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Valves are ever-present in various industries and can be found everywhere. Valves are one of the most-used devices across industries. They are able to maintain a major prevalence in factories, workplaces, and homes. The technological advancements and internet pervasiveness will soon influence the valve industry. The universality of the internet will promote the development of the valve industry through the advent of smart manufacturing.
Smart manufacturing can make drastic changes in the valve industry within the incoming decade. Industries using valves will also need a major overhaul to adapt to the changing technology. Certain markets would need a superior valve innovation as their operations widen and grow.
What is Smart Manufacturing?
Smart manufacturing is one of the categories under the manufacturing industry. Smart manufacturing is mainly utilizing computer-integrated manufacturing and adopting fast design changes using digital information technology. Its production depends on the supply and demand chain. Smart manufacturing also uses simulation, network sensors, and automation. The most common industries using smart manufacturing are advanced robotics, data processors, and industrial connectivity devices.
Smart manufacturing operations are driven by newer technological approaches. It uses machinery that is connected to the internet to monitor the production process. The main goal of smart manufacturing is to automate operations and use data analytics to refine manufacturing processes.
Smart Manufacturing Utilizes the ‘Internet of Things’ to Function
Smart manufacturing uses the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or simply the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is a system that makes up various computing devices, digital machines, or mechanical objects. Each of the components are given with unique identifiers that enable them to transmit or transfer data to a network automatically without the need for human intervention.
Manufacturing machines have embedded sensors that collect and monitor data regarding their performance and operational status. Previously, the data and information were kept in the databases of each device. Before smart manufacturing became known, the data would only be assessed when the machine failed or encountered issues.
Through the analysis of the data extracted from the factory’s machines, analysts can determine the components that might fail. This analysis can aid preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance would avoid downtimes due to untimely equipment failures, saving time and money.
Smart manufacturing can identify which areas slow down the production and what causes the inefficiency of work areas. Manufacturers also analyze the trends through the data they collected. The data collected can help in running simulations that can identify a more efficient process of manufacturing products.
Smart manufacturing is becoming more common due to the increase of IoT’s usage. More machines are networked using IoTs, enabling better communication and automation while keeping the needed data.
Challenges of Smart Manufacturing
Smart manufacturing is fairly new which leads to a lack of standards in its application. The technical standards for smart manufacturing and sensor data are not broadly accepted. This prevents machines from sharing any data, hampering the machines to effectively communicate with other equipment.
Smart Manufacturing in the Valve Industry
One of the beneficiaries of smart manufacturing is the valve industry. The IoT connects millions of sensors that detect the level, pressure, flow, vibration, temperature, and the equipment’s position while the IoT is in operation. Smart manufacturing uses the system to have a collaborative manufacturing system.
Smart manufacturing enables machines to respond quickly and in real-time. The widespread of this manufacturing is titled as the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the valve industry. The connection of valves to the IoT can be monitored and analyzed properly to control or regulate the piping systems.
The technology used by smart manufacturing has been around for quite some time. Valves are present in the nuclear industry. Sensors fitted on any machinery in the nuclear industry detect the status of the valves in the power plants. Due to smart manufacturing, there is no need for frequent human intervention to check on the valve status. The device reads the data and the data comes back for analysts to study. This is applied to the pilot-operated relief valve.
Importance of Smart Manufacturing in the Valve Industry
Smart manufacturing can greatly help in producing high-quality valves. Various industries utilize the most common of valves such as the check, ball, gate, and butterfly valves. Manufacturers utilizing smart manufacturing can create more indispensable and durable valves. Manufacturers like China’s Huamei Machinery who specializes in valve production can greatly benefit from smart manufacturing. An example is when Huamei high-performance butterfly valves are further polished through smart manufacturing. Smart manufacturing will create a faster manufacturing process and producing more units to supply the valve demand in the market.
Smart manufacturing not only allows machinery to communicate but also provides predictive data. A survey taken from industrial leaders sees that the most important factor of smart manufacturing is predictive data. Analytics will be a critical factor for the growth of smart manufacturing in the valve industry.
Smart manufacturing can help avoid catastrophe
A valve used in a nuclear power plant is detected to be malfunctioning through smart manufacturing, maintenance, and preventive fixtures that can be made to avoid disaster.
The given example regarding the nuclear power plant is a grand example of the importance of smart manufacturing. Smart manufacturing can provide predictive data which means it can also detect other early problems in other valves that can be fixed right away. Its ability to provide predictive data avoids a bigger problem when the device is left unchecked.
The materials and valve quality are also significant in the industry. Smart manufacturing does not aim to replace the materials and quality used to determine a good valve. Smart manufacturing does not necessarily mean that the actual quality of the valves and the materials that comprise them will become insignificant.
The aforementioned survey indicated that the quality of metals along with other materials and levels of production is due to advance during the same period as more sensors are installed. Smart manufacturing will be built off on the improvement in quality and durability to enhance the usage of the valves and their performance.
Conclusion
Data analytics produced by smart manufacturing will become an essential factor in the growth of the valve industry. As data usage grows across industrial practices, it will become an important instrument to valve manufacturers in producing updated designs and motivates the product lines. The upgraded manufacturing process would mean that valves across industries will be more efficient and long-lasting.
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