The Internet of Things (IoT) is amazing, isn’t it? The things that likely come into most people’s minds at the mention of the IoT are pretty exciting, anyway – smart cars, smart clothing, appliances that talk to each other – it’s glamorous, futuristic-seeming, and overall fantastic. The less glamorous aspects of the Internet of Things, however, are just as important – the average person may not spend a lot of time thinking about how the IoT impacts manufacturing processes, but manufacturing is a great example of the massive changes and improvements smart technology can create.
Information and communication technology company Fujitsu has developed a new IoT solution called the FUJITSU Manufacturing Industry Solution VisuaLine. It’s been in the works for a couple of years; the company began a joint trial initiative in 2014 at the Kutsasu, Japan factory of electronic components manufacturer Omron. According to Fujitsu, manufacturing facilities in Japan consistently review their their production line processes and designs; however, because action is only taken to fix issues like malfunctioning equipment when it stops working, production efficiency and lead times are still affected. VisuaLine, on the other hand, collects log data from every piece of manufacturing equipment used in a particular production process and visualizes the operational status for each product in a variety of formats such as graphs. By comparing these graphs from day to day, users can quickly see if portions of the production process are taking longer than usual, alerting them to potential equipment problems long before the equipment actually stops working or sets off alarms.
The trial at the Omron factory found that VisuaLine improved production efficiency by 30% over six months. Another trial, carried out this year in the SMT process at the Yamanashi Plant of Fujitsu I-Network Systems Limited, found that downtime was reduced by 25%.
Based on the successful results of the trials, Fujitsu is now offering VisuaLine as a solution for manufacturing facilities that want to incorporate IoT capabilities to improve their efficiency. In addition to processing the log data from each piece of equipment and translating it into graph format, VisuaLine also links the information from those graphs to video cameras installed in the facility. Users can click on anomalies in the graph and be shown video footage from that point, allowing them to see what may have caused the anomaly. A comparative visualization function also allows users to compare process goals with actual results to see where improvements can be made, and an equipment visualization function enables users to study the most efficient processes by checking the production line for each product.
It may sound complicated, but VisuaLine is actually very easy to install, as the system utilizes performance data from existing equipment as it is. Facilities that would like to implement the system can start immediately. Starting today in Japan, the system can be licensed for ¥79,000 per month for a basic license, or ¥24,000 per month for an option license. Fujitsu’s goal is to reach 3,000 licenses by fiscal year 2019. If your company is interested in implementing the VisuaLine system or in learning more, you can contact Fujitsu here. Discuss in the Fujitsu forum at 3DPB.com.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
You May Also Like
Saudi Arabia’s NAMI to Begin Qualifying 3D Printed Oil & Gas Parts
National Additive Manufacturing & Innovation Company (NAMI), an AM services bureau based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) capital of Riyadh, announced at the AM Conclave in Abu Dhabi...
3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: September 10, 2023
This might possibly be the longest webinar and event roundup we’ve ever done at 3DPrint.com—that’s how many offerings there are this week! I won’t waste your time in this introduction...
3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: August 13, 2023
I hope your calendar is clear, because there are lots of 3D printing webinars and events to attend this week! America Makes will hold its MMX event and Markforged has...
3D Printing Activity in Saudi Arabia Poised to Grow with $15M Immensa Facility
At the end of June, Immensa, a Saudi Arabian additive manufacturing (AM) service bureau, opened a new $15 million facility in Dammam, the fourth-largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi...