Let robots "born" with "ingenuity", teach automation to learn to "Internet"
What is the "Factory of the Future"?
The "Future Factory" independently developed by Zhejiang Zhaofeng Electromechanical Co., Ltd. can quickly complete the data integration of the entire process of ordering, production, and delivery.
The picture shows the staff operating orders from the American GM company in the "Factory of the Future".
Photo by Ding Li (People's Vision)
On January 21, Zhejiang Huzhou Dingli Machinery Co., Ltd. large-scale aerial work machinery "Future Factory", workers are rushing to manufacture smart equipment exported to Italy.
Photo by Xie Shangguo (People's Vision)
The picture shows the digital workshop of Chongqing Gallop Light Auto Parts Co., Ltd. Workers are inspecting the production of robots.
All Difficulties (People's Vision)
On February 20th, at the smart factory of Zhejiang Changxing Nuoli Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., workers were debugging 5G unmanned AGV forklifts.
Photo by Wang Jinyan (People's Vision)
Let robots "birth" with "ingenuity", "refine" artificial intelligence into eye-catching eyes, teach automation to learn to "get online", and manage the full life cycle of products...Today's intelligent manufacturing is not just the application of robots, but those who are familiar with it. Huge changes are taking place in his position.
At the end of 2020, Zhejiang Province released a list of the first 12 "factories of the future", involving digital security, network communications, intelligent equipment, automobile and parts manufacturing and other fields.
Through them, people can see some pictures of the future of the factory.
Song Jia, director of the Industrialization Integration and Collaborative Innovation Center of the Institute of Mechanical Industry Economic Management, analyzed in an interview with this newspaper that the "future factory" is a new production paradigm that will have a profound impact on the industry. It is based on 5G and artificial intelligence. A new model realized by the deep integration of new-generation information technology and industry, such as digital twins, is an exploration and practice of "industrial digitalization" transformation in new infrastructure, and will form accumulated advantages through a series of innovations.
What is the "factory of the future"?
What characteristics should the "factory of the future" have?
What is the significance of the "factory of the future" to the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry?
In this regard, our reporter recently visited.
The "craftsmanship" hard core can withstand the eye-catching "scrutiny"
What is the "factory of the future"?
How can many cutting-edge technologies be integrated on the manufacturing side, carrying the ecosystem of smart manufacturing applications upward, and accessing massive industrial big data downward?
The relevant person in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology introduced that the “factory of the future” refers to the extensive application of digital twins, Internet of Things, industrial Internet and other technologies to realize digital design, intelligent production, intelligent management, collaborative manufacturing, green manufacturing, A modern factory with security management and control and greatly improved social and economic benefits has the characteristics of innovating production processes with digital twins and building a collaborative ecosystem with platform support.
Previously, in order to help the traditional manufacturing industry to transform and upgrade, Zhejiang also launched a C2M (User Direct Manufacturing) "Super Factory" program in March 2020, which aims to promote Zhejiang consumer manufacturing companies from a batch manufacturing model to a personalized manufacturing model. upgrade.
In the "Future Factory" of Zhejiang Chint, the internal parts of the circuit breakers on the low-voltage electrical production line have become "4-bedrooms", distributed with electromagnetic systems, thermal trip systems, arc extinguishing systems, operating mechanisms and other components. At the same time, the robot hand has to flash and move, display hard-core "craftsmanship", complete continuous actions such as stamping, welding, and accurately assembling various small parts without errors, and at the same time can withstand the eye-catching "examination" of the visual online inspection system .
"This kind of product is used wherever electricity is used. Chint is the company with the largest production and sales volume of this kind of product. In order to meet market demand and support production capacity, we have to produce 3 million poles (product units) every day. "Jin Huo, executive deputy general manager of the production and operation department of Chint Electric, told this reporter.
Behind him, two or three-story spiral transport towers have opened up the key component workshop and assembly workshop, and the AGV (unmanned guided vehicle) logistics vehicle under 5G network communication shuttles back and forth. The raw materials are quietly waiting for instructions and are transported to the needs. Their production line.
Relying on the Industrial Internet, the assembly line can automatically adjust the production rhythm of the raw material production line according to demand, realize the integrated linkage between cross-production lines, and further improve production efficiency.
As the first full-process automatic production line of miniature circuit breakers independently designed and manufactured by an enterprise with independent intellectual property rights, one circuit breaker can be produced every 1.2 seconds, with amazing efficiency.
In Chint, in addition to miniature circuit breakers, relays, contactors and other major products have built digital workshops of the same level.
Such scenes are being staged frequently in other "factories of the future".
