Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing

The first Industrial Revolution saw the advent of steam power. The Second Industrial Revolution was known as the Technological Revolution. The Third Industrial Revolution was powered by information technology and was also known as the Digital Revolution.

And today, we are seeing the Fourth Industrial Revolution where smart manufacturing is front and centre.

The keystones of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are:

• The rise of Industrial IoT
• Intelligent and digital factory
• Growth in automation, cyber-physical systems, and artificial intelligence
• Use of technologies such as digital twin, cloud computing, additive manufacturing, and cognitive computing

At the heart of 4IR is the amalgamation of (almost all aspects of) manufacturing and digital technologies. As a phrase, the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ was coined in 2015.

Today, it is defining the future of manufacturing, which includes investments castings.

How is 4IR Changing Investment Castings?

Digitisation of manufacturing and engineering is giving companies like Texmo Blank plenty of opportunities to increase efficiencies in:

• Human-machine interface
• Data collection and analysis
• Supply chain management & visibility
• Advanced engineering
• Managing multiple locations around the world

We are also able to solve complex manufacturing challenges with real-time and intelligent decision making.

Collaboration is another powerful way in which 4IR allows businesses to increase efficient and effective communication between production processes, business departments, and customers (internal and external). For us, 4IR defines a manufacturing approach that helps us learn how we can deliver greater quality and value to our customers.

Benefits of 4IR

Better products – by using data-driven design, processes, and thinking, companies can make better products. Investment castings are versatile and complex designs, and by harnessing the power of better data they become even more capable of meeting exacting requirements.

Better supply chain – Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT helps track raw materials, resources, manufacturing processes, finished products, the logistics chain up to the customer, and every other ancillary part of the chain too.

Better technology – 4IR helps investment castings companies build smart factories where machines, humans, processes, and systems communicate seamlessly, flawlessly, and efficiently.

Better data – castings processes generate huge amounts of data and 4IR helps collect the same. 4IR also helps engineering companies use machine learning and AI to not only analyse the data, but also use the insights to correct problems in the quickest time possible. It can even help to prevent problems, too.

Without doubt, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is helping investment castings companies get better with quality, productivity, lead times, and flexibility. Embracing all the strengths of 4IR helps meet the ever-increasing demand for high-precision castings for customers in major industries such as aerospace, automotive, and medical devices.