Today the industrial sector is faced with an increasingly competitive market, especially since the arrival of innovative technology and services.
The key factors to the digital transition
Digital and Data:
To monitor production lines quickly and efficiently, manufacturers must collect, analyze, and process data to succeed in their digital transformation.
The digitization process should be present at every level of production, creating a truly connected factory based on the latest. Their solution offers services ranging from connected objects to control tools. Their main benefits are to improve energy performance in buildings, industrial automation and remote monitoring of production lines, optimizing public energy networks or private microgrids, reducing costs in data centers, and real-time management of electrical distribution systems.
In the IoT field, Samea innovation wants to stand out with the Sensoriis range by developing a multi-functional and multi-protocol connected sensor. It embeds a dozen functions in a single box, including humidity, temperature, but also gas, air quality, and ambient light sensors. It can also activate certain equipment such as lighting and heating according to a company spokesperson. With this first multi-purpose sensor, Samea is targeting the smart home and smart building markets. Indeed, the product range is intended to be versatile and scalable: “We are working on other functionalities to address the industrial and food markets”.
→ Make a difference with a digital content strategy in the automotive sector!
- 3D printing:
The principle of 3D printing is based on the superposition of layers of material according to XYZ coordinates (width, depth, height), transmitted by a 3D file. This enables the automatic manufacturing of very small or complex objects with a great level of precision.
The professional use of 3D printers:
A team of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in Switzerland has designed an exoskeleton, thanks to a 3D printer, for people who have suffered from a stroke. The objective of this exoskeleton is to help patients who go through a rehabilitation phase after suffering from a stroke. Especially as sometimes after a stroke, people can have complications and side-effects that disrupt their mobility. For example, they could have difficulty holding an object in their hands. This is where the exoskeleton machine comes in. It consists of an articulated hand, a sensor in the form of a bracelet, and a backpack. When the user moves their hand, the sensors send electromyographic (EMG) signals to a computer in the bag. This data tells the engine to activate.
Google’s R&D division uses 3D printing to prototype its Jacquard-connected textile technology. Google’s ATAP lab is using Stratasys PolyJet 3D printers to prototype the boxes used to connect a fabric with a smartphone. This has already been used in Levi’s jackets, backpacks, and sneaker soles.
Singaporean company Osteopore has developed a 3D printing technique to design bioresorbable bone implants to repair badly fractured bones. For the first time, this device was implanted in a patient’s leg at the Maastricht University Medical Center located in the Netherlands. To repair a major bone defect, a CT scan must first be performed. This scan creates a digital model of the fracture that is the basis of the design of the fully customized, 3D printed implant. This implant consists of a polycaprolactone base, a biodegradable polyester, and a calcium phosphate layer that is naturally present in bones and teeth, and capable of stimulating bone growth.
The U.S. Army will soon be able to print 3D parts in a matter of hours using a portable factory in a container, which ExOne has agreed to manufacture. Following this $1.6 million contract, the metal additive manufacturing company will develop a unique printer that works with more than 20 materials. It can be deployed directly in the field, be it on land, sea, or air, to manufacture parts, help with disaster relief, or other remote operations. This machine will be particularly fast and will be able to print parts “in less than 48 hours” without conventional tooling. By comparison, machined tooling to create parts typically takes 4-6 weeks.
- Cloud Computing
The Cloud is a real technological platform for controlling the distribution of information. Beyond the virtues of simplifying infrastructure management and reducing costs, the agility of the Cloud is a real asset for connecting factories and back-office businesses. For example, thanks to Cloud Computing, buyers and sourcing specialists can have easy access to data. The planning process is optimized and order flows are fully controlled. Furthermore, the Cloud will allow one to connect the consumer directly to the factory: the “Direct to Consumer” will enable deliveries in record time.
Microsoft and Bosch have just announced a partnership to develop a software platform to connect vehicles to the Cloud seamlessly. Ultimately, the two business giants wish to “accelerate and simplify” the deployment of such systems, which are seen as critical to the future of the automotive industry.
Digital transformation has marked a key shift in the economy. Indeed, the automotive and electronics sectors are at the forefront of digitalization. Eventually, companies in the industry will be forced to integrate new technologies to adapt to the current market. For more information on digitalization, do not hesitate to contact us: Contact