Technology Adoption and the Role of Automation

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In a recent paper at the SMTA Pan Pacific Strategic Electronics Symposium 2024, Auburn University professors highlighted their findings from their 2023 “Smart Manufacturing Adoption Study” Technical Report 23-01. The paper emphasizes five points that are important for the adoption of advanced technologies:

1. Small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) face significant barriers to adopting Industry 4.0 technologies, such as AI, due to a lack of awareness, proven business cases, and a skilled workforce.
2. The leading challenges for manufacturers in adopting smart technologies are having an operations workforce, operational efficiency, and the presence of an engineering workforce.
3. Forty percent of manufacturers rank automation as their No. 1 technology solution, followed by 3D printing, sensors/IoT, and predictive analytics. AI is also gaining interest as a top technology solution.
4. AI and ML have various application areas in electronics manufacturing, including equipment reliability, quality improvement, cost reduction, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and overall process efficiency.
5. The implementation of AI in electronics manufacturing is still in its early stages, with only 30% of companies believing they are generating value through AI applications.

To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the July 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.