Driving innovation in Industry 4.0 with CNC machines and automation

Chandrashekar Bharathi, Managing Director, AceMicromatic MIT, in an exclusive interview with Industry Outlook, shares his views on the latest advancements in CNC machine technology, challenges faced by Indian manufacturers when integrating CNC machines, breakthrough innovation in CNC machines and automation products and more. He is a technology entrepreneur with a rich executive background in high-growth startups from multiple geographies, with a focus on breakthrough innovation that's robust.

How are the latest advancements in CNC machine technology and automation products transforming manufacturing operations in India, particularly in the context of Industry 4.0's shift toward digital integration and smart factories?

Around ten years ago, many of the controllers, whether it is CNC or PLCs, had limited connectivity options in terms of harnessing data from the controllers. The shift that's occurred in the last five to eight years is whether there is industry standard connectivity through Ethernet and whether it's protocols like OPC or proprietary protocols like FOCUS or similar protocols. The control builders are incorporating the ability for data to be harnessed through industry standard protocols and industry standard connections like Ethernet, which used to be restricted mainly to serial connectivity.

The trend of hyper-automation is gaining momentum across industries. What specific challenges do Indian manufacturers face when integrating CNC machines with automation systems, and how are they overcoming these hurdles?

Instead of just looking at how to integrate CNC machines with automation systems, let's focus on the broad gamut of Industry 4.0 itself, a three-axis combination of all the processes and business processes a company would have, from design to manufacturing to logistics. And the initiatives can be taken to make any of these business processes faster, better, or cheaper. Decentralized decision-making is one such initiative. The third axis is what technologies to leverage: IoT, AI, and so on. So, when we look at the three-axis philosophy from a big-picture perspective, we see that companies need to address primarily three Cs: culture, competency, and continuity.

Technology has become quite robust, and companies have done a lot of R&D to ensure their technology is robust and easily adaptable. However, companies face real challenges more from an operational or implementation standpoint. When it comes to competency, typically, manufacturing industries, especially as we go down the tiers from tier one, two, three, and so on, are focused on the core of manufacturing and may or may not be very comfortable with using data or using analytics to take the following steps required. This is where we believe that extensive skilling and training in digital technologies, what we call transforming the workforce from an analogue workforce to a digital workforce, and how to leverage existing knowledge bases that the companies can build themselves.

The other is continuity. Typically, companies assign Industry 4 as an add-on responsibility to a production or quality head. The fact is that for them, the core is what always draws them. So, they may or may not be able to continue the Industry 4 side if other exigencies or firefighting happen. So, certain companies have an Industry 4 head or an in-charge. Once the person becomes digitally skilled and able, the person may or may not stay with the company. Hence, there is also a discontinuity sometimes because we've already had this person. They did an excellent job in six or 12 months, but then they're gone. Now, it takes another six months to bring back that level of engagement, and these are the three primary things from a big-picture perspective. Also, technology is becoming less of an issue as the costs have come down, and multiple configuration options provide better connectivity, which used to be one of the critical challenges earlier, but that's less of an issue as we have gone forward.

Given the shortage of skilled labor in the manufacturing sector, how are companies using CNC automation to address this gap, and what impact is this having on operational efficiency and workforce transformation in India?

In terms of the skilled labor gap, there are couple of things that would help is when companies start to implement industry four, it is important for them to involve the operator and enable the operator to at least have a system that aids them in doing the most repetitive type tasks or gives them certain prompts or inputs or alerts at the right time for them to be able to take care of what needs to be taken care of.

In terms of the skilled labour gap, this will always be a challenge. There are a couple of things that would help when companies start to implement Industry four; they need to involve the operator and enable the operator to at least have a system that aids them in doing the most repetitive type of tasks or gives them specific prompts or inputs or alerts at the right time for them to be able to take care of what needs to be taken care of. So, often, visibility itself is missing. Once the visibility is there and the operator is trained or the operator, the supervisor, or whoever is trained to do what needs to be done, the losses are cut down, and operational efficiency is enhanced. The second is we will need to transform the workforce's quantity and quality.

Several initiatives are happening in the country, either through government institutes like GTTC or the COEs that the government has set up the training programs that they tend to set up or want to set up through things like the Skills Council. We, as industries, are working very closely with the Skills Council and other such entities to define the skills of the future and the present. In addition to that, certain companies have taken different initiatives.

For example, there is an initiative called LPM, where somebody has probably passed or may not have passed a 10th grade. Within three months, with a combination of intensive classroom training, it's like a full-time three-month exercise, a combination of intensive classroom training and hands-on practical training, these people become trained CNC operators. So, each of these operators becomes part of the workforce after three months. The net effect is that every operator operates one machine. Hence, it enhances the country's capacity building to consume so many more machines, expand the production base, and then, in turn, expand the competitiveness and the GDP.

Looking forward, what do you see as the next frontier for breakthrough innovation in CNC machines and automation products in India, especially considering the growing trends of sustainability, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and Industry 5.0 integration?

People are talking about industry five integration: the evolution of standard mechanical automation to digital automation and the integration of cobots, guided vehicles, or guided arms to perform actions guided by the platform. Companies have integrated AGVs, robotic arms, and AI-based vision systems into the industry's four frameworks to squeeze out the last mile of productivity, quality, and optimization in terms of inspections.

For instance, if we look at the medical industry, someone is sick and goes to a hospital, and they're not going to be fascinated by looking at which ECG machine it is or which kind of centrifuge is being used for the blood test. Instead, what they want is to come back out with a solution. It could be a prescription that they consume orally or a surgery. That is where the industry will likely move over the next few years, where companies that deliver outcomes will be highly valued. The outcomes result from implementing the right technology and frameworks and enabling touch points in the companies.