Increasing mechanisation of manufacturing is taking advantage of newly emerging technologies to cut costs and enhance quality. It’s happening everywhere, from the aircraft industry to automobiles. But it is also taking away precious jobs
At the Paris Air Show held at the le Bourget airfield outside the French capital, it was not only about the aircraft that were making stunning moves over the airfield. It was also about some of the revolutionary aircraft on display — aircraft such as the Boeing 787, also flown by Air India as well as the recently-flown Airbus A350. There was also the Dassault Rafale fighter jet pulling spectacular moves above the skies. India has ordered for 126 of these planes to be the future of our Air Force over the next few decades.
But like any major exhibition, some of the most fascinating technologies on display were the things in the small stands — the technology that goes into building these magnificent planes; technology that the average passenger never even sees.
And the really interesting thing is how these parts are made. Planes nowadays use increasing amounts of composite material in their construction. Planes such as the the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 as well as the soon- to-be-flown Bombardier CS jet use revolutionary materials to make themselves lighter and more efficient. These efficiencies mean that they can travel further with more passengers, and by using less fuel.
But many of these efficiencies are gained by truly revolutionary manufacturing technologies. Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), a material being used instead of metal to construct aircraft fuselages and wings has been around for a few decades, but earlier only relatively small pieces could be made. Aircraft manufacturers are talking of a time when an entire aircraft can be made in one go, in one weave of carbon-fibre. And they believe that that time will be upon us sooner rather than later.
But the really interesting display was how manufacturers are using three-dimensional printing to create parts for planes and other products. Three-dimensional printing works in several ways, but the basic method is to enter a technical drawing of a product into the printer and then specify the colour or colours you wish the product to be produced in. Three-dimensional or 3D printing is not fast, not fast at all; at some of the displays it was taking anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour to produce small components. These components could have been produced in a few minutes using regular tools available currently.
But this is just the start, and speeds will gradually increase. According to those operating the machines, the day is not far when 3D printers will mass-produce components. The benefits are quite obvious — there is no need to make specialised tools to manufacture parts nor train an army of workers. In fact, once the drawings are completed, manufacturing using 3D printers can commence instantly. The amount of time taken between the drawing board and the finished product, time that often ranges in years (it has taken Airbus almost a decade to design, develop and produce the first A350 prototype) can be cut down to months, maybe even a few days, for small components.
In fact, such printers which primarily use plastic resin to produce their finished products, are being modified to produce products out of metals and other tougher, stronger materials. Some have even hypothetised that such printers can be used to produce weapons going forward.
The reason many people are scared about 3D printers is because this technology is increasingly becoming mainstream and available to consumers. They might be expensive; a recent comparison of plastic figurines said that, while 3D printers allow you to create customised figurines for $5000 each, such a one-off would cost a regular manufacturer a tenth of the cost. Yet, in the rarefied world of aircraft manufacture, where costs are usually not that big a deal, these printers will bring down manufacturing times. And costs are slowly but surely, as with any technology, getting cheaper and cheaper.
A metal chain, which is better using a 3D printer as it is built in one piece instead of a multitude of small pieces, today costs around 20 timesmore using a 3D printer. But because it is ultimately a better product, it is preferred regardless of the cost. Yet, in a few years’ time, experts predict that costs will come down significantly — maybe it’ll still be a lot more expensive than a traditional product, but it will definitely be better.
Yet, it isn’t all good news. Increasing mechanisation of manufacturing is taking away jobs. One notices the phenomenon at automotive plants, where labour troubles and the need to make every product perfectly means that robots have taken over many jobs. On human operator alone can handle tens of robots and machines. Plants which had workforces in the thousands, now have a few hundred, if at all.
The concept of ‘hand-made’ products has weirdly enough gone from signifying imperfect workmanship to luxury. While most cheap cars are built by an army of robots, ‘hand-made’ bespoke cars are the likes of Aston-Martin and Rolls Royce — cars that epitomise luxury. These technologies are transforming the way products are manufactured and will lead to a certain amount of social upheaval as manufacturing jobs are taken away by robots and printers. Despite India’s success in the services sector in the past two decades it still employs far too few people.
Manufacturing jobs have not kept pace with population growth, and even in old-school manufacturing such as steel plants, increasing automation mean fewer people can produce more steel. Robots are machines are more efficient, reliable and over the long-term possibly cheaper as well.
Policy-makers will need to figure out what they need to do over here; in times of slowing growth rates, employment for India's young masses is going to become a serious issue going forward as the manufacturing sector will start to employ less people. A revolt against machines is not the answer, we don't live in a Terminator world. But answers do need to be found.But for consumers, the future with products that are not limited by one’s imagination, is set to be a fabulous one.