MOLDMAKING 4.0: EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE MOLDING INDUSTRY By Brittany Willes, writer, The American Mold Builder
Iindustrial revolution – also known as Industry 4.0 – with technology
n 2019, the manufacturing industry jumped head on into the next
investments totaling $59 billion (US), according to ABI Research.
Manufacturers are embracing technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud-based simulation and other platforms as a means of replacing older, outdated manufacturing execution systems. Indeed, the level of investment in Industry 4.0 technology is expected to reach a staggering $375 billion by the year 2030, per ABI. INDUSTRY 4.0 TODAY What does Industry 4.0 actually look like, especially when it comes to moldmaking segments of the manufacturing industry? For many, it means having the ability to track and adapt to situations on the shop floor in real time as a result of data that is collected and measured from machines. This, in turn, leads to a host of benefits for both the mold builder and the customer. “Industry 4.0 application to mold building – in terms of the machining process, either hard milling or EDM – requires data from the machine, as well as data from the shop management system made available at the machine,” stated Jim Brown, director of digital 42
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technology for Makino. “Machine data allow real-time tracking of the machining process in terms of machine utilization and performance. Alarms or machine stoppage instantly are available to the upper-level system, allowing these problems to be cleared quickly. The visibility of what is happening with production equipment in real time at both the operation and the management levels is a major benefit.” Real-time visibility attributed to Industry 4.0 technology leads to process efficiencies, as noted by Eric Ostini, EDM product manager for GF Machining Solutions, LLC (GFMS). “Today, Industry 4.0 technology means improved utilization of machinery,” Ostini stated. “These new platforms have the ability to provide direct data of how machines are being utilized on the shop floor. Analyzing this data shows bottlenecks or other issues in the process that need to be resolved, leading to greater efficiency.” Fixing or avoiding bottlenecks is not the only way these technologies are able to improve efficiency. According to Michael Thiessen, sales manager for Tebis America, Industry 4.0 also enables the “creation of designed molds that already contain information for programming, structure and applications.” Such molds can cut down on wasted
