AI & Low-Code for Composable Manufacturing
What is Composable Manufacturing?
Composable manufacturing is an approach to manufacturing that emphasizes flexibility, adaptability and modularity. It allows manufacturers to quickly and efficiently reconfigure their production processes and systems in response to changing market demands, new technologies and evolving business needs. This concept is rooted in the principle of composable enterprise, where different parts of a system can be independently developed and scaled, quickly delivering value to customers.
Key features of composable manufacturing include:
- Modularity: Production systems are designed with interchangeable modules or components that can be easily deployed. This modularity allows for rapid adaptation to new requirements or improvements in technology, like usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics.
- Interoperability: Different modules and systems can communicate and work together seamlessly, often using standardized interfaces and protocols. This ensures that components from different vendors or legacy systems can be integrated effectively.
- Scalability: Systems can be scaled up to match production needs. This enables businesses to start small, but also think big and scale fast. It is possible to start with an edge application and scale this to the cloud for multi-plant implementation when needed.
- Agility: The ability to rapidly reconfigure the application to accommodate new processes or products, customizations or changes in production volume. This agility helps manufacturers stay competitive and responsive to market trends.
- Digital Integration: Composable manufacturing often involves the use of digital tools and technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and advanced analytics, to optimize and monitor production processes in real-time.
In essence, composable manufacturing represents a shift from traditional, rigid production methods to more dynamic and responsive systems. It enables manufacturers to innovate rapidly, reduce time-to-market for new products and maintain high levels of efficiency and quality in their operations.
Low-Code & AI Solutions for Composable Manufacturing
Engineering Industries eXcellence has developed a solution portfolio for composable manufacturing based on a suite of applications that integrate standard offerings and scalability from the edge to the cloud. This approach is built on key foundational elements: the low-code platform Mendix and Industrial Edge from Siemens. Mendix incorporates AI for the creation of complex applications, enabling machine operators, production coordinators and shift supervisors to personalize their experience to support their unique job functions, no matter their coding or development expertise. Siemens Industrial Edge enables rapid adoption of digitalization at the plant level while providing the flexibility to scale infrastructure to the cloud. By combining the power of these technologies, our approach accelerates deployment and enhances the solution's time-to-value, all within a unified, composable framework.
Engineering Industries eXcellence has developed Mendix applications to cover the following pillars of manufacturing:
- Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE)
- Smart Warehousing (WMS)
- Field Service Management (FSM)
- Quality Inspection Support
- Outsourced Production Management
- Issue Management
- Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) – coming soon
- Unified Name Space (UNS) - coming soon
FAQ About AI & Low-Code for Manufacturing
Q: What are some use cases of AI in manufacturing?
A: Use cases of AI in manufacturing include:
- Deep Reinforcement Learning for Optimization: AI can be used to optimize product movement sequences and increase throughput.
- Machine Learning for Prediction: AI can be used to predict product quality issues and prevent asset failures and downtime.
- Generative AI for Discovery: AI can be used to discover new insights and correlations in data.
- Generative AI for Transparency: AI can be used to provide greater transparency into product information and supply chain operations.
Q: What are the benefits of using AI in manufacturing?
A: Some of the benefits of using AI in manufacturing include:
- Asset Utilization and Throughput: AI can help optimize the use of assets and increase throughput.
- Optimized Maintenance Operations: AI can help predict when maintenance is needed, reducing downtime and increasing efficiency.
- Increased Visibility: AI can provide greater visibility into equipment performance and health status.
- Improved Decision-Making: AI can help decision-makers make smarter, faster decisions by providing insights and predictions.
Q: What is the role of low-code in AI-infused application development?
A: The low-code approach can be used to democratize AI-infused application development by making it easier for developers to build sophisticated solutions for complex use cases. Low-code can help integrate AI and machine learning services into applications, enabling end users to make better decisions faster with the support of AI.
Q: How does AI optimize product movement sequence?
A: AI can optimize product movement sequence by using an agent (i.e., the pallet-shuttle) that can decide to reach a station that has concluded to work on a product, to insert a new product on the line or to wait. The agent selects which product type to inject into the line at a specific time. The objective is to optimize product movement sequences to avoid possible production line blockage and increase throughput.
Q: How does AI predict quality in output?
A: AI can predict quality in output by correlating input data (process parameters) with output (quality). AI learns how inputs cause outputs, creates an internal model on how to control outputs, produces a forecast with confident estimates and computes the optimal control variable to the desired output.
Q: What is a manufacturing control tower?
A: A manufacturing control tower is a centralized digital platform designed to provide real-time visibility, analytics and control over various aspects of manufacturing operations. It serves as a command center where data from different parts of the production process is collected, analyzed and acted upon to optimize performance, efficiency and decision-making.
Engineering’s Expertise
Although the path to digitalization may be difficult, the benefits of composable manufacturing technologies reach across the enterprise. Engineering Industries eXcellence is here to guide manufacturers of all shapes and sizes as they navigate their digital transformation journey. Leveraging Mendix and Siemens Industrial Edge, our experts help industrial enterprises develop custom applications and integrate their manufacturing ecosystems. As a longstanding Siemens partner, our specialists have a unique perspective that complements our broad technical expertise and cross-industry insights. Let us help you harness the full potential of low-code, AI solutions, turning your challenges into opportunities for growth and success.
