Application of 4.0 technology in the JIT production system (Part 1)

Applications of 4.0 technology such as Internet of Things, Big Data and autonomous robots are opening a new direction for the manufacturing industry.

In a traditional production environment, the production plan will be defined before the process proceeds. The amount of raw materials “pushed” into each stage is often calculated more than the needs of the customer in case the defective products arise. However, this method often creates a waste of raw materials, inventory space, increases the cost burden for manufacturers.

The traditional “push” production method is no longer suitable for production models that require a high degree of competitiveness in terms of speed and quality today. Therefore, the “pull” (JIT) production method was born. JIT is a production system in which the flows of materials, goods and products transported during production and distribution are planned in detail step by step so that the next process can be performed immediately upon regulation. Current submission terminated. Thereby, no item falls into a state of zero, pending processing, and no workers or equipment have to wait for input to operate.

However, the guarantee of “timeliness” is also a difficult problem for many manufacturers. Along with the development of science and technology, this problem can be easily solved thanks to the application of technology 4.0.

One example is the autonomous robot application. Until recently, robots were mostly used in a fixed fashion, with each robot performing a simple, repetitive task. While this approach is suitable for many logistics and manufacturing applications, it cannot be applied in just-in-time environments, where production arrangements and transitions products require a job with a dynamic route. Accordingly, autonomous robots (AMRs) were born.

AMRs play the role of transporting spare parts and components between production areas. This requires a flexible management system for assigning tasks, with real-time adaptation to changing needs such as reassigning / canceling tasks on travel routes. Sorion’s Fleetware software suite is designed to address this challenge. Fleetware links AMR operations to an establishment’s general workflows, processes and environmental systems, including the selection of lighting systems, manual and automatic assembly stations, and inspection systems. It has all the tools to ensure the robot team operates at its highest performance with minimal human intervention.

This system connects to customer plant systems to receive construction information and manage task assignments according to logistics priority. By continuously monitoring and coordinating a team of up to 100 AMRs, Fleetware helps robots work together as a team to solve complex tasks. It controls robot movement for an optimized workflow while allowing charging and monitoring the system’s state.

AMR participatory manufacturing processes help your organization reduce errors on the production line and free up human resources and time to focus on more meaningful tasks.

(To be continued)

Productivity and Quality Office