The Internet of Making Things

The IP torque wrench. Courtesy of Plex Systems

Smart, Internet-connected “things” are showing up everywhere, changing our interactions with friends, family, colleagues, and nearly every aspect of the physical world. Internet of Things (IoT) discussions often center on the home, where your refrigerator communicates with your phone reminding you to buy milk when the carton is nearly – but not completely – empty; and your sneakers tell your watch how many calories you’ve burned in your morning workout.

While these applications are interesting and exciting, there is even more potential in the factory of the (very near) future. I like to call the emerging connections between machines, tools, materials, people and systems on the shop floor the Internet of Making Things.

Today’s factory bears little resemblance to the stereotypical image of manufacturing. Long gone are the days of repetitious assembly lines where workers create part after identical part. Today’s modern manufacturing facility is a hub of technology, full of sensors, electronic controls, and automated equipment, all interconnected to drive efficiency, quality and flexibility that are vital to a company’s success.

Productivity in American factories continues to rise, as plants produce more and more with ever increasing efficiency and quality. Connected tools and machines are a key aspect of these gains. Take the IP (Internet Protocol) torque wrench (shown above) in the assembly of a complex part, for example. When connected to the cloud, the IP torque wrench captures the torque applied to a specific part, the specific wrench that was used, when that wrench was last calibrated and the employee who used it. If that wrench was faulty in some way, the cloud can identity every part affected, eliminating costly downtime.

Automation and the connected factory are able to produce a wider variety of products and product variations in smaller quantities more quickly, answering the market’s increasing demand for customized products. The old-style “economies of scale” that powered mass-produced consumer goods are being replaced by fast, efficient and flexible connected machines that follow the exact requirements for each product at each moment of its production.

Flexible machines and programmable controllers have been around for years. What’s new is the adoption of sensors and connected devices, combined with the interconnectedness of cloud computing that increasingly coordinates information and activities to take full advantage of what these machines, and the knowledge workers who run them, can do.

The Internet of Making Things is still in its infancy. Wearable technologies have the potential to further connect people with plant information, better integrating into this connected world to further improve safety, efficiency and quality.

Within and beyond the four walls of the production facility, the shift to cloud-based software systems allows employees, suppliers and customers worldwide to view the status of an order, work-in-progress, inventory, equipment availability, and much more. In the not-too-distant future, visibility won’t stop when the product leaves the plant. Smart products will not only interact with the customer in new ways but will also be able to stay in contact with the producer for better long-term performance and support. Already available in some cars, On-Star equipped vehicle owners can get e-mails or text messages alerting them to otherwise unseen issues like tire wear, needed service based on mileage or time, or factory recommended recalls.

Connected smart technology in the Internet of Making Things brings the processes and the products together into a new ecosystem for added customer value.

Jason Prater is Vice President of Development for Plex Systems.