By Ilhan Kolko, Chief Product Officer, ProGlove

Ilhan Kolko

Unfortunately, 2022 was not a year for predictability, and 2023 is already continuing on a similar trajectory. The war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures and the impact of the Covid outbreak in China on global supply chains are just a few factors creating an uncertain environment. This will continue to have remarkable impact on the industry.

Our latest industry survey has identified the ongoing struggles of warehouses trying to predict demand patterns accurately. Of those surveyed, just 39 per cent of respondents felt they could accurately predict trends and activity for the holiday season. Therefore, it will be critical to develop resilience to counteract what may very well turn out to be a turbulent year ahead. Yet instead of focusing on the external factors organizations can’t control, organisations need to look at their internal operations and focus on what they can control.

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By John Payne, CEO, Croquet

The Web is the Metaverse

What if the web were multiuser and 3D? Hint: It would be the Metaverse. The Metaverse will happen much faster than everyone thinks as it gains traction via 3D worlds in traditional web sites. Millions of virtual 3D spaces and worlds embedded in the web interoperably with existing sites will collectively form a significant portion of the larger interoperable Metaverse . No one is going to throw away their current web site and build a new one that is multiuser and immersive, but the parts of the site that benefit most will evolve in those directions very rapidly. The Metaverse is an evolution… the next generation of the Web… not a Revolution.

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Theo Saville, CEO, CloudNC

Theo Saville

1. Machining starts to get simpler

One of the big challenges of the manufacturing industry is just how hard it is to get anything done.

I’m not just referring to challenges like finding reliable suppliers, sourcing materials and experienced staff, and ensuring deliveries turn up on time – difficult as all those are. As a student, when I first sat down at a CNC machine – effectively, the mini-factory that powers much of the manufacturing world – I couldn’t believe how difficult and unintuitive it was to use. Indeed, if you sat 99.99% of the population down in front of one and asked them to program it, they wouldn’t have a clue where to start – as opposed to something like 3D printing, which is far easier to get started with.

In 2023, this will start to change. Our company, CloudNC, will introduce new software that will automate much of the process of programming a CNC machine to produce a component, and will licence this through tech partners to CAM programmers across the world.

While we don’t anticipate our technology replacing the role of the expert in the process, we do expect it to do a lot of the grunt work for them, freeing them up for more difficult tasks where their expertise has more impact. And as this tech improves and iterates, it will be able to do more and more – allowing some components to be produced with a single-click of a mouse, instead of five hours (or more) of design time.

2. The manufacturing skills gap grows – but tech helps us compensate

Why does this matter? Because talent is already a severe constraint in the manufacturing sector, and the problem is getting worse. In a digital world, manufacturing is an old-school industry in which progress is reliant on experience gleaned from years of working with tools and machines, and that doesn’t appeal to young people seeking careers as it used to.

The industry figures clearly reflect this: the talent is ageing out. Half of the sector’s current workers in the sector will retire in the next 15 years, and their replacements are nowhere to be found – creating a huge expertise gap, all while demand for manufactured components grows worldwide.

That’s why new technology is so important: it allows manufacturers to bridge the skills gap. If experts are retiring and not being replaced, then we need to enable less-skilled workers to be able to do the same job, while they learn how to become better.

With solutions that improve the production process – whether by enabling machines to be programmed more easily, or organising factories so they work more efficiently and reliably, or anything else that helps a struggling sector do more with less – we can help manufacturing sectors avoid the stagnation and decline that will otherwise follow.

3. Onshoring picks up speed

So what happens if we do bridge the skills gap? Then anything is possible – including the re-birth of domestic manufacturing in countries like the US and UK.

If you can make manufacturing more cost-effective with technology, and enable new workers to perform at a similar level to those with more experience, then you resolve many of the sticking points preventing governments and corporations from achieving an increasingly pressing ambition – securing their supply chains and bringing production closer to home.

