What is Industry 4.0 and What Important Role Do Tapes Play?
Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution, which focuses on the utilisation of technology to enhance automation, machine learning, and access to real-time data.
Adapting to this new era of manufacturing requires the use of specialised products, designed for durability, longevity, and compatibility within automated applications. Precision-engineered tapes can play a vital role in making manufacturing applications competitive in today’s world.
In this post, we will explore how tapes can be integrated into manufacturing processes, such as assembly, packaging, and labelling, to speed up production and reduce costs.
Tapes play a critical role in manufacturing. It is not surprising that tape companies are adapting their products for use in automation, robotics and Industry 4.0. Common applications include bonding, insulating, sealing, masking and labelling. Let’s take a quick dive into these applications:
- Tapes that have high tack adhesive can secure tools, parts and equipment to hold components in place. This eliminates the need for mechanical fasteners or clamps, saving time and reducing the risk of damage to more delicate parts.
- To prevent shorts and ensure properly functioning equipment, tapes are an ideal choice for insulating electrical components.
- Tapes seal joints and seams within industrial equipment, helping to prevent leakage into and out of system boundaries.
- To prevent certain areas from being coated or painted, tapes can be used to mask off certain areas of a surface during the manufacturing process.
- Multiple wires or cables are often connected together to power and control equipment and tapes join these materials.
- Long-length spools of acrylic tape are applied to exterior trim components by fixed or flexible automation for automotive vehicles.
- Speciality tapes with bright colours and reflective properties can be utilised to mark and label both materials and equipment, improving organisation and ease of identification.
Customers often request more solutions for challenging automation application issues and material compatibility. Saint-Gobain® Tape Solutions is well-equipped to remove liners, adjust roll configurations to suit different fixtures, modify how easily rolls unwind, or change colours for easier identification by robotics systems.
Our materials, such as UHMW and silicone rubber tapes, are adaptable, durable, and ideal for applications requiring contamination-free wear surfaces. These products can be customised to meet automation needs, making manufacturing processes quicker and more seamless. Other examples of product customisation include adjusting the tackiness of our ThermaCool®Silicone Gap Fillers to allow for easier pick-up by robotics, designing larger, self-wound liner-less spools to reduce machine downtime, or developing Norbond® Bonding Tapes to address specific assembly needs in the automotive market.
Customising a tape product to fit an automation requirement requires a strong understanding of manufacturing methods and an intimate knowledge of material relationships and application conditions. Keeping lines of communication open between customers and design engineers ensures that, at the end of the development process, the tape will integrate smoothly into the automation system and meet all required performance specifications.
Some of the options and considerations that may be relevant are:
- How is the material presented to the automation equipment?
- Is it spooled, or are the roll lengths long to provide for fewer changes?
- Are liners necessary, and if so, how will they be designed for easy removal at the work centre?
- How is the alignment of the tape accomplished?
- Is the colour or reflectivity of the material important?
- How are splices detected and removed?
- What are the critical features of the tape for automated applications, such as dimensional tolerances, tensile and elongation, tack and adhesion?
We are working closely with robot integrators to pre-qualify our tapes to maximise the quality and efficiency of the process. One opportunity I am excited about is the use of robots to apply pressure-sensitive tapes in construction markets. Robots reduce the time to build. This enables the faster delivery of more energy-efficient homes.
— Richard Austin, Market Manager
As manufacturing technology evolves, it becomes more important to consider tailored solutions that put Industry 4.0 best practices at the forefront of design. This will lead to increased productivity, lower costs and a more competitive product.
Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions has over 50 years of experience in bringing innovative products and ideas to life. We have the expertise and capability to provide tapes in many sizes and formats, ensuring materials are optimal for any process or volume.