As someone who’s a bit younger, I don’t know a world before Industry 4.0 and DIY being an option. I recently read through Vention’s DIY report, and it made me even more curious about what the industrial world was like before DIY was a thing at all.
What were the options back then? How did manufacturers cope with high costs and long deployment times?
Before DIY automation, were manufacturers stuck with one-size-fits-all solutions, or did they have other ways to customize their operations? Are some companies still using old world solutions?
Also, what was the adoption of robotics like before platforms like Vention made it accessible and customizable?
For those who have been in the industry for a while, I’d love to hear your stories and first hand experiences. How has the shift to DIY automation transformed your operations? What were the biggest challenges and successes you encountered before DIY was an option?
Looking forward to learning from your experiences.
There is an episode of ReAutomated podcast called “Democratizing automation Feat. Etienne Lacroix #10” that answers your questions.
Manufacturers have always customized their operations when there was sufficient reason for doing so. The book “principles of mass and flow production” describes custom mortising machines being used to make ship blocks as early as 1802. The ways manufacturing machines were constructed has changed over time, but the principle of customization was always there.
I don’t know what you mean by old world solutions. Having something that works reliably is more important than something newer. If it’s not broken, no need to improve or fix it. In a sense Industry 4.0 has always been present because we have always been collecting valuable information and making decisions with it. The cost to collect information has come down, but the way to think about it has not.
Programming and interfacing to robots was more difficult. The cost was higher. UR was one of the first to focus on making it easy. But it still requires learning because the fundamentals haven’t changed. Safety reviews and guarding haven’t changed.
I haven’t seen a shift in my facility. Our guys have been doing DIY for decades, and we have lots of wood pieces, jigs, and tape around the facility. Vention’s T-slot is nice, but if it didn’t exist I’d do the same thing in standard CAD and buy T-slot from Princess Auto. The challenges are still the same such as: explaining technical concepts to non-technical coworkers, cost justification, etc.
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Thanks for sharing that insight, Brad and here is that podcast for anyone looking for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOsaXTr-dy4