Machine learning is changing the face of manufacturing. From asset management to materials processing, no facet of the manufacturing industry has gone untouched by AI in recent years.
Many of Wyatt Seal’s customers are technologically innovative within their respective fields. Machines have drastically changed the way they order seals, maintain them, and even the applications for which they need sealing products. Here’s what machine learning will mean for the future of manufacturing.
Improving Predictive Maintenance
One of the most readily apparent ways in which machine learning is improving age-old manufacturing processes is in the area of predictive maintenance. Quality optimization technology aided by cumulative data can not only predict when maintenance issues will occur but recommend intuitive solutions. Using data instead of sensors to determine when a seal needs replacement reduces wasted resources and can even help prevent unplanned process shutdowns.
Supply Chain Forecasting
Supply chains are integral to all manufacturing operations. Machine learning has the ability to immediately reduce an array of supply chain-related costs such as warehousing, transportation, and administration, in some cases by as much as 25-45%. Today’s AI can be used to predict supply shortfalls and even to preorder materials vital to manufacturing processes. When inventory is digitized, the logistical burden of supply chain management is drastically reduced.
Machine Load Levels
Smart machines can communicate how their load levels impact overall production performance. Machine learning algorithms, in turn, can analyze the data created by functional machines to make actionable suggestions for optimization. If a lower-compression O-ring, for example, could reduce friction (and decrease resulting maintenance) within an important process, smart machines can be set to supply that information without prompting.
Adaptable Technologies
Today’s manufacturing processes are required to be nimbler than ever before. As commercial and consumer preferences change, machines must change with them. Machined learning, particularly IoT technology, allows equipment to adjust to variable conditions in the marketplace whether that’s a new cosmetics bottle shape or a shift from steel-alloy parts to 3D-printed composites.
Wyatt Seal Innovation
Wyatt Seal understands how technology has altered the face of manufacturing. Forward-thinking manufacturers are making meaningful shifts in their processes to accommodate a new climate of data and analytics. They don’t resent machine learning as a change agent but rather look to machines as the future of manufacturing itself.
Our high-performance seal products are relied upon by some of the most technologically advanced processes in the world. From pharmaceutical manufacturing to petroleum production, seal quality matters. Wyatt Seal keeps an extensive array of seals, gaskets, O-rings, and other sealing products in-stock and ready to ship; we also produce custom seals for highly specialized manufacturing applications.
Would you like to learn more about how Wyatt’s technology could advance your mission? Reach out today to talk to an experienced team member.