Sooner or later, all machines will fail but with a variety of effects. Your mood and your morning can be ruined if your coffee maker breaks down unexpectedly. Thousands of people could be left in the dark for hours if a power plant fails unexpectedly, resulting in a multimillion-dollar loss, and so on.
New and revolutionary technologies and methods for automating processes have made it possible to use data in new ways and collect data using a variety of imagery kinds while analyzing large amounts of data at lightning speed. Let’s have a look at how these innovative solutions have benefited the manufacturing industry.
Image Analytics
Organizations all over the world are using image analytics to extract relevant information from visuals using digital image processing techniques, which have witnessed significant progress. This aids in improving operational efficiency, enhancing near-real-time decision-making, increasing staff productivity, lowering costs, and reducing the risk of physical harm to employees.
In a manufacturing context, there are countless cases where people examine monitors on machines that do not have automated capabilities to send and receive information and make choices about the machine’s performance. This is where artificial intelligence/machine learning and imaging enter the equation. We now have an eye to interpret the analog or digital displays and make the appropriate decisions to keep the machine running, assisting in maintaining the highest possible overall equipment effectiveness.
Thermal imaging and lasers
While the human eye may detect many flaws, lasers and thermal imaging can detect far more. Acceptable standards can be used to ‘look at’ manufactured items to see if they match the required criteria. Returns and low consumer satisfaction are reduced by rejecting defective items before they are sold or delivered.
Consider how imaging is used in the production of vehicles. Many auto plant jobs, particularly those deemed dangerous, such as welding, are becoming mechanized. Now, a robot completes the structure’s welds, which are subsequently evaluated using conventional and thermal imaging to confirm that the frame was built properly and meets all safety requirements.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance became a reality with the emergence of Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution powered by automation, machine learning, real-time data, and interconnectivity. Similar to preventive maintenance, PdM is a proactive approach to servicing machines. A company, on the other hand, organizes operations based on continuous condition monitoring. To minimize more costly failures, broken parts are repaired or replaced once dangerous tendencies are discovered.
Machines require maintenance to function properly, and maintaining a machine is less expensive than repairing it once it breaks. Before a malfunction occurs, imaging can visually (or thermally) evaluate various objects to see if any intervention is required.
Different types of imaging can be used in many sectors and areas. The human examination is dangerous in lots of situations, including the interior of certain portions of a nuclear power plant or the stern of an oil platform while it is still at sea. Drones can be extremely useful in such situations.
Major benefits of predictive maintenance include reduced maintenance time and expense, a longer asset lifespan, and a reduction in safety, environmental, and quality issues.
The requirement for organizational changes, huge investments in hardware, software, expertise, and staff training are all big downsides.
To conclude
These advancements are occurring at a faster rate than ever before. Given our current situation as a result of the epidemic, this form of evolution has never been more important. These advances increase the quality of our lives by eliminating faulty materials, extending the usable life of some things through improved predictive maintenance, and compensating for human resource shortages.
The combination of AI/ML and imaging systems improve both the economy and the people as a whole, and the benefits of such technology will transcend the pandemic.