Digital Transformation
Businesswire | August 18, 2023
Factbird established its first US office in mid-2022 with the vision of helping thousands of American facilities digitally transform. By making facilities more profitable through data, Factbird has helped customers save millions of dollars by reducing waste, identifying bottlenecks, and avoiding unnecessary IT projects. Among its current customers are top global pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and industrial solution companies, including Novo Nordisk, Grundfos, Danfoss, Royal Unibrew, and Bosch.
Data-driven operational excellence boosts productivity and global competitiveness
Factbird’s Manufacturing Intelligence Solutions combine plug-and-play hardware and cloud software. Regardless of the company’s size or the age of the machines in use, Factbird is quick to install and brings an immediate ROI. Data from manufacturing processes provides a goldmine of valuable information on how to operate more efficiently and profitably.
After implementing Factbird, management can check the factory overview daily, plant managers can track the order fulfillment, and the head of engineering can see which problems need the most attention. The data in the Factbird cloud can be as high level or as granular as users need.
Michael Borman, US Head of Sales and Country Manager at Factbird, says, “Labor shortages, global competition, and inflation are major challenges for facilities in the US. Process improvement is more important than ever, and Factbird makes this simple by presenting real-time data from any process in a way that immediately benefits everyone, helping operations produce more with less waste.”
A more digitalized, sustainable industry with productivity increases from day one
Factbird’s goal is to help manufacturers produce more using fewer resources, contributing to higher profitability and sustainability. Factbird is a proven solution where customers see a 22–25% increase in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) on average in their first year.
Additionally, Factbird costs as little as 10% to implement compared to similar solutions on the market, bringing massive returns to factories using Factbird’s powerful Manufacturing Intelligence Solutions.
A strong presence in the US for better accessibility and local advice
Factbird’s US arm, Factbird Inc., is based in Morristown, New Jersey, and is committed to supporting American manufacturing companies by boosting digitization as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Salman Rehan, Senior Enterprise Account Manager at Factbird, says, “It’s an exciting time as we expand our client base from an already solid foundation. I’ve been in the industrial automation space for several years supporting manufacturers in digitalization, process improvement, and LEAN methodologies—essentially implementing Industry 4.0 initiatives. Our clients enjoy real-time visibility into performance, understanding reasons for variances in production, and attaining concrete improvements to their bottom line.”
Factbird is attending the 2023 Process Expo in Chicago
Michael Borman & the US team will be attending the Process Expo in Chicago, a global food equipment and technology show, from October 23–25. There, the US Factbird team will be ready to advise manufacturers on methods to improve their data capture processes, reduce waste, improve OEE, and increase profitability.
About Factbird
Factbird is a pioneering provider of Manufacturing Intelligence Solutions aimed at driving operational excellence. Our focus on data and factual insights empowers businesses to optimize operations, reduce downtime, and boost productivity. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, Factbird delivers real-time insights and actionable intelligence.
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Manufacturing Technology
Businesswire | July 13, 2023
Shapeways, Inc., a global leader in the digital manufacturing industry, announced the launch of a 3D Model Viewer for its software offering deployed via its MFG brand. This highly anticipated feature is now live for manufacturers on the MFG.com platform, accelerating and improving the quoting experience–resulting in more qualified leads, an enhanced customer experience, and an enriched sales cycle. In tandem with this new, user-friendly feature, Shapeways has also introduced a modern spin on the MFG brand.
In the two months since the brand refresh, MFG has seen a 33% increase in demand for premium subscriptions when compared to the previous period. This update not only showcases MFG’s transformation into a more advanced software offering, but also aligns the logo and colors with an emphasis on advanced technology.
The investment and commitment to providing new automated tools, coupled with a more innovative brand, have proven instrumental in boosting customer acquisition, improving customer retention, and increasing customer lifetime value on the MFG.com platform.
The 3D Model Viewer, a feature requested by users, provides manufacturers with a unified platform and the latest technology for viewing 3D models of custom parts, streamlining the quoting process, and allowing for greater accuracy and speed. In addition to providing multiple benefits for manufacturers, the enhanced 3D capability also streamlines the purchasing experience for buyers since they receive faster, more precise quotes.
“Building features that drive success for manufacturers and their customers is our main focus,” said Greg Rothman, GM of Software for Shapeways. “The enthusiastic response to the 3D Model Viewer reinforces our strategy as we continue to help our users provide quotes with speed and accuracy—and enable them to find even more business opportunities.”
The 3D Model Viewer is also equipped with advanced measuring tools for more precise lengths and distances within models, a cutting planes view to give further insight into how a part can be manufactured, and editing tools with direct annotation capabilities for providing valuable feedback to buyers.
“We are committed to expanding and growing our software tools and service offerings through MFG,” said Greg Kress, CEO of Shapeways. “The recent developments are just the beginning of how MFG will grow to be a comprehensive software platform for manufacturing. We’re excited about the future growth and opportunities.”
