Three Advancements in Manufacturing Technology That Will Blow Your Mind

The future has arrived. Ever watch The Jetsons? In many ways, this animated T.V show’s vision of the future looks a lot like our world today. Unless you work in manufacturing, advancements in manufacturing technology may have changed your world without your noticing. Doubtful? These recent manufacturing advancements will show you how.

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Cobots

Collaborative Robots, or “cobots” for short, are machines that have been created to work alongside people on the manufacturing floor. These handy robot assistants can do work that would be time-consuming and potentially dangerous for a human worker to do. Whether your cobot is tending equipment or performing fiddly assembly tasks, these astounding machines enhance safety and productivity by working with rather than replacing ‘real’ manufacturing workers, whose role shifts away from repetitive tasks towards more skilled work. Designed to work in partnership, they create more specialized roles for humans within the manufacturing industry.

Smart Manufacture

Throughout the economy, industries are using data processing as one of the primary drivers of advancement. Think of your browsing data and the apps you use on your smartphone: your every move is monitored so that the service providers can make your experience more efficient. The manufacturing industry is no exception. Using data about the technical processes of manufacture to improve decision-making has seen the manufacturing industry advance in leaps and bounds.



The arrival on the manufacturing scene of more advanced CNC machines has made analytics and machine-learning capabilities more accessible. This technology enables manufacturers to utilize smart manufacturing practices to streamline productivity and vastly improve overall efficiency. Thanks to advancements in CNC machines, smaller manufacturing operations have improved productivity and efficiency so much that for the first time, they can compete with larger manufacturers. This means that the variety of goods on the market is no longer dictated by manufacturing giants, as even smaller players can bring a product to market.

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Cybersecurity

Technology has its pros and cons. One of the vulnerabilities created by rapid advancements in smart technology in the manufacturing space is the added opportunity for data hacking. Now more than ever, customer data is crucial for development. Small manufacturing businesses that take the responsibility of protecting their customer’s data seriously are using cutting edge cybersecurity to seal off their precious data. cybersecurity has become such an important pillar of manufacturing that many manufacturing industries have their own set standards for best practice. In order to operate within a given market, your organization must show that your cybersecurity credentials are up to scratch. Commercial supply chains awarded lucrative contracts are provided with a cybersecurity framework to guide their processes.

With such a strong focus on Silicon Valley, it’s easy to forget that the tech boom reaches far beyond new apps for your smartphone. The objects and products that we use in our daily lives are produced in ways we might never have imagined. Robots and cobots are no longer a vision of the future but a feature of the manufacturing world. And if these trends are any indication of the direction manufacturing is going, these fascinating machines are here to stay!