Being A Digital Machine Shop Matters

Leading edge machine shops, who wish to stay ahead of competition in Cost, Quality & Time, are adopting Industry 4.0 technology to integrate disconnected processes. This approach not only eliminates problems caused by the lack of data integration, but also creates new capabilities.

- Aaditya Vidyarthi

Aerospace manufacturing has been always a challenge for variety of reasons. With disruptions in supply chain across the world, India is being re-looked as a manufacturing destination. Our collective response to this question of scaling up Aerospace Manufacturing, will determine whether we will be leading or continue to being relegated to a follower status in the global arena.

Globally aerospace manufacturing has three distinct identifiers - High Technical Complexity, Low Production Rate and Higher Quality Standards. Profitability is never an issue if we can control the above three aspects with continuous orders. One of the earlier challenges was high barrier of entry related to Technology and Cost, and this prevented many new entrants to join the aerospace manufacturing.

Advancements in technology landscape have led to disruptive changes in the manufacturing industry. Digital technology has allowed companies, irrespective of their size, to scale up the technology at lower cost points. Digital Twins and Digital Threads have enabled companies to ensure Traceability and Scalability of operations.

Unfortunately, at traditionally run machine shops, the knowledge resides in spreadsheets and multiple software systems and is shared among process owners on USB drives, paper and other uncontrolled file systems. Worse, some of the most vital knowledge is “stored” in the minds of manufacturing experts who carry it home with them each evening. Many times this is lost when a person quits or retires from a company.