The world of industrial manufacturing is becoming increasingly complex and competitive pushing the margins for error and striving to increase productivity and reduce costs to the limit. This drives many manufacturers to elevate operational control of what´s going on at the operator station and take it to the next level.
One way to make this happen is to enable robots and humans to work in close collaboration with a highly automated manufacturing environment.
The need to take assembly station control to the next level
The world is changing at an ever-faster pace. Increased competition bundled with unpredictable customer behaviour, shorter product lifecycles and uncertain global market conditions affecting demand and supply chains, is making it more difficult to predict what to produce and when to do it. On top of that, governments and markets require manufacturing to be conducted in a more operator-friendly and sustainable manner.
Robots and humans in collaboration
By introducing proven modular and standardized solutions, automation combines the best of the robotic and human worlds. The value of a robot lies in its repeatability and reliability, whereas the value of a human operator lies in the ability to adapt to change. The combination offers an unprecedented level of assembly station control which enhances productivity but also operator ergonomics and reduced environment impact.
Ergonomics
Automating tiresome, hazardous, heavy and in other ways high risk station operations in manufacturing processes improves ergonomics in the workplace making for a better and safer working environment for operators.
Productivity
Taking control of the individual operator station by means of automation improves operational quality, productivity, scalability and flexibility. Advantages that shorten the time to adapt to product mix changes, efficiency and output. All achieved while lowering operational costs and improving ROI.
Sustainability
By better controlling the assembly process down to the individual station, automation reduces the number of reworks and recalls. Materials and energy are used more efficiently and unnecessary waste is minimized. In addition, improved traceability enables more predictive maintenance which further reduces resource waste.
The Atlas Copco roadmap to smarter manufacturing
Smart Integrated Assembly is our concept for industrial manufacturers looking to transform and implement Smart Factories. It encompasses our ecosystem of tools, hardware, software and services solutions providing unrivalled competitive value in each step of the customers’ product manufacturing cycles. The result is more efficient, flexible, adaptable, and safe manufacturing processes that support reduced downtime, better use of materials and energy and a substantial waste reduction.
To sum it all up
“Station Automated” is the third of five steps in the Smart Integrated Assembly concept following “Joint Fastened” and “Station Controlled” and precedes “Line Connected” and “Factory Integrated”. A comprehensive Industry 4.0 offering that starts with that very first fastened joint and ends with a fully integrated Smart Factory. Manufacturing processes reengineered by Atlas Copco. Getting it right from the start.