Investigating the Potential of Smart Manufacturing Technologies

Over the past years, the topic of smart manufacturing has been in the focus of researchers and manufacturing experts. Smart manufacturing describes the technology-driven ability to solve existing and future problems in a collaborative manufacturing infrastructure, which responds in real-time to meet changing demands. However, many companies are still unsure what smart manufacturing entails and which potential (and challenges) it holds. To get an insight into the issues addressed, a technology laboratory for the development of innovative technologies and concepts for intelligent production along the product life cycle was established at University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. This paper offers an insight into the challenges and lessons learned from a 6-year research project where a subset of smart manufacturing technologies have been collaboratively investigated, including Mixed Reality, Additive Manufacturing and Predictive Maintenance. With our work, we want to support companies in better assessing the potential of smart manufacturing.