Megatrend smart factory
The smart factory is a modular and interconnected production environment in which humans, machines and logistics interact, communicate and work closely together. Phoenix Mecano products and systems have a key role to play in this regard.
Using a mechanical arm, the American George Devol developed the first industrial robot, Unimate, in 1956. Today, smart factories are the megatrend and production method of the future. In a smart factory, production environments, manufacturing facilities and logistics systems communicate with each other wirelessly and the product itself conveys information required for manufacturing. This means that cooperation between humans and machines is becoming ever closer.
Phoenix Mecano is helping to shape this trend: the Group is building its own smart factory in Jiaxing, near Shanghai, and is also deploying these technologies in its manufacturing pro-cesses. What’s more, Group companies are supplying their customers with smart factory systems and solutions.
The Phoenix Mecano Group is increasingly evolving from a pure component manufacturer to a provider of system solutions. This means that modular stand-alone products are increasingly being combined into assemblies, sub-systems or complete solutions. These in turn are integrated into the networked manufacturing environment of a smart factory, where they perform important functions.
Such systems are used, among other things, where humans and machines work together. They include ergonomic workstations equipped with digital assistance systems, as well as human-machine interfaces consisting of industrial PCs and swivelling support arm systems, such as those used on production lines in the automotive industry.
Other examples are assistive robots such as collaborative robotic arms and autonomous transport robots that can be easily programmed for specific activities, as well as automation solutions for transporting and controlling goods in warehouse environments.
Further advances in the modularisation, automation and digital connectivity of industrial manufacturing environments are likely in the future. Phoenix Mecano’s offering will be integral to this trend, with suitable products, systems and solutions in the pipeline.