Augmented Reality Solutions for Manufacturing
Augmented reality (AR) is a powerful technology for manufacturing. From training to digital work instructions to quality inspection and remote maintenance, AR can help manufacturers increase efficiency and reduce costs.
With AR, workers can access manual process data and automated metrics side-by-side. This augmented data helps manufacturers identify the moments enterprise-level inefficiencies occur.
Training
AR provides a way to present information in a new manner that is relevant, accurate and easy to consume for manufacturing workers. It can replace online manuals or person-to-person training to reduce lost information between the “listening” and the “doing”. It is also a great tool to teach a worker how to operate certain equipment or processes that are complex, dangerous or require special skills and knowledge. It can help to reduce the risk of costly mistakes and accidents by guiding the employee through each step of the process with an interactive overlay.
For example, if a worker is installing a headliner on an automobile that requires them to place padding, glue, wire harness or other components within millimeters, an AR headset displays digital work instructions with real-time video feedback from the camera and sensors. The headset gives the worker an exact template to follow which allows them to avoid mistakes and speed up production time.
Similarly, if a customer has an issue with their machine, they can connect remotely with a technician who uses AR to provide step-by-step troubleshooting instructions while viewing the customer’s environment through a video feed. This technology can help to increase customer service quality, speed up the repair process and lower costs. It is possible to also use AR in the product development phase to create 3D prototypes for customers to see and assess the features and functionality of a finished product before it is manufactured.
Maintenance
One of the best opportunities for manufacturers to leverage AR is in maintenance. Rather than relying on paper-based technical manuals or having employees disassemble equipment to identify problems, AR technology can overlay key information directly on the workspace. This allows employees to stay augmented reality solutions for manufacturing focused on the task at hand without having to leave their workstation or refer to separate manuals. The result is a more efficient and effective workflow that minimizes downtime.
Augmented reality solutions can also help with quality control, reducing the number of production issues that require an employee to leave the workplace for repair or replacement. AR provides workers with immediate access to repair guides and documentation, which leads to faster troubleshooting times and shortened downtime. This reduces the amount of product that needs to be made up for by other departments or by bringing in outside contractors, and allows you to maintain your production schedule with minimal disruption.
Leading manufacturers are embracing augmented reality to optimize their business processes. By combining data from both manual and automated operations, the best AR solutions can identify tendencies and pinpoint the exact moment enterprise-level inefficiencies occur. This helps manufacturers improve their processes and deliver a high-quality product in the process.
Product Development
Augmented reality solutions allow manufacturing engineers to create 3D models of their products, view them from all angles and make sure they’re delivering a quality solution to the customer. This allows them to identify potential issues in the early stages, preventing costly mistakes down the line.
Similarly, AR helps your employees detect machine issues on the shop floor before they spiral into production delays and costly failures. This lets you quickly send the faulty part back for replacement or repair without impacting any other parts on the production line, which also reduces downtime. This is why companies like Airbus have been using augmented reality for several purposes since 2011.
Workers can use tablet AR technology to view work instructions directly on their screens in real time. They can also access trend data and insights into equipment performance, which allows them to identify points of failure before they happen and optimize their workflows.
Another way in which AR improves your product design process is by eliminating the need for lengthy meetings between engineers and stakeholders. augmented reality solutions for manufacturing Instead of wasting valuable production time on meetings, you can send AR apps or AR glasses to all concerned parties to show them the nitty-gritty details of your new design in real time. This is how Thyssenkrupp has been using Microsoft’s HoloLens to design home mobility solutions for physically challenged people.
Collaboration
During the design process, AR helps your teams collaborate in new ways. It allows for more precise and flexible workflows, which in turn lead to a faster time to market and higher production quality. This is made possible by enabling designers to easily create, edit, and build 3-dimensional models of the products they are designing. They can even make changes to the product on the fly and evaluate how those modifications affect the overall functionality of the product.
Once your products are in the pipeline, AR can help you maintain high-quality standards by allowing you to identify and assess potential flaws that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. This enables you to quickly and accurately identify the problem area, thereby reducing recurring maintenance costs and downtime for your business.
Augmented reality can also improve the efficiency of your maintenance processes. For example, using AR to project work guidance onto the physical equipment you’re working on allows your team to instantly access operation times, possible pain points, and maintenance histories. This helps reduce recurrent maintenance and repair costs and increases the speed of response times.
Additionally, AR can also help your team remotely collaborate with each other to resolve issues. Thanks to augmented reality, your teams can communicate with each other through holograms or 3D models and share information in a way that is safe and secure. This is particularly useful when you need to troubleshoot complex or dangerous equipment.