The 2024 Advanced Manufacturing Expo was recently held here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, attracting around 300 exhibitors across a wide spectrum of manufacturing-related businesses. At Atomic Object, we do a fair amount of design and development work for manufacturing clients. That includes production planning and optimization, monitoring, AI-based automation, and custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
I decided to attend this year to hear more about new developments in manufacturing technology and network with other attendees and exhibitors. Here are are the major themes I observed at the expo.
Hybrid Cloud + Edge Computing
Many exhibitors were touting the benefits of their cloud-based Software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, including analytics, reporting, dashboards, and ERP systems. Many others focused their pitches on how easy it is to get the data from their sensors or controllers into the cloud. It makes sense: manufacturers want the same lower up-front cost and shifting of platform responsibility that makes the cloud and SaaS products attractive to many other businesses.
Not everything is moving to the cloud, though. Applications that involve critical response times or large amounts of data maintain an on-site compute presence. For example, machine vision systems, real-time data for machine operators, and anything involved in making timing-critical automation decisions.
Hybrid systems can provide fast responses and high-throughput data connection using edge computing. Meanwhile, they’re pumping data up to the cloud for the longer cycle aggregation, analytics, and dashboards. We’ve used this hybrid approach on manufacturing automation projects. For example, we’ve run AI inference locally to support fast response times while asynchronously uploading data to the cloud to enable model refinement and MLOps workflows.
A Vision that Includes Custom Software
A big topic in Industry 4.0 is broadening the scope of information used to make automated decisions and create insights. I spoke with several platform and equipment companies about integration and heard that custom software is still a big part of achieving that integrated vision. Manufacturers often need to build bridges and adapters to get the right data to the right place at the right time, even when they’re using big platforms.
Manufacturers who serve niche industries or who push ahead of the market with innovative automation initiatives can use platform APIs to build their own management systems. In some cases, we’ve helped clients build fully custom ERP and production management systems when industry solutions don’t fit. Whether partially or fully custom, the right tools can have a big impact on operational efficiency and capabilities.
AI Chatter
Like every other domain right now, there was a lot of chatter about AI at the event. Machine vision solutions for quality control were the most visible and common manifestations of AI. Other products included AI features as another layer of capabilities like the system demonstrated at Siemens’ booth that modifies CNC machine programs based on simulated runs of a digital twin or software platforms working to detect early signs of equipment failure.
Companies proclaiming the benefits of AI ranged in age from just a few years old to well over a century (Siemens, founded 1847). It’s hard to pick winners and losers from a short demo in an exhibit booth. AI solutions need deeper vetting to prove whether they can solve a specific problem, as we’ve found working with machine vision systems to detect complex or partially obscured features.
Simplifying Access to Data
To capitalize on AI capabilities, you need data. I had many conversations about sensors, controllers, devices, and platforms that promised to make it easy to get data into the cloud. As someone focused on the software side of manufacturing automation, I see a lot of potential to get value more quickly (and with less change management) if processes and machine operation don’t need a complete retooling to gather data. That’s especially true for use cases outside of the core machine operation.
Many of the product demos for connected sensors and control panels promised exactly that type of low-effort change. One control panel manufacturer shared that they’ve seen a lot of people add their control panels as auxiliary, read-only panels just for their ability to stream all the data up to their cloud platform easily.
Excitement for Industry 4.0
Overall, the 2024 Advanced Manufacturing Expo featured the continued development of digital tooling in the manufacturing automation space. I believe there’s a lot of opportunity for businesses to improve their effectiveness and efficiency by embracing automation, making more use of real-time data, and investing in R&D in the digital realm.
We enjoy working with our clients in the manufacturing space. They have real problems to solve, care about ROI, and value guidance from a trusted partner like Atomic Object to help navigate the quickly evolving digital realm. Let us know if we can help with your manufacturing automation modernization challenges!