Page 50 - Food&Drink Magazine Aug-Sep 2021

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
The latest white paper from smart technology specialists SICK examines how production logistics in modern manufacturing are becoming intelligent, with different areas of production starting to merge.
The logistics of modern production
MANUFACTURING continues to advance towards the goal of Industry 4.0, in which every sensor, every machine, and every human involved can communicate with one another at any time.
This kind “smart factory” is characterised by certain production logistics features including a high degree of automation, broad transparency in production and logistics processes, strong networking of machines, products and processes, elimination of manual operations, and permanent optimisations through data evaluation.
We are seeing different solutions from Sick in demand in all areas of production logistics, utilising intelligent sensors and sensor systems with hardware and software for protecting, detecting, identifying, localising, measuring, and monitoring.
MARKETS IN FLUX
More and more manufacturing companies are facing changing consumer expectations shaped by accelerating digitalisation. Among other things, this puts pressure on conventional systems in production logistics. Markets and consumer demands are becoming more fast-paced and diversified. Increased demand for customised (mass) production increasingly requires the manufacture of tailor-made
products – and in very different quantities as well as at market- driven prices.
This means companies are increasingly expected to shorten innovation cycles. Greater variant diversity, smaller batch sizes, fluctuating quantities and shorter product life cycles are the result. At the same time, the Internet gives consumers full price transparency across global markets, further increasing competition and cost pressure.
handling and other areas of production logistics varies greatly.
2. PRODUCTION AND INTRALOGISTICS: Two disciplines merge. Production logistics encompasses all the processes between purchasing and distribution logistics that ensure machines and workstations are supplied with the right materials or products at the right time and in the right quantity and quality. The progressive automation and digitalisation of manufacturing
identification solutions, robot vision and guidance systems, and smart sensors can help.
5. MOBILE PLATFORMS FOR AUTOMATED TRANSPORT: Loading production cells. Laser scanners and safety software work with navigation systems for automated guiding vehicles.
6. DIGITISATION FOR TRANSPARENCY, EFFICIENCY: Intelligent gateways and middleware, automated processes through localisation. Modular manufacturing requires technical implementation at machine level and a complex planning process for the individual systems and subsystems. For flexible and dynamic planning and control of manufacturing, the systems and subsystems need feedback as well as information from the field as directly as possible.
The smart factory as an answer to short innovation intervals, high degrees of individualisation and strongly fluctuating quantities is a topic increasingly under discussion in machine building. To be able to offer their customers up-to-date solutions, machine builders are turning to new concepts in production logistics and the development of manufacturing in the direction of Industry 4.0. For the full whitepaper, visit sick.com.au. ✷
“ More and more manufacturing companies are facing changing consumer expectations shaped by accelerating digitalisation.”
In line with these requirements, the demands of manufacturing companies on their suppliers are also changing. Machine and system manufacturers must therefore develop new machine concepts that enable their customers to manufacture much more flexibly and efficiently.
The white paper goes into detail on six areas of change and opportunity:
1. PRODUCTION PROCESSES: One size does not fit all. Depending on the type of manufacturing, from manual to fully automated, the degree of automation in material
can help make the material flow from materials delivery to the shipping of the finished product fully transparent.
3. FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING:
adopting a modular concept. Redesigning production and logistics to be as flexible as possible with a high degree of automation reduces the risk of a single fault affecting an entire production chain.
4. MODULAR MANUFACTURING CONCEPT CHALLENGES: Machine building a modular concept when the product controls the process. How
50 | Food&Drink business | August/September 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au