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Smart Manufacturing
Plex Manufacturing Blog
When You Don’t Know What’s Broken: Fighting Frightening Manufacturing Monsters
Bumps, clanks, hisses, and creaks. What’s that noise? In a manufacturing operation, just like a Halloween movie, these sounds are always scary. But sometimes, we don’t hear the sounds until they’ve jumped out at us, eliciting a haunted-house scream and a bit of embarrassment that we didn’t see it coming....
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What IIoT Can Do for Manufacturers
It’s no secret that the age of smart manufacturing is here and fully underway. Most industries are already leveraging the power of data-driven insights and the adoption of smart manufacturing platforms....
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Your Answer for Managing Major Manufacturing Disruption
In past decades, business continuity was mainly considered to respond to the dangers of natural disasters like fires, floods, or hurricanes. The dawn of the internet brought a new focus to continuity; it broadened its definition as companies raced to protect data from cyberattacks and breaches that could shut them down and leave them without critical information....
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How Risk and Complexity Are Linked in Manufacturing
Not all manufacturing is the same. Some finished goods take only a few steps and a little sub-processing before they’re ready for shipment. Others may require precision cuts and tight tolerances that bring them within requirements for more precise monitoring and equipment. And yet others are deeply derivative with multiple sub-processes, subtractive or additive processes, and complex assembly....
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A Guide to Process Automation
“Automation” means different things to different manufacturers, depending on the equipment, systems, and processes in place. But many companies only automate some of their processes, leaving others disconnected or with manual processes still in place....
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How Is Automation Changing the Manufacturing Sector?
Automation in manufacturing is constantly evolving. Manufacturers all over the world are using automation to improve the efficiency of processes, reduce the complexity of managing modern supply chains, and combat the skilled worker shortage. In conjunction with adding levels of automation to streamline the business, manufacturers are turning to once-hyped technologies to accelerate process…
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How Smart Manufacturing Platforms Empower Sustainability
There’s no denying that more and more manufacturers are embracing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives with aims to improve both performance and accountability. Naturally, these efforts often center around sustainability. While we’re a long way from closed-loop manufacturing, sustainability efforts gain return value to companies in areas like waste, material usage, supply…
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The Benefits of ESG Initiatives in Manufacturing
Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and (Corporate) Governance (ESG) policy is growing in importance across all industries, and especially in manufacturing. The public concerns around climate change, social justice, corporate responsibility – including increased regulations, emission reductions, and responsible governance – are increasingly driving more businesses to take action....
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Don’t Let Digital Connectivity Be Your Nightclub Bouncer
Whether in person or on television, most of us have seen a glitzy nightclub with strict entry requirements. One with a large bouncer in a blazer and a velvet rope, where those wishing access must have a spot on “the list.” With it, you’re special and allowed to enter. Without it, you’re standing in a line to nowhere and it’ll be a long night....
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Using a Smart Manufacturing Platform for System Consolidation
Manufacturers have a lot of pressure on their shoulders. Traditional software solutions sought to relieve that pressure by automating processes, reducing labor-intensive tasks, and optimizing performance efficiency for specific disciplines. That system of disparate software worked to improve efficiency - until one day it didn't. So, what changed? The most significant change was the technological…
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