What is Smart Manufacturing?

Recent technological advancements have granted manufacturers unprecedented visibility into their production processes. Real-time analysis of sensor and machine-generated data creates insight into the immediate actions that manufacturers can take to optimize output, reduce waste, improve quality, etc.

Smart Manufacturing (SM) refers to the use of these advanced technologies to build data-driven manufacturing intelligence enabling real-time optimization of the production process.

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As the capabilities and economics of cloud computing, wireless technologies, and artificial intelligence / machine learning continue to improve, so has Smart Manufacturing’s affordability and accessibility. Increasingly, equipment manufacturers are offering predictive maintenance information and services by embedding sensors in their machinery and conducting analytics across all of their deployed equipment base. Numerous service providers and coalitions are trying to create platforms and marketplaces to share self-service software and analytics algorithms, enabling manufacturers to take advantage of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in a cost-effective manner.

While Smart Manufacturing capabilities built on sensor-generated data can provide greater visibility into any element of your in-house production process, it can also be extended to both pre and post-production elements of your overall supply chain. Through connected sensors and analytics, manufacturers can gain greater insight and control of the availability, quality, and location of their raw materials as well as their finished products. In regulated industries such as agriculture or food and beverage, consistent sensoring of the entire supply chain can provide the traceability required to meet regulatory requirements.

Some common use cases include: 

  • IoT sensors communicating material flow through supply chains to ERP systems for real-time production planning and visibility
  • Analysis of production equipment operating conditions to enable predictive maintenance and reduce unplanned downtime
  • Real-time monitoring of production parameters (temperature, moisture, power, vibration, etc.) to ensure consistent product quality

By adopting Smart Manufacturing, manufacturers can take advantage of significant opportunities for growth and productivity. Smart Manufacturing, however, is just one of many elements of a larger movement: the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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From the Experts at CMTC

Whether your manufacturing business has a rudimentary understanding of smart technology or already has implemented some smart tech components, CMTC has the services you need to take your manufacturing operation to the next level. 

Increased visibility into operations can provide your California manufacturing business with the solution for the maintenance, supply chain, or production issue you need to solve — and CMTC can guide you through it.

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Your Expert Guide to a Customized Smart Manufacturing Solution

As a trusted advisor, CMTC aligns your manufacturing business goals with unique solutions so you can successfully adopt the right Smart technologies to increase productivity and your overall competitiveness. 

Our expert manufacturing consultants examine your unique business goals and challenges to see what operations can be optimized with smart technologies. Once your business comes to the decision that Smart technology can benefit you, CMTC works with your organization to develop a Smart Manufacturing adoption strategy for the most successful outcome. 

Smart Manufacturing is the future for small to medium-sized manufacturers — so, are you ready to join? Discover how Smart technologies can address your business challenges and revolutionize the way you do manufacturing by contacting the experts at CMTC today

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How Can Smart Manufacturing
Benefit Your Industry?

auto manufacturing

Smart technology addresses a variety of challenges throughout manufacturing industries by automating data collection and providing advanced analytics, especially through condition monitoring.

Condition Monitoring

Condition monitoring allows manufacturers to understand what is happening during production in real-time by gathering insightful data about the product and production processes. Whether stemming from smart sensors placed throughout the production line or from insights captured from machines, this data collection allows for enhanced manufacturing intelligence and increased visibility into the production process. Condition monitoring can help improve product quality in various industries, including:

  • Food Manufacturing
  • Food Manufacturing

    Challenge: A tortilla chip manufacturer finds that many of the chips are being undercooked, thus compromising the product’s quality. It’s suspected that variations in the frying oil temperature are to blame. 

    Solution: By installing a smart manufacturing sensor on a pipe between the fryer and the oil reservoir to measure oil temperature in real-time, batch temperatures can be monitored. 

    Result: The sensors captured the temperature readings and sent them to the cloud for analysis. Variations in oil temperatures were detected that were responsible for the inconsistencies in chip quality. The manufacturer was able to implement changes to address the issue with the inconsistent temperature, and the tortilla chips were no longer undercooked. 

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  • Automotive
  • Automotive

    Challenge: Assembly line machines for an automotive manufacturer consistently break down, resulting in costly repairs and excessive downtime, which slows productivity.

    Solution: Installing smart sensors into the machines allows for remote machine condition monitoring, which tracks machine status, performance, and behaviors. This data can be collected and used for preventative maintenance so potential problems can be addressed before the machine breaks down. 

    Result: The manufacturer now has actionable data on hand about machine conditions and can solve issues before they occur. They now can prevent any unplanned downtime and accelerate repairs, thereby achieving much higher percentages of machine system uptime. 

    Automotive Manufacturing
  • Aerospace
  • Aerospace

    Challenge: Aerospace manufacturing must pertain to stringent safety demands to ensure all parts are safely manufactured.

    Solution: Asset tracking with smart technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), and cameras with machine learning capabilities ensures that the right parts are in the right place at the right time.

    Result: Detecting potential quality issues before aerospace parts are sold can present more costly damage in the future and allows aerospace manufacturers to ensure they are producing the safest possible products.  Additionally, data captured by asset tracking technologies can help influence decisions to significantly improve operational efficiency



    Aerospace Manufacturing

    The Fourth Industrial Revolution Has Arrived

    Also known as Industry 4.0 (i4.0), the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been the ongoing digital transformation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices since the late last century, using advanced technologies like Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Robotics, and Smart Manufacturing (SM), among others. Robust and secure communications technologies such as WiFi, 4G/5G cellular, Bluetooth, and RFID enable Smart manufacturing devices to communicate and collaborate with each other at the edge and over the Internet. Underpinning the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), these i4.0 technologies allow for manufacturing processes to be digitally synchronized across the production floor or throughout the entire supply chain

    Additive Manufacturing

    Additive manufacturing, including 3D printing, allows for the creation of unique parts of a single unit from multiple materials by “printing” them layer by layer.

    Advanced Robotics

    Through advanced robotics systems, manufacturers can realize a new level of automation for more affordable and effective mass production.

    Contact the Smart Manufacturing Experts at CMTC

    Have questions about implementing a smart manufacturing solution in your manufacturing facility? We're here to be your trusted advisor!