Hitachi Launches the Systems to Automatically Generate Optimized Production Schedules and 3D Work Instructions as a Solution ...
2017年10月18日 - 9:48AM
JCN Newswire (英)
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) today announced that as of November of
2017, the company will launch the "factory simulator" to
automatically generate optimized production schedules for entire
factories, and the "assembly navigation system" to automatically
generate 3D work instructions based on 3D CAD data. These systems
are made possible by using the IoT(1) to link a large variety of
information.
These systems strengthen the lineup of the industrial solution
cores of the IoT platform "Lumada", and it will follow the
"progress and operation monitoring system" and the "kaizen activity
(work improvement) support system", which were launched by Hitachi
in July of this year. By introducing these new systems, the
production lead times in high-mix low-volume of manufacturing
plants can be shortened.
In recent years, due to escalations in global competition and
diversifications of customer needs in the manufacturing industry,
customers have been looking for mass customization that offers the
same level of high quality afforded by high-volume production, even
from manufacturing plants that operate on high-mix low-volume
production. In manufacturing floors, production schedules are
repeatedly changed whenever there are changes such as to deadlines
and the volume of orders. The problem lies in figuring out how to
improve production by optimizing the entire series of processes,
from receipt of an order to the design, procurement, manufacture,
inspection, and shipment of the product.
In response, in October of 2016, Hitachi established a
highly-effective production model using the IoT in Omika Works in
order to resolve the problems faced by the facility and optimize
the entire process. The lead times for producing representative
products(2) were shortened by approximately 50%.
The technology introduced to Omika Works was used and commodified,
and a large variety of information concerning production processes,
such as information about customers and manufacturing floors, was
aggregated. The result was the production of two systems. The first
system, the factory simulator, automatically generates optimized,
medium to long-term production schedules that take into account
issues such as the production capabilities and workload of the
entire facility, and sudden changes to deadlines and the volume of
orders. The second system, the assembly navigation system, converts
3D CAD data to 3D work instructions, and automatically generates
assembly instructions for products.
System overview
1) Factory simulator
This system automatically generates medium to long-term production
schedules that look at the entire production process (from the
receipt of an order to the design, procurement, manufacture,
inspection, and shipment of the product) to take into account the
specifications and deadline of the product, and the production
capabilities and workload of the entire facility. As a result,
production schedules are remade to conform to changes in items such
as customer deadlines and the volume of orders, and estimating the
deadlines of orders before it is received becomes easy. The amount
of time required by production managers for planning and
procurement can be drastically reduced, and inventory assets can be
scaled down by reducing loss costs and work-in-progress
inventories.
Specifically, information about the production progress of each
process in the facility, and information related to customer
deadlines and the volume of orders, is collected. Based on this
information and information such as production schedules for other
products, the production capabilities of each process, and
workloads, unique simulations (loading(3) / work leveling(4)) using
the basic unit(5) are performed to allow production schedules for
which the workload for each process is leveled to be automatically
generated.
In addition, by remaking production schedules to conform to the
status of the production progress, procurement plans that are
optimized to minimize the work in progress in the facility can be
automatically generated. Examples of issues that cause the status
of the production progress to change include delays, overplanning,
and changes to items such as customer deadlines and the volume of
orders. By applying and implementing these plans, the entire
facility can be optimized.
In a regular production scheduler, a BOM(6) must be created and the
schedule must be managed. However, creating a BOM is difficult when
a large number of different products are handled or when the parts
to use are not specified. Even if a facility faces these issues, by
using a factory simulator instead of a BOM, simple and accurate
production schedules can be automatically generated by analyzing
similar products by their category and using a basic unit for which
the parts to be used do not need to be defined.
http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_HitachiFactorySimulator.jpg
Factory simulator
2) Assembly navigation system
This system automatically converts completed pieces of 3D CAD data
created during the design phase into 3D work Instructions, which
allows the manufacturing floors' workers to gain intuitive
understanding of the information.
In general, engineers create working drawings based on the 3D CAD
data, and the manufacturing floors' workers follow those working
drawings to perform their work. Manufacturing floors in which a
large number of different products are handled need working
drawings for each type of product, and have to re-create working
drawings whenever the specifications change.
This results in a lot of work for engineers. In addition, the
manufacturing floors' workers have to take time to interpret and
understand the technical working drawings created by engineers,
which keeps productivity from being improved.
The assembly navigation system can improve productivity, reduce the
work required by manufacturing floors' workers to interpret working
drawings, and reduce the work required by engineers to create
working drawings, by automatically generating 3D work instructions
that are intuitively understandable.
Specifically, this system incorporates the design and structure
information from the completed piece of 3D CAD data, analyzes the
order and movements used to disassemble the product by using a
unique algorithm, automatically generates 3D work instructions to
assemble the product in an appropriate order, and then provides the
procedure to the manufacturing floors. As a result, manufacturing
floors' workers can perform their tasks without needing to refer to
more than one page, the time required to interpret the order for
assembling a product from the working drawings is shortened, and
variations in the work and the quality among manufacturing floors'
workers are reduced. In addition, this system saves the time of
engineers when creating work instructions. The 3D work instructions
also indicate cautionary notes necessary for performing the tasks,
such as notes on applying grease or on the number of torques to be
tightened, which can help stabilize the quality of products.
http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_HitachiAssemblyNavigationSystem.jpg
Assembly navigation system
The IoT platform "Lumada", which is the basis of these systems,
utilizes OSS(7). "Lumada" also provides functions ranging from
"Pentaho" (which enables the integration, visualization, and
analysis of various types of data) to functions that are open,
intelligent, composable, and secure. Moreover, these systems can
quickly perform prototyping for the use of customer data and
hypothesis verifications by employing the digital solution,
cloud-type Collaborative Creation environment "Lumada Competency
Center".
Hitachi provides consulting services for manufacturing floors and
offers one-stop service ranging from identifying the challenges
faced by customers to the installing systems. From November, 2017,
Hitachi will expand the range of consulting services applicable to
the production design phase, and assist the implementation of
modular designs(8) to improve productivity and the quality of the
engineer's work.
(1) IoT: Internet of Things
(2) Representative product: The control device for the power and
social industry sectors, which account for about 20% of total
production at Omika Works
(3) Loading: Piling up workloads sequentially by period
(4) Work leveling: Creating a production plan that matches the
production capacity
(5) Basic unit: Item for which standards such as production
procedures, standard operation time, and amountof resource
consumption, have been established
(6) BOM: Bill of Materials (table of component structure)
(7) OSS: Open Source Software
(8) Modular designs: Designs that strive to promote standardization
of components (parts) to reduce mutual dependency, thereby
shortening the time needed for adjustments during the design and
manufacturing processes
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers
innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team
and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated
revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761
billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on
the Social Innovation Business, which includes power &
infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication
systems, construction machinery, high functional materials &
components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more
information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at
www.hitachi.com.
Source: Hitachi, Ltd.
Contact:
Hitachi Ltd
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-3258-1111
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