Smart manufacturing systems

Abstract

The Industrial Revolution or Industry 1.0 has rapidly progressed to Industry 4.0 in a short 200 years. There are many benefits and on-going developments of smart manufacturing systems. Thus, it is important to understand the smart manufacturing initiatives for implementations to improve productivity and efficiency. Most of the findings in this report are secondary research from published papers and company reports or articles found on the Internet. The main objective of this report is to review smart manufacturing initiatives and focus on how local manufacturing industries can implement smart manufacturing protocols. The first part of this report provides a basic understanding of smart manufacturing systems which includes information on the trends and technologies in the industry. Subsequently, the report dives into three different area of focus which are electronics manufacturing, precision metal machining and stamping, and additive manufacturing and surface modification processes. In these areas, details such as trends, challenges and smart manufacturing initiatives are identified to have a more comprehensive understanding. Additionally, information regarding the standards and frameworks under developments are highlighted to understand the aspects which smart manufacturing systems have to comply with. Moreover, the report identifies some of the companies which have implemented smart manufacturing systems and highlighted the positive impact from their implementations. Furthermore, the author explored the technologies and frameworks which local companies can adopt for smart manufacturing systems implementations. Last but not least, the author explains his research methodology as well as provides his opinions on the possible future developments of this research before ending with a conclusion. The author aims to provide a more holistic overview of smart manufacturing systems so that local companies will be able to understand the technologies and initiatives better for their own implementations.