According to reports, based on their respective advantages and characteristics, the 12 "future factories" in Zhejiang Province are divided into four categories: leading-type "head goose factories", such as Chint, Geely, and Haikang; champion-type "chain master factories", Such as Boss, Dahua, and Jushi; platform-based "collaborative factories" such as Ali Xunxi, Zhongce, and DMC; technology-based "hard core factories" such as Chunfeng, Dingli, and Dongfang Cable.
"Although the 12'future factories' are in different industries and their respective advantages are different, they are innovatively applying new generation information technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence, and big data, and actively exploring collaborative manufacturing, shared manufacturing, and personalized customization. "Product + Service" and other new intelligent manufacturing models and new business formats have found their own way." The relevant person in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology said.
Realize “end-to-end” digital forging from order to production
The development of new infrastructure and the continuous growth of investment in the Internet of Things have created a trend of diversification and individualization of market demand. This requires the "factory of the future" to face the ever-changing product demand and have the ability to respond quickly and flexible production and delivery.
This digitization from order to delivery is exactly the "specialty" of the "Factory of the Future", that is, not to digitize for the sake of digitization, but to create a wider range of value scenarios for users.
No. 339, Xingzhong Road, Yuhang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Hangzhou, is the location of the "Future Factory" of Boss Kitchen Appliances.
Here, the scene of automatic machine operation can be seen everywhere: telescopic manipulators, automatic conveyor belts, welding robots, AGV carts carrying items and fast moving...In the production workshop, all operations are unmanned, and there is no one. In the factory, countless manipulators are busy all the time.
After the products are packaged, they are automatically transported, stacked, and put on shelves by conveyor belts and robots. In the entire automated three-dimensional library, only robots are continuously transported and stacked inside.
Here, robotic arms, AGVs, clusters, and networks are deeply integrated to form an interconnected industrial IoT network. The Boss Appliance’s nine-day central intelligent platform built through the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence Internet of Things) technology engine will produce, manufacture, and The equipment IoT, warehousing logistics and other systems are opened up, and at the same time, based on the sales, production and storage data, the data is graphically displayed and analyzed.
An outstanding function of the Jiutian Hub Intelligent Platform is based on digital-driven business, and the embodiment of data-driven on the user side is the digital cooking chain of Boss Appliances.
For example, the Boss Chinese-style steaming and roasting integrated machine uses the Chinese cooking curve of roast duck when cooking roast duck.
“We know that authentic roast duck pays attention to tender meat, charred on the outside and tender on the inside. The owner’s Chinese-style steaming and grilling machine first steams at a high temperature of 150°C for 15 minutes, and then bake it with a fan at 200°C for 15 minutes. The whole process is a complete copy of the tradition. The classic roast duck cooking method allows users to eat authentic roast duck at home.” said Yu Jialiang, the executive director of Boss Electronics.
Yu Jialiang said that up to now, Boss Electric has collected more than 3,000 classic Chinese dish curves, combined with third-party data and information, according to customers' different needs, expectations, and preferences for products, from the perspective of users, analyze product needs and achieve accuracy. Planning and continuously narrowing the gap between the market and users, R&D and users, and manufacturing and users.
In Chint's "Factory of the Future", the "birth" of the product is left to their own discretion.
By using technologies such as the Internet of Things, 5G, and big data, and integrating virtual simulation systems to form an integrated enterprise digital platform, CHINT realizes the vertical integration from manufacturing core equipment to the production of industrial big data and the value from customer needs to R&D, production, and sales. Chain horizontal integration.
From the communication and interaction between the products being "bred" and the production equipment, they control their own manufacturing process, and inform the production equipment what their production requirements are, when they need to supplement raw materials, and what the next process is.
This production model based on digital twin technology is the basis for the "Factory of the Future" to take a big step towards digitalization.
Not only in Zhejiang, similar explorations are also being practiced in more places.
In Shanghai, in the Industry 4.0-Intelligent Factory Laboratory (Jiading Campus) of the Sino-German Engineering College of Tongji University, the robot will produce according to the customer's demand from the network after receiving the remote order instruction, and first grab the raw material and place it into the machine tool for processing. , And then put the semi-finished product into another device, and then take out the finished product after processing, another robot automatically recognizes the electronic label information in the tray for assembly, automatically recognizes whether the product is qualified, and puts the qualified product on the finished product shelf...
What's interesting is that the laboratory's production instructions come from the Shanghai Autonomous Intelligent Unmanned System Science Center in Pudong New Area, dozens of kilometers away.
The reporter saw that there are two large screens in the laboratory. The left screen is the real-time scene of the laboratory camera screen, and the right screen is the laboratory's digital twin system.
There is a QR code on the small computer at the bottom left of the screen, and customers can directly scan and place an order with the APP on the mobile phone in a different place.
