Throughout the history of world industrial development, scientific and technological innovation has always been an important force to promote profound changes in the production and lifestyle of human society. From the “steam engine age” of the first industrial revolution to the “electrification age” of the second industrial revolution, and then Up to the “Information Age” of the third industrial revolution, the pursuit is to promote the development of human productivity and meet human needs for a better life.
Entering the 21st century, the rapid development of information technologies such as the Internet, cloud computing, and big data has promoted the strategic breakthrough of artificial intelligence technology, which has become one of the core technologies of the new round of technological revolution. The deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and advanced manufacturing technology has formed intelligent manufacturing technology, which has become the core driving force of the fourth round of the industrial revolution. The breakthrough and wide application of the new generation of intelligent manufacturing will reshape the technological system, production mode, and industrial form of the manufacturing industry, and realize the fourth industrial revolution.
1. Internal factors for the development of intelligent manufacturing equipment
The development of productive forces has always been a decisive factor in the development of human society, and the progress of modern science and technology has increased the speed of development and change of human productive forces. Through the integration and deep integration of advanced manufacturing technology, information technology and intelligent technology, intelligent manufacturing equipment will realize the leap-forward development of the productivity of human society. Since the last century, people’s attention to the level of productivity development has mainly focused on the automation of the production process. The increase in the degree of automation has greatly liberated the manual labor in the production process.
However, as human beings demand higher production capacity, production quality and production efficiency, more and more production problems require more mental work to make decisions. Such as extreme manufacturing, ultra-precision processing, high-speed and efficient processing, green manufacturing considering sustainable development issues, etc., are all manufacturing problems that cannot be solved by traditional techniques and mature experience, and intelligent processing equipment is urgently needed to complete them.
1) Extreme manufacturing system problems
As human society continues to challenge extreme conditions such as deep space and deep sea, various extreme manufacturing problems have become the main direction of human productivity development. Such as the one-time molding of large space station cabins; the precision forging of high-strength and super-large components used in deep-sea exploration submersibles; the overall structural parts and their precision welding of 10,000-ton large ships; aircraft manufacturing and hot rolling units Manufacturing and other complex giant system manufacturing problems, etc.
In such extreme conditions, a large number of overall thin-walled structures and complex curved surface structures are often used to meet the extreme service performance requirements of parts. This kind of production problem has high manufacturing costs, complicated manufacturing processes, and expensive trial and error. It is necessary to obtain as much experience and data as possible under limited experimental conditions. Therefore, manufacturing equipment needs to have strong data collection and analysis capabilities. Through real-time tracking and collection of production process data, equipment operating status, workpiece processing quality, and material stress, strain, and other data, combined with physical information systems, correct values Simulation and simulation to achieve effective data analysis and prediction, thereby reducing trial and error costs and improving production capacity.
At the same time, scientists are constantly creating products with new structures and new functions through the excavation of micro-scale material structures and properties and breakthroughs in manufacturing technology. The new nano-manufacturing process needs to integrate nearly billions of electron tubes on a chip of 1 square centimeter; based on the atomic-scale additive manufacturing technology, the heart that can “beat” and the “breathing” function can be assembled through the controllable assembly of macromolecules. Artificial organs such as lung airbags; the quantum computer “Nine Chapters” built by scientists can process “Gaussian Bose sampling” one hundred trillion times faster than the fastest supercomputer; ultra-precision grinding technology has improved the surface processing quality of parts Atomic scales down to the picometer level.
At present, manufacturing technology has gradually entered the picometer-level manufacturing at the atomic and near-atomic scale from millimeter-scale hand-manufacturing to micro- and nano-scale machine manufacturing, which requires a new generation with higher perception capabilities, innovation-driven control, and artificial intelligence. Technology intelligent manufacturing equipment to achieve.
2) Complex process problems of difficult-to-machine materials
For the complex process of some difficult-to-machine materials, such as the ultra-precision machining of silicon nitride ceramic balls that meet the requirements of extreme working conditions, the material hardness reaches 2840-3320kg/mm2, and the machining accuracy and surface quality are very high. Generally, it can only be ground in the flexible flow channel of complex mixed diamond abrasives, and there are more than 40 process conditions that affect the processing accuracy. With the help of advanced sensor and detection technology, some of the most important process parameters can be extracted through big data analysis and artificial intelligence methods, which requires a new generation of grinding machines to have a higher level of intelligence.
As for the complex processing technology of hard and brittle stone sculpture products, the material composition and structure are complex, each stone has different process characteristics, and the processing parameters of each process will have a greater impact on the tool. With the help of real-time monitoring of the processing process and accurate prediction of the digital model, the process path and parameters can be continuously optimized.
