Some factors are crucial to get there:
Virtual stations can replace controller boxes, with different levels of functionality, which provides high level of flexibility and making it easy to re-balance the stations throughout the lines. With virtual station concept you can reduce amount of hardware per station and create an easy and lean working environment.
To produce different products on fairly small lines, with minimal operator influence and high product quality, it's important that each station performs it’s own set of tasks preliminary assigned to it from the MES system, and the processes must be controlled on the highest level.
Operators must have guidance with clear instructions about the assembly process, ensuring that all stages are performed correctly, which eliminates incidence of errors due to human factors, driving smoothly the human machine interaction with the complex production systems.
Picking the right tool for each specific application is key. In addition, the tool must have the correct functionality for each application. With different combinations of tools and functionalities, it's important to easily enable or disable functionalities, make an efficient use of your resources, keep traceability and collect data.
During the whole assembly process, you collected and stored data that was generated by your smart tools. A crucial step after that is to analyze and utilize this data. Data is the most powerful part of our transformation to Industry 4.0.
The collected data can add a lot of value to your assembly process. One of the values is to get notifications and suggestions to improve your assembly process and prevent failures. It's important to close the loop with a full coverage service program, from the start up of your tools to the last tightening made by them.
Atlas Copco illustration: a compressor assembly line, with different products being assembled at the same time.
The core step to the future of general industrial assembly is making it connected and integrated!
In many general assembly plants, for example a compressor manufacturer, we often see scenarios when multiple assembly operations are performed on the same station.
Consequently, there is a considerable volume of hardware around the station, occupying space and making more challenging for manufacturers to have the flexibility of assembling different products, and also to the operators to use the proper tools and perform the task correctly, thus impacting the productivity.
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