Xie Nan, deputy dean of the Sino-German School of Engineering, Tongji University, told our reporter that the concept of remote collaboration is used here, which can meet the needs of individual customization.
"Customers only need to place an order through a mobile phone QR code at the Science Center in Pudong New Area, and the data will be transmitted to the laboratory's MES (Manufacturing Execution System) in real time. The entire process supports customers in ordering, production, assembly, and delivery. The whole process of tracking. That is to say, customers who place an order at the Science Center can monitor each stage of the production process, and can make some modifications and adjustments."
It is understood that this production line in the Industry 4.0-Smart Factory Laboratory of Tongji University, through the intelligent central control unit, intelligent storage unit, assembly unit, laser marking unit and transmission unit, allows personalized orders, intelligent product production and Management becomes a reality.
From which parts are produced to how many are installed, they can be produced according to the different needs of customers. Even when customers put forward functional requirements, the production line can be automatically adjusted.
In addition to the scientific research verification, achievement transformation, and demonstration display of cutting-edge application technologies, the Industry 4.0-Smart Factory Laboratory also shoulders the important function of cultivating future engineers, realizing the organic integration of engineering research and development and engineering education.
Based on the actual production process, many learning modules and learning units are abstracted. They integrate multiple functions, can be flexibly configured according to the value-added chain, and can highly simulate the actual process of the enterprise.
In terms of engineering research and development, Xie Nan said, “Some application scenarios can be tested before we learn from the factory. After the technology is mature, it can be directly put into practical application.”
Intelligent transformation has become a must-answer question for enterprises
As a fashionable girl, Ding Ding pays attention to several online celebrity shops on Taobao on her mobile phone, but she worries every time before placing an order: "The online celebrity shops are very slow to deliver goods, and some of them are out of season." But she recently It is found that the delivery speed is much faster.
On the other end of the phone, Taobao shopkeepers also have corresponding worries: "No factory is willing to take orders for less than 1,000 pieces"; "If 10,000 pieces are stocked 2 months in advance, who can guarantee that they will be sold by then?" They sell well, but they can’t follow up the orders in time.” Feedback from small and medium businesses appears from time to time.
How to enable small and medium-sized businesses to achieve high-frequency updates in small batches and fast rolling replenishment?
Alibaba's new manufacturing platform-"Rhino Smart Manufacturing" has been tested, starting with the apparel industry to start new manufacturing, achieving "100-piece order and 7-day delivery", and achieving "customized clothing mass production."
As a pilot factory built by Ali, the focus of Rhino Smart Manufacturing is not on manufacturing, but on integrating Internet capabilities with manufacturing.
What consumers can actually feel is that the delivery speed of online celebrity stores has become faster.
A netizen said that in the past, she had waited dozens of days for a skirt, but now the pre-sales can basically be shipped within 18 days.
According to Wu Xuegang, CEO (CEO) of Rhino Intelligent Manufacturing, the Rhino Smart Central Warehouse is like the "central kitchen" of the catering industry, with intelligent procurement and flexible supply.
In the factory of Rhino Intelligent Manufacturing, each piece of fabric has an ID, which can be tracked through the whole link, automatic storage management, automatic distribution and intelligent picking, and the resource utilization rate has increased by an average of 4 times.
Zhang Xinhong, chief information officer of the National Information Center, believes that the viability of digitalization is the core competitiveness of enterprises in the digital age.
"Although Rhino Intelligent Manufacturing started from the clothing industry, the methods of thinking about problems, general technical solutions, and digital thinking represented by it can also be used in other fields."
In Song Jia's view, the biggest feature of "Future Factory" is "integration and intelligence", and its changes and impact are transformative and structural rather than partial.
First of all, the "factory of the future" represents "integrated intelligence", which is formed on the basis of the deep integration of industrialization and informatization, and will have a series of impacts on the industrial structure, production paradigm, data chain, value chain, etc. Change; secondly, the core value of information technology has changed. Information technology is not only an auxiliary tool, but a decisive method, which will bring about changes in production models and reshaping the value chain; in addition, data sources will be more extensive, and big data will give Can go to a single product.
Song Jia said that the current source of data for manufacturing informatization is still enterprise internal data, and "Future Factory" will open up "one horizontal and one vertical" industry data.
Vertical data is the data around the entire value chain and all elements of the product. It is not only production and logistics, but also the data of the entire value chain including R&D and design data and used for production; horizontal data is more profound, and industry big data will Enabling a single enterprise or even a single product means that the production data of the same industry or similar industries or even the same product can be specifically empowered to a certain production line or product, so that a single product can form a more unique function.
Song Jia said that "new infrastructure" is consolidating the foundation of "industrial digitalization". "We hope that enterprises must realize that the intelligent transformation of enterprises is no longer a multiple-choice question, but a must-answer question."