That’s been an ambition of those with foresight companies for some time. Companies like Patagonia have focused on achieving a smaller carbon footprint and tighter supply chain, and younger generations of consumers have bought into their approach. But with the recent increase in geo-political tension – from the conflict in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis everywhere – the benefits of producing closer to home now aren’t just environmental, they’re political too.

The obstacle to onshoring, though, has always been cost. As much as we would like to source from local suppliers, supporting domestic jobs and saving the planet in the process, it’s hard for a corporation to do so when a supplier on the other side of the world is offering the same components for a fraction of the price.

But by helping manufacturers become more efficient and reliable through smart applications of technology, we begin to create situations where it does make sense to bring more and more work closer to home. At CloudNC’s own factory in Chelmsford, we’re already making components for companies that used to outsource their manufacturing to China, but are finding today that it again makes sense to look to domestic suppliers for support.

While we shouldn’t overstate the case – technology will not cause Western world manufacturing sectors to rebound overnight – I believe that 2023 will see some green shoots of recovery, spurred by new technology, that in years to come will bear much fruit. And if I’m correct, that’s something for us all to celebrate.

About Author:

Theo Saville is the Co-Founder & CEO at CloudNC.

By Doug Lawson, CEO, ThinkIQ

Doug Lawson

A Peek into Manufacturing Trends for 2023

An increasingly volatile global economy is putting pressure on manufacturing leadership

teams to improve the traceability, efficiency, and resilience of their operations. As this pressure grows, manufacturers will look to various technological innovations to weather the storm. Below are our predictions for manufacturing trends we expect to see in 2023.

Predictive Maintenance for IoT Devices

Many manufacturers are embracing IoT products within their operations. With more devices on the shop floor, managers will need to be proactive when technical issues occur to ensure business operations are not disrupted. Service providers are quickly realizing the benefits of subscription service models using products and machines that have built in sensors to track the lifespan of the device and conduct repairs and maintenance when necessary. This allows the shop floor manager to shift their focus on optimizing efficiency of the supply chains. IoT predictive maintenance will enable manufacturers to make informed, strategic decisions using real-time data and to achieve a wide variety of goals, including cost reduction, enhanced efficiency, improved safety, product innovation, and more. We expect to see the IoT revolution continue to accelerate into the new year and beyond as its benefits become apparent.

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By: Hendrik Witt, CPO TeamViewer 

Doug Lawson

2023: AR and MR Technologies Will Be Democratized for Frontline Workers

This previous year we saw advancements and increased adoption of Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. In 2023, we expect more companies to leverage these technologies for various use cases, making the value more accessible for businesses and employees.

Employers, manufacturers, and organizations have begun recognizing the vast opportunities available with AR, MR and AI. As a result, they will rapidly deploy these technologies to digitalize their workforce and improve productivity and efficiency within business processes. Below are my predictions for AR, MR, and the Industrial Metaverse in 2023.

AR and MR Will Democratize Expertise Down to Frontline Workers

Workforce digitalization has become widely adopted over the last several decades, although it has only recently begun to reach frontline employees, who represent approximately 80% of the global workforce. The efficiency of business value chains throughout various industries has tremendous potential to be improved, particularly when supplying digital technologies to frontline workers. The Industrial Metaverse, based on augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies, digitalizes business processes by displaying visual objects in a workers’ field of vision. These technologies empower frontline workers by democratizing expertise, increasing productivity and overall employee experience. In light of this, we predict that Industrial Metaverse technology implementation will rapidly increase in 2023.

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By Ravi Kunju, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Altair

Ravi Kunju

Last year, we predicted digital twins would break a new speed barrier — and this prediction definitely came true this past year. As a matter of fact, according to a 2022 survey from Altair, companies around the world are adopting digital twins at record speeds. Nearly three in four (69%) organizations are now leveraging digital twins for a wide range of use cases including improved product design, increased risk assessment, predictive maintenance and even sustainability. As many as 71% of those businesses began investing in the technology in just the past year, and of those organizations not using digital twins, nearly half expect their company to adopt the technology within the next three years.

