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The Industrial revolution was a defining moment in the history of humankind. It was arguably the first and the only event that single-handedly increased the world’s population manifold times, boosted personal income, and rapidly fueled the economy of many nations. Since then, the world has seen enormous improvements in methods of manufacturing; from the assembly line to industrial robots, the sector has consistently challenged the status quo and developed better ways of production.
The Government
of India is ambitious and leaving no stone unturned in creating the best-in-class
manufacturing infrastructure which in turn, will develop a robust production-backed
economy. Presently 16 percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product comes from the manufacturing
sector. Prime Minister Modi’s “Make In India” initiative aims to provide an impetus
tothe manufacturing sector and to contribute 25 percent of India’s GDP through
this sector by 2025. If India’s communication revolution was the first wave, the
“Make In India” initiative is set to bring in the Second Wave. Given Pune’s
traditional tilt towards the manufacturing sector, this is all good news. Even
better news is that the sector seems set to transform even more. Here are some
of the path-breaking technologies which are making waves in the manufacturing
industry today:
Additive
Manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing has become the poster-boy of the manufacturing
industry in recent times. It instantly caught the fancy of people and elevated
itself to the ‘next big thing’ since the invention of the internet. Invented by
Chuck Hull in 1986, this technology is most helpful in rapid prototyping, where
a physical object is fabricated from a computer aided design (CAD) data. This
CAD file is created using a 3D modeling application or by using 3D scanners (to
duplicate an existing object). Within
the past few years, this technology has evolved so drastically that today it is
possible to make physical objects using metal, plastic and even mixed
materials. The economics of using this technology for mass production is not yet
viable at present, but the future is bright.
Internet of
Things
The Industrial Revolution
went through three phases until the 1950s. In words of Klaus Schwab, executive
Chairman of World Economic Forum, “A Fourth Industrial Revolution is building
on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle
of the last century “. Internet of Things (IoT) is the threshold to the
future, and all the advanced technology lies beyond this technological
threshold. Although ERP has been around for a while, feeding in precise and
objective data from various manufacturing units to the ERP circuit has been a
problem. IoT equips machines and devices with their own IP addresses which
return an unprecedented amount of data for processing. A fitting example would
be that of a cooling unit using up more that its rated energy consumption. With
IoT in place, the unit itself could carry out some detective work, deduce the
reason for its inefficient operation and make a note to the customer and the
maintenance team.
Nanotechnology
The first
generation of this technology has already arrived and is changing the face of
manufacturing in terms of product capabilities and cost efficiency. Nanotechnology
refers to the ability to control matters on a molecular scale. At nanoscale,
matters have unique physical and chemical properties that can be used or altered
to create a new application. For instance, ArcelorMittal has begun rolling out
a line of special steel that contains nanoparticles that enable them to make
lighter beams with similar strength as that of conventional steel.
Bio-Manufacturing:
Bio-manufacturing
refers to the production of bio-materials for use in food and beverage
industry, medicine and industrial applications. Today we are surrounded by
hundreds of bio-manufactured products but are unaware of their providence. Bio-manufactured
products are found in the culture of microbes, blood or naturally or
artificially produced plant and animal cells. A common example is amino acids
which are widely used in enzymes and protein supplements.
Honorable
mention: Micro-manufacturing
As the title
suggests, this is the production of extremely miniscule objects at production
facilities which possibly may fit in a large backyard. Micro-manufacturing is
the antonym of the bustling mega-factories spread across the Asian and American
industrial landscapes. A child of this technology is the tiny chiplet, no more
than the size of a grain that would make it easier, and more cost-efficient to
get the circuity to a device. Today, companies build large wafers with dies
that contain electronic circuitry. This is being researched and developed by
Xerox at its Palo Alto research facility. Presently, it is not viable to mass
produce it, but in few years’ time, this epoch-making technology could emerge
as the next generation tech in public eye.
With the advent
of such sophisticated manufacturing technologies, IT companies in Pune will also
find growing opportunities in providing the enabling and operating
ecosystem for these technologies to deliver impact. For instance, IoT connects
the physical world with the digital universe, and this communication can only be
facilitated by software that enables collecting the information that is fed in
through physical devices, organizing the data, analyzing and processing it and
further passing it on through applications that the end-user sees and interacts
with.
Today, we stand
on the brink of the future. With millions of dollars spent each year in
research and development of more sophisticated technologies, the future does
hold the promise of creating more efficient manufacturing facilities and
sustainable processes – and Pune will be watching with interest!
