What’s In Your Infinity.0 Toolbox?

The tools of manufacturing are evolving. True, we will use screwdrivers, box and socket wrenches, needle nose and channel lock pliers, side cutters and vice grips for a long time to come, but the new era of Infinity.0, where the speed at which data is processed and the rate at which industry is innovating collide, exploding into unlimited opportunity for industrial advancement, requires a whole new set of tools.  Eleven essentials for your Infinity.0 toolbox:

1. The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. The Infinity.0 journey begins, in of all places, with a book first published more than 35 years ago.  The few who truly understand how to identify the constraint in a manufacturing process are worth their weight in gold. The primary purpose of Infinity.0 technology is to optimize process. The Goal explains this better than any other resource.
2. Smart Sensor Kit. Smart sensors are driving the Infinity.0 revolution.  They gather data in real-time, analyze it and make decisions independent of PLCs or computers, and communicate usable and actionable information to other sensors, devices or computer networks.  They can be used to monitor every variable imaginable. Temperature, pressure, light, humidity, motion, vibration, voltage and airflow are just a few examples.
3. Embedded Smart Technology. New finishing equipment is often already smart, meaning it has smart sensors and devices and related software embedded in it. A finisher’s familiarization with the data already available from their smart equipment is a key component of the Infinity.0 toolbox.
4. Virtual Reality Headset. As technology advances at unprecedented rates, VR offers a fantastic training platform. Training on skills and competencies such as lock-out tagout, confined space entry, fire suppression, fall protection, welding and more can be most effectively delivered using VR.
5. Augmented Reality Glasses. AR mixes the virtual world with the real one, enabling virtual information such as blueprints, schematics and work instructions to be superimposed over physical objects. Imagine repairing a rectifier while a schematic of the physical unit is superimposed over the physical rectifier and work instructions for repair appear in view. This is the future of equipment maintenance.
6. Industrial-Grade 3D Printer. Additive manufacturing has advanced to the point where printed objects can be stronger than metal and tolerances in the range of 50 microns or better can be held. Positioners used to hold smart sensors, end of arm tools for robots, replacement parts for machine maintenance that used to take days, weeks and months to purchase, can be printed in a matter of hours.
7. 3D Scanner. A part on a finishing line breaks and requires replacement.  Using a 3D scanning device, the broken part can be scanned, creating a CAD file that can be fine-tuned and adjusted using CAD software. The resulting file can be exported to the 3D printer for reproduction. 3D scanning also comes in handy for dimensional checks and product development.
8. Digital Twin Software. Manufacturing development and innovation are moving to the digital twin world, where an exact digital replica of a present or future physical asset is created in cyberspace. New finishing lines are developed and perfected digitally before ever being assembled on the plant floor. Then the physical line is loaded up with smart sensors and devices, gathering data in real-time and feeding it back to the digital twin. Over time the digital twin becomes smarter and smarter and when we wish to make a change to the finishing process we simulate, test and optimize it on the digital twin before making the change on the floor.  This technology will exponentially advance the speed at which we innovate finishing processes.
9. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Software. Using Machine Learning the paint robots of today can literally predict their own future failure and order their own replacement parts before the failure ever happens. Over time, machine learning will extend to every piece of equipment on every surface finishing line and will be used to optimize every aspect of finishing.
10. Machine Tool Monitoring Software. Today, finishing equipment can be connected via ethernet to software that monitors and manages data from every machine and robot. Using this technology, powerful data analytics models and machine visualization platforms can be created providing the finisher with immediate information on the health, function and productivity of their finishing processes.    
11. Firewall. Gone are the days when our finishing operations were “air-gapped” from the rest of the world. In the days of old, a finisher’s proprietary process information and customer, financial and human resource data were protected from cyberthreats because they were physically separated from the internet. Today and in the future, most if not all finishing equipment will be connected, enabling data to go out but also providing an avenue for bad actors to get in — and not just to access the equipment but potentially to access entire computer networks. As finishers proceed down the path of Infinity.0 they must implement best practices in network and cybersecurity.

The Infinity.0 revolution ushers in a fascinating and exciting time for the world of finishing, but requires an entirely new and different set of tools for successful implementation. What’s in your Infinity.0 toolbox?