Industrial internet of things (iiot) - Articles - Page 6

Updating Legacy Equipment for Industry 4.0

Many types of older assembly equipment can be IIoT-enabled quickly, easily and cost-effectively

May 15, 2020

"Out with the old, in with the new" is a catchy idiom. But, it can also be costly advice, especially for a manufacturer. Replacing its numerous older machines can cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

Edge Computing for Today’s Assembly Plant

Used within the IIoT, edge computing offers benefits that range from reducing network latency and plant accidents, to achieving predictive maintenance and maximizing uptime

Jim Camillo

May 15, 2020

Maybe the greatest benefit of a new technology is its lack of historical baggage, thereby enabling industry professionals to approach it with an open mind and a clean slate. Edge computing currently enjoys this status in manufacturing.

5G Will Drive Tomorrow’s Connected Assembly Lines

Next-generation wireless technology is transforming production processes

Austin Weber

May 15, 2020

The fifth generation of wireless technology is quickly emerging. It will greatly expand the broadband capabilities of mobile networks and provide advanced wireless service for a wide variety of applications ranging from cell phones to assembly lines.

Assemblers See Promise—and Challenges—in IIoT

Our exclusive new survey reveals assemblers’ usage, plans and expectations for the Industrial Internet of Things

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

When you hear the phrase, "Industrial Internet of Things," what do you think of first? When we asked subscribers to ASSEMBLY and Quality magazines that question earlier this year, the answers were all over the map.

Industry 4.0 will drive next surge in productivity

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

Productivity growth in manufacturing is stuck. Despite improvements in equipment, software and management approaches, annual labor productivity growth in the U.S. was around 0.7 percent between 2007 and 2018.

Electronic Work Instructions Come of Age

New software tools help engineers enforce production processes

Austin Weber

March 6, 2020

Nobody's perfect. Even the best trained, most experienced assemblers can make mistakes on the line, especially in high-mix production environments. Fortunately, a variety of software products are available to help prevent assembly errors.

Ujigami: Creating a Smart Factory with "Dumb" Devices

March 1, 2020

The success of IIoT initiatives depends on the integration of smart, connected devices. However, manufacturers face a significant challenge of how to connect to legacy production equipment that is not equipped with standard IIoT interfaces.

OEE and Wire Processing

Rob Boyd Robert Suess-Wolf

October 8, 2019

Digitization, Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) are buzzwords we hear quite often today. What do they mean for the wire processing industry? How will digitization affect our business, and how will we measure our performance?

Tufts Tackles Thorny Issues Surrounding Cybersecurity

Austin Weber

May 10, 2019

Hackers are one of the biggest threats to digital factories and Industry 4.0 initiatives. If conveyors, fastening tools, robots and other equipment are not secure, state-of-the-art production technology can be rendered useless.

Assembly Plants at the Forefront of Industry 4.0

The Future is Now

Austin Weber

May 10, 2019

Factories of the future will feature advanced technology, such as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, data analytics and digital twins. While many manufacturers are still ramping up their Industry 4.0 initiatives, several assembly plants are already at the forefront. They are embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and reaping the benefits.