: There are numerous articles on the benefits of digitization for manufacturers, but less coverage on common mistakes and missteps to try and avoid. It was a topic that came up during conversations with system integrators at a recent trade show. The area of expertise for one of the integrators was around robotics, where he noted that …
: Digitization and computer vision are complementary technologies that can be used together to achieve efficiency for manufacturing, but what is the difference between the two, and why do you need both? Digitization refers to the process of converting analog information into a digital format, allowing for easy data transmission, manipulation, and storage. It utilizes technology to …
: 7 years is how long I have been involved with the term ‘manufacturing’. Sure, this may not be as long as others, yet it is long enough to understand that manufacturing can be interesting for a lifetime, logical enough to keep the brain sharp and will continue to be a critical component of every nation’s economy. …
: Throughout 2022, we’ve attended numerous manufacturing trade shows, including exhibiting, walking the floor, and speaking during educational or “state of the industry” panels. As a technology solutions provider, these are always great opportunities for us to get a first-hand, end-user view on challenges, requirements, and adoption hurdles. Two of the most significant takeaways for me from …
: The Canadian food & beverage industry has grown by 5% in 2021, 4.1% in 2022, and is expected to grow another 11.6% by the end of 2025 — yet according to Statistics Canada’s 2022 BDC Food and Beverage Industry Report, the Canadian manufacturers in the sector are substantially under-digitized. “The food industry has lagged behind other sectors …
: It’s no real secret, but the key to successful product development is listening to customers and understanding their pain points. The best products have continued to evolve to meet new and changing end-user needs. I’ll use mobile phones as a great example, where my first device untethered me from a wired desk phone and made me …
: Digital Transformation has become such a buzzword recently, especially for markets with high-value manufactured products and highly regulated industries. But, what is it about digital transformation that draws attention? Is it only the idea of digitizing all paper-based processes, or are people hungry for something deeper? For many manufacturers, digital traceability is the first item …
: Humans do an excellent job at visual inspection. We can spot differences, learn quickly, learn by example, and we are highly adaptable. Unfortunately, when we get tired, bored, or distracted, we tend to make mistakes. Because humans are so great at variation and adaptability many manufacturers rely on human inspection at key production points in …
: There is a No-code revolution happening, and it is happening everywhere. Within the school system students as young as kinder age are beginning to learn the foundations and concepts of “coding” — all without an actual requirement for a written line of code. No-code visual programming tools are used in schools, thanks to concepts like MIT Scratch (ScratchJr: …
: “I want the best of both worlds.” I don’t think Sammy Hagar was singing about machine vision and AI while fronting Van Halen (as a second-rate replacement for David Lee Roth, but that’s a topic for a whole other blog), but it’s a hot topic for manufacturers. Undoubtedly, there’s a lot of hype around AI. …