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Smart Machining Processes
across multiple modalities. On the other hand, the next-generation AI can change
the dynamics of how experiments are planned, thus enabling better data integration,
analysis, and interpretation (Harfouche et al., 2019).
Galati and Bigliardi (2019) stress that the recent advancements in terms of information technology, electronics, and industrial robots have led to the Internet of Things
(IoT), virtualization technologies, cloud computing, computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems, and then cyber–physical systems. The latter enable production
systems to be modular and easy to reconfigure, which is required to produce highly
customized products in mass production. Thus, Industry 4.0 technologies can support
companies in terms of several design principles like interoperability, virtualization,
decentralization, real-time capability, service orientation, and modularity.
With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), manufacturing
systems experience a transformation whereby the IoT and other technologies play a
major role in shifting manufacturing companies to computer-integrated manufacturing (Chen et al., 2020). Nagalingam and Lin (2008) name three main sources that
induce diverse challenges to manufacturing enterprises:
• Technological changes
• Geopolitical and economic environment
• Sophisticated and demanding customers
Today’s conditions of the open market, especially advancements and modern tools
in information and communication technology (ICT), allow customers to reach and
choose manufacturers of their preference across the world. For the global customers
today, the primary determinants become rather non-price factors, such as quality,
product design, innovation, and delivery services. Thus, an enterprise that relies on
traditional manufacturing systems cannot satisfy the needs of globally distributed
customers and match the capabilities of its competitors. Manufacturers should have
the ability to be flexible, adaptable, proactive, and responsive to changes and should
be able to produce a wide variety of high-quality and innovative products quickly
and at a reduced cost. In addition, they should be able to meet new environmental
requirements and complex social issues, set by dynamic geopolitical boundaries and
conditions. This has led to the concept of virtual computer-integrated manufacturing
(VCIM), which is a network of interconnected and globally distributed CIM systems
across geographical boundaries, whereas CIM is an integration of localized manufacturing facilities. In 1998, the National Science Foundation of the United States
attempted to create a vision of a competitive environment for manufacturing, publishing the Visionary Manufacturing Challenges for 2020, which identified the most
important technical, political, and economic forces for manufacturing (Nagalingam
and Lin, 2008):
• Sophisticated customers will demand products that are customized to meet
their needs.
• Rapid responses to market forces are required to survive in the competitive
climate, enhanced by communication and knowledge sharing.
Smart Machining Processes
across multiple modalities. On the other hand, the next-generation AI can change
the dynamics of how experiments are planned, thus enabling better data integration,
analysis, and interpretation (Harfouche et al., 2019).
Galati and Bigliardi (2019) stress that the recent advancements in terms of information technology, electronics, and industrial robots have led to the Internet of Things
(IoT), virtualization technologies, cloud computing, computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems, and then cyber–physical systems. The latter enable production
systems to be modular and easy to reconfigure, which is required to produce highly
customized products in mass production. Thus, Industry 4.0 technologies can support
companies in terms of several design principles like interoperability, virtualization,
decentralization, real-time capability, service orientation, and modularity.
With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), manufacturing
systems experience a transformation whereby the IoT and other technologies play a
major role in shifting manufacturing companies to computer-integrated manufacturing (Chen et al., 2020). Nagalingam and Lin (2008) name three main sources that
induce diverse challenges to manufacturing enterprises:
• Technological changes
• Geopolitical and economic environment
• Sophisticated and demanding customers
Today’s conditions of the open market, especially advancements and modern tools
in information and communication technology (ICT), allow customers to reach and
choose manufacturers of their preference across the world. For the global customers
today, the primary determinants become rather non-price factors, such as quality,
product design, innovation, and delivery services. Thus, an enterprise that relies on
traditional manufacturing systems cannot satisfy the needs of globally distributed
customers and match the capabilities of its competitors. Manufacturers should have
the ability to be flexible, adaptable, proactive, and responsive to changes and should
be able to produce a wide variety of high-quality and innovative products quickly
and at a reduced cost. In addition, they should be able to meet new environmental
requirements and complex social issues, set by dynamic geopolitical boundaries and
conditions. This has led to the concept of virtual computer-integrated manufacturing
(VCIM), which is a network of interconnected and globally distributed CIM systems
across geographical boundaries, whereas CIM is an integration of localized manufacturing facilities. In 1998, the National Science Foundation of the United States
attempted to create a vision of a competitive environment for manufacturing, publishing the Visionary Manufacturing Challenges for 2020, which identified the most
important technical, political, and economic forces for manufacturing (Nagalingam
and Lin, 2008):
• Sophisticated customers will demand products that are customized to meet
their needs.
• Rapid responses to market forces are required to survive in the competitive
climate, enhanced by communication and knowledge sharing.