I fly out west to Los Angeles later this month. It will mark the fourth time AGMA will provide a curated tour on the RAPID+TCT show floor. Each year brings more clarity on developed technologies, I am always looking for one or two tweaks that move the needle on the next possibility for additive manufacturing to impact traditional manufacturing processes. Are we looking for mass-produced 3D metal gears? The short answer is: no. But we are always watching indicators that may change that answer.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gotten a lot of buzz lately, and rightly so—as James McQuiggan put it in our December emerging tech webinar, “I’ve never seen a technology advance and change so much in one year than I have with AI.” While AI is not new, recent advancements in computing power have allowed developers to unleash very powerful AI tools to the public. Our IIoT Committee is exploring how this technology is being utilized in manufacturing in everything from task automation, predictive maintenance, and fraud detection to chatbots and other customer service-style tools. We hope you join us in these discussions.
This new column is designed to provide information on the forward-thinking tech that is being reviewed and discussed in AGMA emerging technology committees. What should we be watching in the specific topic areas we cover? How will that impact the future of the gear industry? What are people discussing, specifically in the manufacturing space? I hope to be able to provide some of these answers in the coming issues.