The Adaptive Machine: Achieving Batch Size One
It could be said that it is a new generation of production technology for a new generation of consumer. Amazon and eBay have had a clear impact on the shopping mall business model. This is a generation that expects to get exactly what it wants, with immediacy, and these logistics models deliver.
How does a traditional food, beverage or other consumer goods manufacturer leverage their core assets to innovate? Coca-Cola Freestyle, for example, combines innovations in product, product delivery, customization at the point of sale, and the ability to communicate your personal blend of beverages from smartphone to fountain. Another approach is the smart factory, delivering batch size one via e-commerce.
Batch size one has become a practical reality and, in some applications, may be the only realistic approach. In B&R’s own manufacture of industrial PCs, for example, there are 250 billion possible configurations, so make-to-stock is not an option. Cost effective, efficient batch-of-one manufacturing is the only alternative in B&R’s smart factory, which has been operational since 2009.
Dedicated machine designs are giving way to more flexible concepts featuring base modules that can be configured to match production requirements and reconfigured as needed – enabling true batch-of-one operations. The result is a whole new category of machinery: the adaptive machine.
Adaptive machines put smart factory functionalities in the realm of real-world production and packaging applications. This new generation of machinery is required to cost effectively meet the expectations of consumers.
• Changeovers become obsolete, replaced by the ability to change both product and package format with every cycle
• Accumulation is replaced by synchronization via parallel processing to balance production times of dissimilar products
• Reconfiguration is replaced by switching out machine modules on a highly flexible base machine
• All enhanced with IIoT capabilities such as analytics, process optimization, predictive maintenance, and other productivity tools.
To find out more on B&R solution for the adaptive machine: https://www.br-automation.com/en/products/mechatronic-systems/
Request for the full copy of the white paper from your local B&R representative
