamp for fusion.  

Internet of Things 

The Internet of things is slowly taking over the factory floor as well as many modern homes. There are clear advantages to having everything integrated, such as efficiency, security, flexibility, and productivity. But the IoT also allows manufacturers to enhance their products. 

Uses AI technology and IoT companies can offer a more bespoke service to customers. Take the auto industry as an example; if the spec of order changes during the production process, changes can be carried out during manufacturing by updating the modeling system on the IoT.    

Lifting Gear 

When it comes to the manufacturing sector, some things never change; there will always be some need for lifting equipment in this sector. Lifting equipment includes things such as winches, hoists, beam clamps, and trolleys, lighting chains, hydraulics, and lifting jacks. 

If you operate a business in the manufacturing sector, you need a reliable supplier of Lifting Gear. The reason is two-fold. Quality lifting gear is needed to ensure you provide the best service to customers, but reliable lifting gear is also needed for safety and compliance reasons.   

Light-Based Manufacturing

Presently, robots are required to create circuit boards used in computers, devices, and other products. These robots are good at soldering small parts into place for circuit boards, but they can be expensive to operate. Now, there is a new technology called Light-Based Manufacturing. 

Light-Based manufacturing describes the process of using light to manipulate components in liquid. You might have to use your imagination a little bit until you encounter this technology for yourself, but rest assured that it facilitates the large-scale production of parts at far lower costs. 

Embedded Metrology 

Quality control in the manufacturing process is very important; unfortunately, it is also an expensive process that requires time, attention, and dedication. Presently, machines are programmed to select items at random for testing, and then the entire batch is validated. 

Embedded meteorology is a fast and convenient solution that measures parts within the production process without human interference in the production line. This technology is still somewhat manual, however, but things are changing with more automated factory solutions.