Industry 4.0 represents the fourth industrial revolution, which is characterized by the integration of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics, among others, into manufacturing processes.

Today, there are already many automated processes within our company, think about milling, deburring, heat treatment, copper plating, CMM measurement, and so on. For some of these processes, we have our machines called the Makino and the Okuma.

The Makino 1 we have had since 2015, the Okuma since 2020. Today, both machines are fully automated with a robotic arm and a robotic tower.

The Makino is a grinder that does the gearing on racks. This process happens before heat treatment. The Okuma does the roughing and pre-milling of the racks.

What advantages does the automation give?

Previously, operators had to take the pieces in and out of the machines themselves. Automation allows us to use our operators for other processes, which makes the work more challenging for them. They can focus more on complex work. In addition, we can increase our capacity; with automation, everything runs more smoothly and we can also continue working at weekends. This gives benefits on many levels.

The Makino in itself is a technically advanced machine that delivers quality products, we can grind and drill in 1 clamping. In addition to the robotic arm, there is also a robotic tower, which provides vertical storage that utilises the height of the factory.

The integration of our robotics into manufacturing processes lead to increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved quality. By leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies, we can achieve real-time monitoring of production processes, predictive maintenance, and optimized supply chain management. This can lead to faster response times to changing customer demands, reduced downtime, and increased throughput.