Automated Machine Tool Feedback in an Industry 4.0 World

 

Industry 4.0 is on everyone’s lips in manufacturing right now, but with that buzz comes a fair amount of intimidation.

Some of the bigger players are already rolling with fully autonomous setups and industrial Internet of Things devices. What about smaller manufacturers, though? For them, Scott Mahrle said, a perfect first step can be to explore automated machine tool feedback.

“I think that, when you start talking about Industry 4.0, a lot of people get intimidated, because they have the feeling that this is something we need to be doing. A lot of companies have set up departments whose responsibility it is to implement Industry 4.0 concepts,” said Mahrle, Director of Business Development for Q-DAS and Hexagon Integrated Solutions. “At the same time, you hear about a lot of companies having trouble getting started.”

“I think the attractiveness of a simple solution like automated machine tool feedback is it lets you take a small step in the direction of Industry 4.0 – a small step toward autonomous systems and greater automation. You are automating a process you’re currently relying on human beings to be responsible for, and, by automating it, you know you’re going to get all the advantages.”

It can be especially helpful in large plants with lots of space, which often have many operators on both the gauging and machining side and lots of physical space between them.

“There, the machine tool feedback has really helped by making sure the data is collected correctly and moved to the right machine destination automatically so that stuff doesn’t get swapped by accident – [sometimes], parts get dropped off at the gauge, and somebody thinks that part came from a different machine,” said Frank Krazer, Systems Engineer at Hexagon. “The whole automated feedback process, collecting the data and organizing it, is really helpful there. That really helps with the efficiency and reducing the amount of errors we’re getting between machines.”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Education R&D
Will the New Education R&D Bill Spark the Innovation Schools Desperately Need?
April 25, 2025

In a rare show of bipartisan cooperation, Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) have introduced the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act, aimed at revolutionizing how the U.S. invests in education innovation. The bill proposes a new National Center for Advanced Development in Education—akin to DARPA but for schools—within the Institute for…

Read More
How Verizon Business Utilizes UGC for Sales Enablement
How Verizon Business Utilizes UGC for Sales Enablement
April 24, 2025

In this episode of UGC for B2B, host David Dabney welcomes Cesar Teran, Verizon’s Sales Enablement Lead for Channel, to explore how user-generated content (UGC) is transforming training and team engagement at Verizon Business. Cesar shares the journey of introducing UGC into Verizon’s training initiatives, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, collaboration, and celebrating contributions….

Read More
digital freight invoicing
ODeX Is Leading the Charge in Digital Freight Invoicing
April 24, 2025

Global shipping continues to grapple with fragmented billing processes, often delaying cargo movement. According to McKinsey, adopting an electronic bill of lading could save $6.5 billion in direct costs and enable $40 billion in global trade. As vessels carry goods for thousands of shippers per voyage, the administrative burden of managing and reconciling invoices…

Read More
Human Intelligence Movement
Just Thinking… about Reimagining Education for the AI Era with the Human Intelligence Movement
April 24, 2025

As artificial intelligence reshapes education, work, and daily life, educators are grappling with how to prepare students for a future where human skills—not just knowledge—will be paramount. In fact, a growing number of reports highlight that employers increasingly value collaboration, communication, and emotional intelligence over memorized content. Amid this transformation, the Human Intelligence Movement…

Read More