Four ways 3D printing will disrupt logistics

whitePaper | March 23, 2022

Manufacturing organizations today and in the future will have to operate in a business and market environment that will continue to be volatile, uncertain, and complex, while operating in an increasingly digital economy. At the same time, they will have to embed sustainability targets into their operations to comply with legal regulations and customer requirements (such as reducing CO2 emissions). To thrive, manufacturing organization CEOs and C-suites need to find the right formula to balance the need to fix the present and at the same time prepare for the future. IDC Insights has designed a framework to helpcompanies thrive and to "PRIME" them for profitable outcomes and sustainable long-term business growth.

whitePaper | October 11, 2022

Identifying problems before they cause equipment failure and costly, unplanned downtime is the purpose of proactive and predictive maintenance programs. And one of the most reliable ways of catching problems before they become failures is to detect when a piece of equipment is beginning to operate outside of its normal parameters – especially if it is beginning to run too hot or too cold. Variations from normal heating are often the first signs of impending equipment failure, so frequent thermal inspections of critical equipment such as motors, belts, and drives not only helps extend the life of these assets, but keep your entire operation up and running normally

whitePaper | May 11, 2022

Robotic automation is not a new concept, yet it can be difficult to fully grasp its complexity and overcome its barriers to entry. Which integrator is the best partner for this project? How do you approach your CFO with evidence that you should automate now? What tasks can you even automate? It can be difficult to make sense of all of the technical complexities and varying financial options, especially when you’re already managing other day-to-day responsibilities.

whitePaper | November 2, 2022

This white paper entitled "Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing" reports the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in European manufacturing, and its potential to enhance competitiveness and technological leadership in the future. The paper is based on research conducted by the Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing NETwork (AIM-NET), which represents the viewpoint of the manufacturing community on the achievements and challenges of AI solutions. The document covers topics such as AI in manufacturing processes, robots, machines, and operations support in manufacturing, and AI in manufacturing systems. It also includes discussions on cross-cutting aspects such as regulation, education, systems engineering, and data augmentation. The paper also presents the maturity achieved TRL levels of existing AI-based applications in manufacturing, typical KPIs used to assess performance, and barriers and limitations to wide adoption. It also provides a roadmap for future work on AI, with efforts needed in short-term and long-term time horizons. Overall, the paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current status and future vision of AI in manufacturing for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.

whitePaper | September 4, 2022

It’s the clarion call of today’s marketplace and the prime directive for executives in any business that designs or produces physical goods, no matter how simple or sophisticated. Fortunately, every product can be improved and made at less cost. But how quickly a company can satisfy such demands – before, say, its competitors do, or the market moves on to something new – is largely a function of the product-development cycle. Shorten that cycle, and you can improve the numbers across the board, from customer satisfaction to market share to profitability. However, one seemingly intractable barrier to faster product development lies within the traditional design process. That process starts with identifying a need in the market or within one’s organization; it ends with the manufacture of a finished product, whether a massive, complex assembly or one tiny part. In between are multiple iterations of designs and tests: engineers sketch out a solution, prototype and test it (or run a computerized simulation), and then go back to the design to address any shortcomings. But trade-offs complicate matters each time the cycle repeats: make a part lighter and it’s likely to become weaker, make it stronger and it will probably cost more, and so on. A workable, if not optimal, solution can usually be found. However, finding it often takes longer than the product-development timeline or budget will allow.

whitePaper | September 21, 2022

While supply chain slowdowns, product shortages, and consumer demand disruptions are top-of-mind for most manufacturers, many are leveraging this challenging time to find opportunities that enable them to achieve digital dominance and accelerate transformatio