Smart manufacturing. What does it really mean? It’s a term that’s quite easy to throw around or attach to any manufacturing process improvements – however insignificant.
So here’s a bit more detail and context to explain what smart manufacturing means at Trizo.
First off – it’s not a collection of sporadic and uncoordinated actions. It’s a discipline and a way of working. There’s a close relationship with Design For Manufacturing (DFM) but it’s not quite the same.
DFM should be a short and focused intervention early in the production phase that makes the production process simpler and more streamlined. Smart manufacturing starts earlier in the design stage and continues into production as part of continuous process improvement.
Design and Manufacturing in Harmony
For smart manufacturing to work and deliver tangible benefits in terms of product quality, throughput and cost-efficiency, there has to be a healthy and collaborative interface between design and manufacturing. The boundaries of the two disciplines become blurred.
With the evolution of smart manufacturing we’ve come to rely more on digital processes and models, and less on physical prototypes and ‘trial and error.’ This accelerates the design and manufacturing process to foster innovation and get products to market faster.
Challenging Assumptions
Smart manufacturing challenges assumptions. It might look at design tolerances and ask whether they need to be that tight. Are they that way because designers tend to like tight tolerances and have to set the limit somewhere? Often they can be eased to simplify manufacturing with no detriment to the final product.
Operating environments, particularly in high-reliability markets, place constraints on designers. They can influence features such as board thickness and component configuration. Smart manufacturing recognises these constraints early on to deliver a seamless design and manufacturing process.
Compliance
Each high-reliability market has specific requirements and technical standards. Smart manufacturing combines the most cost-efficient production method with the agility to rapidly modify and prove designs while maintaining compliance.
Trizo’s Design for Excellence (DFX) business model blends DFM principles with designing for procurement and testing. Adding smart manufacturing to the mix delivers design excellence with time and cost-efficient manufacturing.
If you’re interested in learning more about the connection between DFM and smart manufacturing for high reliability markets access our free resource centre to find out more.
