Whenever you think about manufacturing, you probably think about the machines pressing parts together on an assembly line, or hordes of workers putting different pieces together to create the various gadgets and gizmos we all need to function in today’s world. And of course, when it comes to improving manufacturing, most people think adding more machines or more workers to the mix will solve the problem.
However, some of the best ways to improve the manufacturing of products don’t even happen in the manufacturing plant at all. Instead, it happens at the design tables where people look for flaws in the existing product and seek to correct them by correcting the design to overcome those flaws. Here are three improved manufacturing designs that are currently doing just that!
1. The Wave Spring: Smaller, but Just As Effective
Springs are everywhere from inside our watches to inside our huge machines, and one type of spring that the world can’t live without is called a compression spring. This spring, when it is pushed together, exerts a force on whatever is pushing on it and stores energy in the spring. It’s a great spring, but the problem is that it is very big and can run into problems whenever the world tries to get much smaller and much more compact.
So, the wave spring was created, which does the exact same job as the compression spring, but can be up to half the size while still exerting just as much pressure. It is a smaller and still very versatile spring that is much better suited for a world where all technology wants to get smaller.
2. The 3D Printer: Able To Do More Work In Less Time
Everyone and their mother is probably raving about how amazing 3D printers are because anything you can put and program into a computer a 3D printer can ‘print’ out of plastic. It is able to create things with a precision that the human hand simply cannot, and it doesn’t take too long to do it either (although this does depend on what you happen to be printing) and it is being investigated for manufacturing and the mass production of items and plastic parts.
3D printing is able to not only improve each stage of production of the manufacturing process, but the process can also help companies create on demand parts and special orders in-house without companies having to make those orders to another store or company first. Instead of being limited by what they can produce with their normal process, a 3D printer can allow companies to have the will of their customers and their imaginations be the limit to what can be done.
Which can open up all new possibilities for everyone involved in the process!
3. Predictive Maintenance
Finally, another trend that is showing up in the world of manufacturing is predictive maintenance. Which is whenever sensor data and AI detect failure patterns in machines and in components. Right now, whenever something fails in an assembly line it can cause the whole line to get backed up, or at the very least can cause a hiccup until the problem in question is fixed. However, predictive maintenance stops the sudden shock of failure by analyzing whenever a machine or a part is likely to fail and then alerts the manufacturers.
This allows the manufacturers to take preventative action and solve the problem by maintaining the equipment, taking a little action right now to avoid a massive headache later whenever the parts break down and cause a delay in the production line.
By using predictive maintenance on older and newer machines alike, it allows for companies and manufacturers to prevent massive breakdowns and become aware of small problems that would otherwise go unnoticed, and fix them before the bigger breakdowns those small problems cause does get noticed!
Design Will Continue to Enter The World Of Manufacturing
As we continue towards all of the future trends in the world of manufacturing and product creation, it’s easy to get caught up in the act of manufacturing all by itself and forget that a lot of the important work happens in the design room before those products ever go down the assembly line. Design is what helps keep the products that we can’t live without running faster, smoother, and longer than the products that came before them, and we can’t forget that.
So keep an eye on the improvements being made to manufacturing, and see what benefits come next!
