By陳仁義, June 26, 2018
Currently, there are a number of companies with well known reputations invested in the R&D of the IoT. The concept of ""Smart Manufacturing"" is fostered within the trend of ""Industry 4.0"", which grants people a scene of convenience and rapid management based on the technology of artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, the 5G era is coming now, so in the future the anticipation of smart experience will become a part of people’s daily life, especially in the sector of manufacturing industry which seeks for smart machineries.
President Hsiao of Forwell stated that, machine tools will be equipped with connector boxes that connect to the database, offering smart manufacturing services through the so called big data technology, including data processing, utilization status, maintenance information, facility condition, etc. This precious information would be analyzed by the system, and managers of factories would have a deep understanding of the production status of their plants. In the future, machine tools will evolve according to the trend of durability, precision and flexibility, so as to upgrade the manufacturing facilities that meet the smart production and help the industrial insiders achieve the goal of unmanned production.
Hsiao emphasized the realization of Industry 4.0 must be supported by large-scale economic benefits and large market demand to achieve the desired benefits of ""Industry 4.0"". Now the automotive and 3C industries meet the economic scale, and they are followed by the industry of livelihood supply. On the other hand, smart machinery is the basis for the development of Industry 4.0, and Chinese manufacturers are mature in the realization of smart manufacturing and unmanned production on their plants, while Taiwanese manufacturers are not yet sophisticated in this area. The later tend to be the suppliers of smart machinery rather than those who participated in smart manufacturing itself.
With the coming of the 5G era, Hsiao pointed out that, this indicates everything is now connected or will be connected and the process of our activities on the internet will be accelerated in a more accurate manner. This idea will extend to the connection between machine tools, making all the machine tools smart machinery and eventually realizes the goal of unmanned factory. Hsiao anticipates that Chinese suppliers would have great progression in this area, exceeding the rest of the world.
President Hsiao shared with people that Forwell has been dedicating to the field of quick die/ mold change system for many years, and has built firm partnerships with plastics injection partners as well as metalworking suppliers for decades. Hsiao knows how important it is for consumers in the industry to upgrade their capital goods into smart facilities with the adaptation of smart management systems as this issue always hinders suppliers’ progression, causing problems in mold/ die storage and management.
Therefore, Forwell has developed a QDCS and a QMCS for metal forming and plastics injection sectors in 2010, offering suitable solutions for consumers. The smart mold and die management system developed by Forwell can proceed the automatic change, transmission, carrying, storage, warehousing, and the maintenance of molds and dies. Furthermore, this system can record the utilization data of each mold and die item, transferring those big data to the control center for the realization of IoT as well as Industry 4.0.
