Manufacturing in Turbulent Times

whitePaper | August 9, 2023

The industrial sector contributed approximately one-third of the 35 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 2020. Industrial market engagement is going to be crucial to meet the climate change targets being set by governments around the world. However, challenges extend beyond just the industry’s carbon footprint, with concerns around raw material depletion, harmful emissions, pollution, and water consumption.

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 | November 30, 2022

The manufacturing and production sectors grapple with significant challenges arising from component failures, which often lead to disruptive operational interruptions. The economic impact of such disruptions can be profound, with every downtime minute potentially translating into thousands of dollars in lost revenue. While regular and planned maintenance can somehow mitigate these unplanned downtimes, they are unable to completely assure against potential component failures.

whitePaper | February 24, 2020

This white paper is part of AMT’s resource library on transformative technologies. There is enormous opportunity for learning, collaboration, and investment between the manufacturing and technology communities to accelerate innovative solutions and product development in the coming decade. Industry leaders agree that every part of the manufacturing value chain will be transformed by technology-R&D, the supply chain, factory operations, sales, and service. Digital connectivity among designers, managers, workers, customers, and physical industrial assets will unlock enormous value and change the manufacturing landscape.

whitePaper | August 22, 2022

The coronavirus pandemic that unfolded in 2020 and which is still yet to be fully under control, has had dramatic impacts in every aspect of our daily lives, from the way we work to the way we interact socially and to how organizations are structured. Some of its impacts are yet to be fully grasped, as several new studies provide further evidence of significant changes, ranging from its impact on our health to the way we learn and to how companies have been required to redefine their work model.

whitePaper | July 7, 2022

Change has always been a factor in manufacturing, but traditionally, market conditions have evolved over several months or even years. By contrast, in today’s global economy, incidents both local and thousands of miles away are shifting market demand quickly, impacting the availability of materials, and reshaping supply chain dynamics at breakneck speed. Manufacturers need to adapt to these changes immediately without sacrificing product quality, customer relationships, or valuable employees. And that requires an adaptive manufacturing strategy.