Data-based decisions

When tackling a CNC job at Lantek, the first thing I am asked to do is create the complete job, which includes programming all the parts in sub-jobs on the different machines in the workshop together with the qualities, thicknesses, and sheet metal formats of the material.

There’s still quite a way to go in the industrial sector’s journey towards digitization. Many companies, especially the smallest ones, don’t have segregated IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) networks, instead, all of the equipment is connected to one single network which leads directly to the Internet. In others, generally the largest ones, the workshop’s network is separated from the office’s network by means of a firewall, making it possible to control communication between the two worlds in a very granular manner.

In this Industry 4.0 era, the new integral production strategies adopted thanks to the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning cloud solutions; at the plant, in terms of the sensorization of machines and processes and the Internet of Things (IoT); and in products, in terms of 3D modeling and simulation systems (Digital Twins, Augmented and Virtual Reality) allow total management of the product life cycle in the digital supply chain.