The role of cobots in industry 4.0

whitePaper | June 8, 2020

Before cobots and other fast-deployable robots, many automated manufacturing cells incorporated only fixed or dedicated tooling rather than solutions that allow for changes or updates. An advantage of fixed automation is that it allows for reliable and high throughput, but it also tends to be custom engineered towards a specific process. Any changes in the workpiece or production process often mean redesigning large sections of the fixed automation system or even starting completely over from scratch.

whitePaper | November 1, 2022

Industry 4.0—also referred to as smart manufacturing, connected manufacturing, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and other monikers—has revolutionized the way companies manufacture, enhance, and distribute products through the use of new technologies. However, not all sectors and markets are evolving at the same pace. To help both manufacturing providers and industry leaders understand the landscape, ABI Research’s Industrial & Manufacturing Markets Research provides insights, perspectives, and data related to digital maturity within individual markets and across the industry landscape. Our research illuminates drivers and inhibitors that are shaping adoption of digital technologies across market maturity, practitioners’ investment priorities, and best practices for deploying the technologies. We keep abreast of key trends, including increasing demand for electric vehicles and semiconductor chips, the adoption of machine learning and automation, and a reliance on digital twins.

whitePaper | November 17, 2022

Changing customer expectations, coupled with pandemic, natural disaster, and geo-political impacted supply chain delays, renewed the spotlight on business agility and digital maturity in manufacturing. Just as customers demanded more transparency into the production process, the world saw shortages of raw materials and parts, pushing droves of manufacturers to reevaluate the way they do business. For many, the answer was smart manufacturing—achieved through cloud-based technologies that simplify digital transformation.

whitePaper | May 11, 2022

The Upcoming digital transformation of the print and media industry towards, printing industry 4.0 is leading to an even closer integration of industry players with their customer, suppliers and partners. The distrubution of task between the parties involved has been evolving in some areas, providing an increasing number of opportunities to add value to products and services.

whitePaper | April 6, 2020

Manufacturers are investing heavily in artificial intelligence. One global forecast projects 49.5 percent annual growth of AI investments among manufacturing companies. Investments, though, require a use case. Where in their organizations will manufacturers focus? According to a 2019 study by IFS found that more than 90 percent of manufacturers are planning investments in AI. It also gathered insights on exactly what use cases manufacturers are planning projects around. Of the more than 600 respondents, 383 were in manufacturing.

whitePaper | March 23, 2023

The fourth industrial revolution is transforming the manufacturing industry as we speak. Industry 4.0 is digitally driven, and like all other revolutions, the transformation did not happen overnight. Since the first personal computer on a factory floor in 1970s, computer-aided design has developed and matured exponentially. Strategically eective evolutionary steps has resulted in productivity and eciency gains in manufacturing. We live in the Industry 4.0 era, characterized by the digitization of manufacturing processes. Inevitably, today, information plays a significant role for an enterprise transformation. Data on how the product’s design and manufacturing information is authored, exchanged, and processed is critical to competitiveness. Information ‘silos’ for various life cycle processes are gradually connected to form a digital thread of information, envisioned to integrate and drive modern product design, manufacturing, and product support service processes.