For difficult-to-machine materials such as high-temperature alloys, titanium alloys, high-strength steels, and composite materials, during high-speed cutting, the cutting temperature is high, the tool wear is serious, and the parts are deformed and vibrated during the manufacturing process. Machining accuracy and surface integrity It is difficult to guarantee that complex engineering problems such as nonlinearity, time variation, large strain, high strain rate, high temperature, high pressure, and multi-field coupling of the cutting process must be fully considered, all of which require intelligent manufacturing equipment to have efficient and reliable detection, analysis, and control ability.
3) High-speed and efficient green manufacturing issues
“Strive to achieve carbon peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060” is a major development strategic decision determined by the Chinese government, which is related to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. “Promoting technological and industrial transformation to accelerate the evolution towards informatization, digitalization, and intelligence” is the main strategic direction.
The high-speed, efficient, and green manufacturing process of cutting technology is not a pure geometric manufacturing process, but a typical physical manufacturing process with the strong coupling of force and heat. Materials science, elastic-plastic mechanics, fracture mechanics, heat transfer, kinematics, dynamics, and tribology are involved in the cutting process, various physical phenomena in the cutting process such as cutting force, cutting heat, cutting vibration, and tool wear, etc., are closely related to the processing system composed of the workpiece, tool, machine tool, and fixture.
Factors such as manufacturing error, tool wear, force deformation, heat deformation, positioning error, and measurement error of the processing system will directly affect the processing quality of the part. In the process of intelligent cutting and processing, by combining advanced sensors and detection technology, data technology, intelligent algorithms, and machine tool motion control, real-time monitoring and dynamic control of cutting processing status and surface quality are realized, which requires intelligent manufacturing equipment to have real-time detection and analysis capabilities, data transmission and sharing capabilities, and the ability to respond accurately and quickly to control decisions.
4) Intelligentization of discrete manufacturing mode
Discrete manufacturing is the main production method of most industrial products. Discrete manufacturing products are often assembled from multiple parts through a series of discontinuous processes. These parts are often produced by different departments of the same factory or different factories. Production is completed. Discrete manufacturing enterprises often produce related and irrelevant products of more varieties and series. The production process is a complex process composed of different parts processing sub-processes or parallel or serial connections, and the process contains more changes. and uncertainties.
Therefore, the production capacity of a discrete manufacturing enterprise is mainly determined by the rational allocation of processing elements. The management level of the enterprise and the ability to collect and use data have become the core competitiveness of the development of a discrete manufacturing enterprise. These data include both products and their product structure, Production data closely related to products such as process routes, material information, production scheduling, and quality management, as well as production factors such as production management, financial management, and human resource management.
Modern discrete manufacturing enterprises need to use means such as industrial Internet, cloud manufacturing, and artificial intelligence to gather data such as material flow, information flow, and control flow within the enterprise and between enterprises in the production process, so as to integrate the enterprise’s people, Finance, material, production, supply and marketing and corresponding logistics, information flow, capital flow, management flow, value-added flow, etc. are closely integrated to realize resource optimization and sharing, so that the operation of enterprises will develop in the direction of refinement and intelligence.
5) Intelligentization of process industry production process
Process industries such as petroleum, chemical industry, steel, non-ferrous metals, building materials, and electronics are facing problems such as low comprehensive resource utilization, high energy consumption, and serious environmental pollution, especially in process industries involving frequent changes in raw materials and drastic fluctuations in working conditions; The production process involves physical and chemical reactions, and the mechanism is complex; and the production process is continuous and cannot be stopped. Any problem in any process will inevitably affect the entire production line and the final product quality.
The process industry urgently needs real-time and comprehensive testing of raw material composition, equipment status, process parameters, and product quality to realize efficient and green production processes, production processes, and intelligent manufacturing model changes in production processes.
By combining industrial resources such as complex industrial process control, whole process operation monitoring and management big data; enterprise operation management and decision-making, production management and decision-making big data; process research experiment big data and other industrial resources with artificial intelligence technology, knowledge-based work intelligence is realized, with the help of the close integration and collaboration of computer and communication technology and the physical resources of the process industry, the intelligent optimization of the production process and the intelligent optimization of the production process are realized.
2. External factors for the development of intelligent manufacturing equipment
Standardized large-scale production has greatly enriched people’s material life. While pursuing more individual needs, people also hope to obtain better user experience and realize more creative labor creation. Focusing on human development and needs is intelligent manufacturing equipment. The main focus of product and technology development.
1) Diversified individual needs
With the widespread satisfaction of popular functional needs, people’s demand for products has begun to develop toward diversified individual needs that coexist with functions and cultural values. Consumers are no longer passive, and the targeted positioning of customers and markets is more subdivided.
