NOVEMBER 2023AUTOTECHOUTLOOK.COM8IN MY OPINIONAdvanced Manufacturing (AM), also known as Industry 4.0, is more than just a collection of technologies designed to help manufacturers maintain their leadership in the face of new competition. It is a strategic initiative aimed at promoting the informatization of manufacturing and the integration of data.Three key concepts that drove the development of AM are:DifferentiationOne of the concepts that drove the path to advanced manufacturing was the search for differentiation, to the eyes of users, of products and services they would consume.Taking the automotive industry as an example, new automotive manufacturing plants would be designed to meet an increased responsiveness capacity instead of a high production capacity, i.e., companies could produce cars to customer specifications and respond quickly to changes in demand. So, the differentiation had to be achieved without putting too much pressure on the production costs, using flexibilization as a key trend.From the customer's perspective, they would receive something that almost meets their requirements as a tailor-made product, which seems exclusive.FlexibilizationFlexibilization of processes became a very important concept and helped drive the path to the AM. To be able to adapt its manufacturing processes and its workforce to meet customer demands was also something that would propel the need for new concepts in the production processes. Being more flexible in production also means that the product must be designed in such a way that it becomes easier to, through flexibilization, achieve a certain level of differentiation in the eyes of the consumers.By Douglas Pedro de Alcantara, Chief Technology Officer, ROMI S.A WHAT IS BEHIND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING?
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