Manufacturers and custom-part buyers are invited to join the MFG.com platform at no cost. Upgraded accounts are available for manufacturers wishing to respond to RFQs, and use the advanced features of the 3D Model Viewer.
About Shapeways
Shapeways is a global leader in digital manufacturing, combining additive and traditional technologies with proprietary software solutions designed for other manufacturers and their customers, reducing costs, and improving supply chains. Partnering with hundreds of companies engaged in industrial applications like automotive, medical, and transportation, as well as aerospace and defense, Shapeways helps them scale their businesses, solve complex problems in product development, and achieve critical manufacturing milestones.
With access to a dozen additive technologies, six conventional manufacturing methods, and hundreds of materials and finishes, Shapeways ensures production of quality parts with the right technologies, at the right time, and at the right cost.
With ISO 9001-compliant manufacturing facilities in Livonia and Charlotte, Michigan, and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Shapeways operates globally and has delivered more than 24 million parts to more than 1 million customers in more than 180 countries. For more information, visit www.shapeways.com.
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Manufacturing Technology
Newswire | July 14, 2023
The University of Michigan and Applied Dynamics International (ADI) are pleased to announce the successful phase 1 commissioning of the SMART 4.0 innovation lab for manufacturing intelligence and digital twin technologies. The SMART 4.0 team tapped ADI to collaborate on the design and integration of their innovation lab to create a modular, open-architecture testbed, that offers a plug-and-play ecosystem for rapidly advancing technology.
SMART 4.0 is an industry-university collaboration research and innovation lab, created by Prof. Kira Barton and Prof. Dawn Tilbury at the University of Michigan's new Department of Robotics. The mission of SMART 4.0 is to advance manufacturing intelligence technology, including Digital Twin, Internet-of-Things (IoT), Open Process Automation (OPA), and human-robot collaboration, by bringing industry and university research together, building a collaborative plug-and-play ecosystem for rapidly advancing technology, and building a platform to enable workforce development for Industry 4.0, and Manufacturing 4.0, and beyond.
ADI is a digital engineering and industrial digital transformation solutions company that helps customers drive innovation within their organization using innovation testbeds, digital engineering methodologies, and real-time edge computing. The SMART 4.0 team tapped ADI to collaborate on the design and integration of their innovation lab to create a modular, open-architecture testbed, that offers a plug-and-play ecosystem for rapidly advancing technology. Furthermore, SMART 4.0 selected ADI's ADEPT edge computing and IoT connectivity software platform to provide the distributed computing and data backbone, allowing flexible plug-and-play with industrial Ethernet, connected with digital twin algorithms, and executing at the edge.
During the Phase 1 effort, a real-time "Connected Factory" was established to mechanically and electrically integrate collaborative robots, CNC machines, and 3D printers into the representative manufacturing system architecture. An Open Process Automation (OPA) computing and connectivity backbone was implemented, using ADI's ADEPT edge computing software platform, to connect the following new and legacy equipment:
Early phase 1 efforts included establishing an industrial Ethernet communications backbone to connect multiple and diverse equipment platforms with varying communication protocols. The SMART 4.0 computing backbone then also added the ability to run machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms and physics-based simulation models in real-time, using off-the-shelf edge computing servers, with plug-and-play connectivity between machines and algorithms. With easy access to all data within the SMART 4.0 testbed, graphic visualization panels were added, bringing real-time data dashboards, and digital twin health-monitoring indicators.
Starting with a fully-functional manufacturing intelligence testbed, phase 2 will expand the lab capabilities and then demonstrate how this facility can be used to rapidly advance manufacturing technology. New lab capabilities include integration of the open-source Robot Operating System (ROS) software platform, providing hardware abstraction, configuration databasing, communications, and more. In addition, the SMART 4.0 lab will also see the addition of multiple cameras to provide optical sensing to, amongst other things, advance technology in robot-to-robot, human-to-robot, and robot-to-legacy-machine collaboration.
The SMART 4.0 testbed is a state-of-the-art research testbed that incorporates a number of the latest technologies for the purpose of developing and researching digital twins for a manufacturing system. Those requirements include additive and subtractive manufacturing in one integrated testbed, flexibility and reconfigurability, ability to transition between centralized and distributed system control, wireless communication for cameras and mobile robots, robot-to-robot part transfer, human-to-robot direct interaction, integrated methods for enhanced cybersecurity, platform flexibility to accommodate third party software, and VR modeling of the complete testbed.
The UofM SMART 4.0 testbed is positioned to advance smart manufacturing research through the unique use of digital twins and a flexible open architecture, for the purpose of decision-making in critical matters such as virtual commissioning, system reconfiguration, and predictive maintenance.
about Applied Dynamics International
Applied Dynamics is a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) company offering software, integrated systems, custom solutions, and services for industry leading projects in aerospace, marine, energy, and defense markets. Applied Dynamics' flagship software product, the ADEPT Framework, is used to build powerful, multi-processor, distributed real-time simulation facilities with off-the-shelf computer equipment such as PCs and I/O boards.
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