From consumer goods to production tools, mass customization has become the mainstream production mode in the manufacturing industry. Mass customization production is a kind of integration of enterprises, customers, suppliers, and the environment. Under the guidance of system thinking, with the idea of overall optimization, making full use of the existing resources of the enterprise, standardization technology, modern design methodology, and information With the support of advanced technology and advanced manufacturing technology, according to the individual needs of customers, through modularization, platformization, configuration design, and variant design technologies, the final product can achieve comprehensive optimization between external diversification and internal diversification. , a production method that provides customized products and services with low cost, high quality and high efficiency in mass production.
If a very small number of products are to be manufactured quickly, efficiently, and at low cost, the manufacturing mode must be dynamic intelligent control of the whole process and life of design, collaboration, preparation, manufacturing, testing, logistics, consumption, scrap, and recycling. Objects, organizations, individuals, The seamless network connection of services, and so on can cope with it. If the product is to be completed with the direct or indirect participation of consumers, it needs to have the ability to collect and analyze the experience of product users in a timely manner.
The development of communication technologies such as 5G has greatly enriched the statistical analysis methods of the Internet + big data + artificial intelligence. New manufacturing technologies such as flexible manufacturing systems and 3D printing have demonstrated unique advantages in customized production. Intelligent manufacturing equipment It reflects the ability to respond quickly to diverse individual needs.
2) Higher quality production service
The service economy has become one of the main trends in global industrial development. Its core is to increase the added value of production, and high-quality services can bring additional value to enterprises. The deep integration of manufacturing and services makes economic growth more and more dependent on the creation of user-perceived value. The focus of product value creation is changing from the manufacturing process to the customer’s use process and demand satisfaction process, which leads to the redistribution of the value proportion of manufacturing and service in the product life cycle.
Products provide users with more added value through service-added services, attracting users to participate in collaborative innovation of product configuration and service models, overflowing more user-perceived value, and becoming an important means for manufacturing to create differentiated competitive advantages. Manufacturing companies need to strengthen services In order to continuously seek new profit points through transformation and collaborative innovation.
The application of big data in the full life cycle of products has brought new opportunities for the improvement and optimization of the entire life cycle management of the manufacturing industry: With the development of the Internet and 5G communication technology, user experience and needs can be aggregated to the production and service ends in a timely manner, thereby improving Product update iteration speed;
The development of industrial Internet and cloud manufacturing enables “manufacturing as a service” to be realized faster, and the servitization of distributed manufacturing resources and capabilities provides the possibility for social integration, sharing, and use; green products based on product life cycle management Recycling and remanufacturing technologies create new value for sustainable development. The new generation of intelligent equipment with the main technical features of the Internet of Things, product-embedded information devices, and smart sensors has greatly promoted the development of the manufacturing industry from automation to service and intelligence.
3) More valuable labor creation
By substituting human repetitive physical and mental labor, industrial automation improves the average labor productivity of society and enables people to create more labor value.
The advancement of technology has promoted a new round of industrial transformation in the manufacturing field. The new generation of information technology represented by the Internet, big data, and cloud computing are integrated with traditional industries. The manufacturing industry is showing a new direction, with intelligence, networking, and intelligent manufacturing with digitalization, servitization, and greening as its core features have become a major trend in the development of the manufacturing industry. The proposal of intelligent manufacturing is the inevitable result of the accumulation of technological innovation to a certain extent, and it is a manufacturing model gradually formed by the manufacturing industry after a long period of evolution and integration based on its internal development logic.
Intelligent manufacturing is a synthesis of various advanced manufacturing modes such as integrated manufacturing, lean production, agile manufacturing, virtual manufacturing, digital manufacturing, and networked manufacturing. Mutual identification, real-time interaction, and information integration with resources have changed the way of design, manufacture, management, and service in traditional manufacturing. The application of intelligent manufacturing is expected to reduce the dependence of the production and processing process on the intelligence of laborers, complete complex tasks, improve production quality, and save processing costs. Its flexible, convenient, and personalized production organization methods also enable small and medium-sized enterprises to It has more advantages in the competition and takes less risk.
Intelligent manufacturing equipment is an important carrier of intelligent manufacturing technology. Intelligent manufacturing equipment realizes the intellectualization of industrial production processes by simulating human physical and mental labor processes, greatly reducing the physical and mental labor of workers, and helping workers create greater value.
Intelligent manufacturing equipment integrates advanced manufacturing technology, digital control technology, modern sensing technology, and artificial intelligence technology. It has the functions of perception, learning, decision-making, and execution. equipment.
Intelligent manufacturing equipment is a powerful tool for upgrading and transforming traditional manufacturing industries and realizing automation, intelligence, precision, and greening of the production process. It is an important support for the cultivation and development of strategic emerging industries and an important indicator of a country’s industrialization level.