As technology advances, the smart factory is developing its own path by full automation redesign. Smart factory technology allows large amounts of data to be communicated via actuators and sensors from the production floor to the control room

Smart sensors in the shop are the eyes and ears of industrial equipment. They use open standards like IO-Link and have simplified installation. These sensors report diagnostic data and function status. All this helps predict failure so that technicians can swap out a sensor and avoid high-pressure, unplanned downtime.

The shop of the future has machines that can adapt with closed-loop feedback. The connected production floor of the future produces half the defects of today’s typical plant. Sensors measure products before, during, and after fabrication processes. Sensors embedded in grippers, for instance, measure pipe diameter based on the grippers position.

Safety systems can become part of productivity gain instead of a cost, and understanding how machine risk assessment and equipment productivity gains work together.