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Smart Manufacturing
Plex Manufacturing Blog
Quality Management in an Age of Disruptive Supply Chains
Once upon a time, it was easier. For decades, supply chains stabilized globally, allowing companies to source components confidently and manage their supply chain plans with Lean methodology. And while supply chain complexity increased during this time, the ability to span the globe and know their materials would arrive on time....
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The Future of Automotive: Your 2022 OESA Supplier Conference Recap
Many conference attendees recently filled the Suburban Showplace in Novi, MI to gain new insights and collaborate with fellow subject matter experts on the evolving landscape that has become the new automotive marketplace. The Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) held its Supplier Conference “The Future of Automotive Is Calling. How Will You Answer?” and it lived up to its expectations…
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Leverage Your Data to Unlock Hidden Capacity and Supercharge Processes
Capital equipment is one of the most significant variables in calculating a manufacturing company’s capacity. The higher the capacity, the more business a company can take on. Optimizing that capacity means a more substantial ROI, which leads to higher profits and less new equipment in the future....
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Industry 4.0: Go Big or Go Small - Just Go
Traditionally, large manufacturing companies benefited from scale. They could put money, resources, and in-house expertise into implementing massive enterprise-level software like an ERP or MRP. Smaller companies with limited resources, capital, and expertise under their roof had trouble acquiring the benefits of such software. This disadvantage meant they had to utilize manual data collection,…
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The Machines Are Not out to Get You: Making AI Work for Your Manufacturing Operation
You can hardly turn on a news or media channel these days without a reference to artificial intelligence (AI) and how it affects everyone. AI, alongside other core technologies from Industry 4.0, are already transforming many industries. For manufacturing, AI is poised to be no less impactful. AI as the driver of manufacturing operations is advancing rapidly, but despite its potential, there are…
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When You Don’t Know What’s Broken: Fighting Frightening Manufacturing Monsters
Bumps, clanks, hisses, and creaks. What’s that noise? In a manufacturing operation, just like a Halloween movie, these sounds are always scary. But sometimes, we don’t hear the sounds until they’ve jumped out at us, eliciting a haunted-house scream and a bit of embarrassment that we didn’t see it coming....
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What IIoT Can Do for Manufacturers
It’s no secret that the age of smart manufacturing is here and fully underway. Most industries are already leveraging the power of data-driven insights and the adoption of smart manufacturing platforms....
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Your Answer for Managing Major Manufacturing Disruption
In past decades, business continuity was mainly considered to respond to the dangers of natural disasters like fires, floods, or hurricanes. The dawn of the internet brought a new focus to continuity; it broadened its definition as companies raced to protect data from cyberattacks and breaches that could shut them down and leave them without critical information....
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How Risk and Complexity Are Linked in Manufacturing
Not all manufacturing is the same. Some finished goods take only a few steps and a little sub-processing before they’re ready for shipment. Others may require precision cuts and tight tolerances that bring them within requirements for more precise monitoring and equipment. And yet others are deeply derivative with multiple sub-processes, subtractive or additive processes, and complex assembly....
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A Guide to Process Automation
“Automation” means different things to different manufacturers, depending on the equipment, systems, and processes in place. But many companies only automate some of their processes, leaving others disconnected or with manual processes still in place....
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