In 2023 we can expect to see digital twin technology hit further milestones, as a game changing technology and competitive driver for businesses across the world:

• Say good-bye to the crash test dummy. With advancements in digital twins and the convergence simulations with data analytics and HPC, physical prototyping could soon become a thing of the past. According to Altair’s survey, 43% of respondents believe digital twins will make the need for physical prototypes obsolete within four years; 67% said six years.

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By Jesse Sumstad, Senior Product Manager, Jabil Additive

Jesse Sumstad

According to a recent report from Grand View Research, the additive manufacturing market is projected to reach $76B by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 20.8% over the forecasted period. Aggressive market expansion is attributed in part to increased adoption of additive manufacturing in industrial applications as well as sustained momentum in incumbent industry segments, including automotive, healthcare and aerospace & defense. 

An additive manufacturing pioneer and manufacturing powerhouse, Jabil continually has supported market growth through its innovations in materials, processes and machines. Highly innovative engineered materials complement Jabil’s world-class manufacturing solutions, which are backed by rigorous quality standards and production capabilities. “As serial production becomes more viable and mainstream, we need to take a holistic view of the end-to-end part production ecosystem,” said Jesse Sumstad, senior product manager, Jabil Additive. “All the factors that impact success—from design for additive and the use of engineered materials to post-processing methods and cost of labor—must be part of the overall decision-making process.” 

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By David Kan, COMSOL

David Kan

The physics simulation software industry has seen remarkably steady growth over the past 20 years, both in terms of business metrics and scientific advances. At COMSOL, we believe 2023 will continue this trend. In particular, there are three notable directions in which we expect to see significant progress.

First is the impact that multiphysics will have on the industry as a whole. In 2023, we believe that we will continue to see the use of software with multiphysics capabilities become the default way that detailed simulations are performed. Moreover, since different physics often exist on vastly different time and length scales, we think multiscale analysis will increase in prominence.

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By Michael Ford, Senior Director Emerging Industry Strategy, Aegis Software

Michael Ford

Unpredictability in 2023 is likely to be at least as challenging as it has been for the last few years, with continuing significant impact from global events. As an industry, the New Year drives us towards innovation, differentiation, sustainability, and speed, as the foundation of our business performance goals, whether pploying the latest innovations in materials and design technologies, or creating a significant evolution of existing technologies. In either case, communication through digitalization between design and manufacturing becomes critical, incurring the need for a new paradigm of trust, privacy and security where it comes to the data that ultimately exposes our core Intellectual Property (IP).

The world of technological innovation has been less affected recently than other areas, creating a backlog of innovation for some. The silver lining for 2023, is that we have all had a few years now, to get used to unsettled conditions, meaning that we have become more flexible in our outlook and abilities, with support for the implpentation of new ideas where such innovation brings business opportunity. This is the area in which we will see the most opportunity and change in 2023.

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By Ramsey Stevens, CEO, nano3Dprint

In 2023, multi-material 3D printing with direct-write technology will become more impactful across multiple sectors, including healthcare, sports and the automotive industry.

A manufacturing method by which a microdispenser moves over the substrate and lays down the exact amount of materials needed for the print, direct-write technology results in complex shapes via multiple materials dispensed in layers. This technique has a wide range of applications, including electronics, biomedical and sensing, and it uses cost-effective materials like metals, composites and ceramics. Benefits of direct-writing include shortened build times, waste reduction and lower production costs. Overall, seamlessly integrating multiple materials into 3D prints and embedding electronics directly will result in new and smaller smart objects.

Direct-write technology dispenses inks and higher viscosity pastes and will provide more options and uses, potentially transforming how medical professionals do things. For example, 3D printing will enable the development of new medical devices, wearables and other health monitoring systems, all of which will improve clinical care. Sensors will be embedded into new and traditional materials to track patient health continuously. Researchers will increasingly rely on 3D printing electronics to achieve their goals and get to market faster.

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