Smart Manufacturing Profiles for CNC Machining
Project Lead: ThinkIQ
Partners: North Carolina State University, South Bay Solutions Inc.
Member % Cost Share: 50%
CESMII % Cost Share: 50%
Duration: 6 Months
Problem Statement
Factors that can prevent South Bay Solutions from capitalizing on Smart Manufacturing opportunities include an overwhelming array of new technology, limited resources for infrastructure and IT projects, and insufficient analysis tools and the resources to maintain them. The need for urgent response coupled with the availability of an off the shelf SMIB solution creates a unique opportunity to address these challenges. CESMII has a desire to provide an industry adoptable profile for SMM.
Project Goal
The first objective is to safely get workers back into the plants and provide remote management capabilities so South Bay can produce critical products during the pandemic. Additionally, the solution provides productivity metrics and analysis to help increase OEE now and in the future. Energy consumption analysis allows an understanding of how Energy Efficiency can be increased. This solution also provides “lite MES” capabilities without any IT investment. All of these elements will provide strategic benefits for US Manufacturing competitiveness and provide a cornerstone profile for the CESMII platform.
Technical Approach
The SM Profiles for CNC Machining project provides a vision based digital twin of the manufacturing operations. This includes connecting to a network for cloud communication, cameras and sensors for data collection, advanced Machine Vision and AI edge processing to ensure privacy and data transformation, and a real time dashboard plus analytics reports both accessed through a web browser. Integration with other backend systems can be deployed in the future.
Deliverables/Outcomes/SM Marketplace
- Installed Visual Smart Factory Solution that allows the Manufacturer to monitor and control CNC machine productivity in real time.
- Delivered CNC Machine SMIP Profile
Potential Impact
Establish a path to sustainable, profitable capacity growth for re-shoring of manufacturing to support COVID-19 response and improve domestic response to future pandemics. Working directly with a manufacturer vs. only an academic institution will ensure that the profile generated encapsulates the critical information required to optimize operational performance and profitability.
Benefits
This project is directly in line CESMII’s goals and mission: Ensuring the power of change and innovation is at the fingertips of every manufacturer. By establishing the CNC process profile this project also supports broader CESMII goals including growing global competitiveness and profits, improved data use, existing asset optimization, and improved safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.
