Nokia's "conscious factory in a box" concept anticipates fast-changing manufacturing needs of the future
February 23 2018 - 3:01AM
23 February 2018
Espoo, Finland - A Nokia-led group of 12 electronics industry
players today unveiled the "factory in a box" concept, showing how
manufacturers can stay ahead of the demands of Industry 4.0 through
agile production that can be packed, transported and brought back
into service in a matter of hours.
The group, which started working on the concept in the summer of
2017, aimed to build a single electronics manufacturing line using
cargo containers that can be moved to locations as demand dictates.
Collaboration was driven by the expected changes in manufacturing
sparked by Industry 4.0, including cloud-based solutions, robotics
and new electronic manufacturing IoT solutions, all of which will
demand greater agility and flexibility from manufacturers.
Potential use cases include:
- Building for 'country of origin' requirements - The
container can be driven to a location, build the required volume,
and then be moved again as needed.
- New product introduction - With new products, time to
market is a competitive advantage. By moving the "factory in a box"
to partners, prototyping can be quickly done and fixes quickly
performed and tested.
- Disaster recovery - When a site is hit by a natural
disaster, business continuity plans kick in but can take time. With
a spare portable factory, critical customer orders can still be
achieved in a timely manner.
In late 2017, the project took a step forward at Nokia's Digital
Creativity Lab opening in Munich, where a cargo container with a
collaborative robot assembly station was packed, moved to a new
location by truck, then restarted within hours at the new location
where small Lego cars were assembled, proving the precision of the
machines.
The final step in the proof of concept was achieved on February
9, 2018, when full electronic manufacturing of a printed circuit
board and robotic assembly and testing took place. The group -
Nokia, Beta Layout, DHL, Fuji, HARTING, Isel, isoloc, MTEK
Consulting, Mycronic, Rehm Thermal Systems, Viscom, and 42Q - now
plans to demonstrate this full capability at the Hanover Messe in
April 2018.
The companies contributed the following:
- Nokia: wireless communication for the solution, as well
as experience in deploying Industry 4.0 solutions in its own
operations
- Beta Layout: support with the PCB
- DHL: leading transportation know-how
- Fuji: SMT manufacturing technology
- HARTING: RFID solution for tracking, tracing and
production control
- Isel: workstation support with specialized pallets
- Isoloc: motion softening solution
- MTEK Consulting: operational expertise and robotics
- Mycronic: high-speed jet printing and jet
dispensing
- Rehm Thermal Systems: PCB soldering
- Viscom: optical inspections
- 42Q: cloud-based manufacturing execution system
"These factories are perfectly suited to meet regional and
innovation startup requirements, and can be as large as needed to
meet build requirements by simply adding additional containers to
the location," said Grant Marshall, head of Supply Network and
Engineering in Nokia Operations. "This is a new business model
Nokia would like to offer to its customers, and we are ready to
experiment with this PoC with our first customers in 2018."
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