Advanced Manufacturing: A New Narrative

whitePaper | October 23, 2021

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will increase the level of intelligence in the manufacturing industry by promoting, inter alia, the matching of production and demand, improving quality inspection, increasing product yield, reducing product failure rates, and improving production efficiency.1 While the last decade of Industry 4.0 was determined by technology-driven innovation, the coming years will focus on data- and intelligence-driven innovation. In this perspective, AI is an enabler for the transition from smart factories towards intelligent factories with self-optimising and self-healing characteristics. While smart factories are capable of applying previously acquired knowledge, intelligent factories will be able to autonomously acquire new knowledge and apply it for self-optimisation purposes.

whitePaper | July 31, 2020

Geek+ is one of the world’s fastest growing logistics automation companies. Its technology offering, which is based around a core product range of four smart robotic systems – picking, moving, forklift and sorting robots; all underpinned by a highly intelligent AI-enabled software platform – offers a scalable alternative to traditional fixed automation machinery for eCommerce, industrial and manufacturing customers to invest in. Perhaps one of the most notable features of the Geek+ solution is its extreme scalability – both within a single fulfilment center or across a network of facilities – which can move in lockstep with business needs to meet rapid customer growth, or to meet sudden peaks and troughs caused by seasonal trends or unexpected crises.

whitePaper | June 1, 2022

In the field of multi-axis robots, industrial integrators are faced with the unique challenge of selecting and managing cables to be run on the outside of a moving six-axis platform. The complex movements made by six-axis robots require special consideration when deciding on how to manage their cable systems. “There are many unsuitable ways to accomplish this, from corrugated tubing used in static wiring, to on the fly fixes such as duct tape andbungee cords,” Don Nester, Product Manager for Chainflex® Continuous flex cables at igus® explained.

whitePaper | February 10, 2020

Manufacturing is at a crossroads. The traditional ways of growing productivity and profits no longer work, and the industry has been at a loss for new ones. But no longer. A solution has been found. The potential is unlimited, and the obstacles are gone. All that remains is for manufacturers to embrace the way forward to a new and transformative future. The time to do so is now.

whitePaper | September 12, 2022

Today’s automotive industry faces a historical shift from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to battery electric vehicles (BEV). This shift is profound, dramatically altering the structure of the automotive value chain and the vehicle manufacturing process. This conversion occurs as the industry undergoes a digital transformation. The ICE to BEV project builds a 2020 CAR project on digital transformation by considering the implications of a transition in propulsion technology and a digital transformation in manufacturing for the North American automotive sector.

whitePaper | April 28, 2022

The growing trade friction between Western countries and China encompasses numerous products and industries, but few more critical than semiconductors. Essential to all electronics manufacturing, the semiconductor industry has been in upheaval since the start of the pandemic and, given the industry’s concentration in Taiwan and downstream dependence on China, is likely to remain of subject of concern for the foreseeable future.