From Concept to Reality: The Next Wave of Factory Automation

Today’s factories are marvels of technological innovation where automation and data analytics drive unprecedented efficiency. These advanced tools also provide invaluable insights into daily operations, support good decision making and help shape the future of global production. The latest season of DigiKey’s Factory Tomorrow video series showcases the next wave of innovation in industrial automation solutions for global manufacturing. 

 

The first video explores how DigiKey, Siemens and Banner Engineering view breakthroughs in technology as a way to fill the gaps across the factory floor. The next generation of intelligent manufacturing will be shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), real-time data and enhanced human-computer interaction. It also features LIFT, an accelerator that partners with Siemens to develop new forms of automation and train the next generation of manufacturing professionals.

 

“The conversations around here range all the way from, ‘Hey, give me a wrench to install something on the floor,’ to ‘Let's talk about some technology relative to hypersonic material development,’” says Tom Hoffman, business manager for Siemens Digital Experience Center at LIFT. “You can go from ‘arc to part,’ as they used to say, or from concept to reality.” He also discusses how LIFT’s controlled production environment is a place where people are free to experiment, make mistakes and try new things. 

 

That environment is also a place to see LIFT and Siemens products in action and how DigiKey’s customers use those products to achieve their individual application goals. “From awareness to just making sure the customer knows what we have, we're educating them on new products and getting customers all of the different products that they need for their applications,” explains Eric Halvorson, senior marketing technology manager, automation and control, at DigiKey.

 

Industrial IoT (IIoT) focuses on machine-to-machine communication and enables user-friendly automation, higher efficiency and longer asset longevity. In the second video in this Factory Tomorrow series, DigiKey explores how Banner Engineering is leading the charge with plug-and-play solutions for sensing, wireless connectivity and machine safety. It also highlights how the electronics distributor and its partners are making Industry 4.0 more accessible, enabling factories at any stage of development to implement critical technology.

 

IIoT is helping manufacturers optimize production processes, reduce downtime and improve product quality. They can also use IIoT to generate data-driven insights, identify bottlenecks, make informed decisions, enhance operational efficiency and manage predictive maintenance. 

DigiKey partners with some of the best automation and control product suppliers in the world to showcase the technologies that are enabling the factory of tomorrow. 

 

Banner Engineering's ever-growing product line of connected IIoT products enables smart manufacturing across various industries. On the production floor, its technologies are transforming the manufacturing landscape. “Companies are starting to realize that access to critical data for their organizations is not just a ‘nice to have’ anymore,” says Sean Foley, product manager, wireless, at Banner Engineering. “It's a necessity to stay competitive in this landscape.”

 

For example, a failed motor could be a maintenance manager's worst nightmare. The question becomes what assets, should they fail in your facility, would be catastrophic to your production? And how do you currently monitor those assets? “Once you start pulling in the data, you gain confidence in the data. You start to scale up,” Foley continues. “Sometimes it could be as simple as adding a vibration sensor to a motor.”

 

In this final episode of Factory Tomorrow Season 4, DigiKey explores how innovators like Siemens are enabling digital transformations in the manufacturing world. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used to create digital representations of complex manufacturing systems. The video also explores how real-time simulation, data analysis and predictive maintenance are creating the factories of tomorrow.

 

In this episode, DigiKey explores how intelligent manufacturing processes are bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds, alongside rapid digitalization and next generation technologies. “Digital twin is all about design, simulate, validate, optimize for both product and production,” explains Chris Stevens, senior VP of automation, Siemens Digital Industries US, which currently has the most comprehensive digital twin in the industry. 

 

While a lot of companies collect a high volume of data, most of them don’t know what to do with all of that data. Digital twins can help those organizations analyze data, apply AI and say, “Hey, something's going on. We need to kick off a corrective action report for this particular motor. Then we can go back to the virtual digital twin and swap out a different motor or bracket to see how that works.” 

 

These advanced capabilities present significant opportunities for manufacturers, 95% of which are currently using or evaluating smart factory technology. Yet, as of 2024, just 44% of the total data available to manufacturers is actually being harnessed and used. As veteran employees—many of whom could walk by, place a hand on a machine and diagnose it—exit the industry, organizations will start relying on the IIoT solutions to obtain machine insights, manage predictive maintenance and keep the wheels turning in their factories.

 

To learn more about the video series and how DigiKey is supporting innovative industrial automation solutions for global manufacturing, visit the DigiKey website.