Unit code                           R/615/1518

Unit level                           QCF Level 5/ NFQ Level 6/7

Credit value                       15

Introduction

The ability of successful companies to meet the growing demand of customers is heavily influenced by the development of advanced manufacturing technologies. Customers expect high complexity products, on demand, and with a growing element of customisation. In adopting advanced manufacturing technologies, successful companies will ensure faster time to market of new products, improve products and processes, use new, sustainable, materials, and customise to customer requirements. Manufacturing systems engineering underpins this development.

In order to meet changing customer expectations and gain competitive advantage, focus needs to be applied to developing smart factories and advanced manufacturing technologies. Manufacturing organisations will seek integration between manufacturing technology, high performance computing, the internet, and the product at all stages of its life cycle.

Industry 4.0 is the term that has been adopted to describe the ‘fourth’ industrial revolution currently underway, at present, in the manufacturing and commercial sectors of our society. It is a revolution based on the integration of cyber-physical systems with the Internet of Things and services. For the manufacturing sector, this integration has been enabled by successfully combining high performance computing, the internet and the development of advanced manufacturing technologies. Industry 4.0 is changing the way the world’s most successful companies produce the products that their global customers demand.

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to analyse and evaluate the potential of using advanced manufacturing technologies to improve the competitive advantage of the organisations adopting them. The student will develop knowledge and understanding of advanced manufacturing technologies, digitalisation and a range of advanced manufacturing technologies. They will also develop their own research activities into the latest developments.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

1. Recognise a range of advanced manufacturing processes and cite examples of where they are most effective.
2. Analyse advanced manufacturing technologies to determine their appropriateness for an application or process.
3. Analyse an existing manufactured product and associated process to introduce proposals for possible improvements based on the introduction of advanced manufacturing technologies.
4. Evaluate the concept of the next industrial revolution to determine the impact on both manufacturers and the consumer.