Today, in the United States alone, the manufacturing industry generates over $1 trillion in annual revenue and employs more than 12 million people.
The future of manufacturing looks bright, especially when considering how technology will continue to transform production in the coming years through the use of emerging technologies like virtual reality and 3D printing.
How will manufacturing companies use these new technologies? This article explores how one aspect of the manufacturing industry will be affected by emerging technology—the Metaverse as it relates to manufacturing companies.
Massive Model Storage
Why haven’t you heard about 3D printing and all its possibilities until now? Well, there is a good reason for that. As it stands, 3D printers have only been able to print extremely basic shapes.
In order to create anything more complex, you need to manually modify them (and you wouldn’t want that). Now, however, researchers at Columbia University have found a way to store digital 3D models and transform them into physical objects by fusing sand or plastic dust into layers.
This new technique will enable production of huge objects such as cars in a matter of hours instead of days or months. The same method could be used on smaller scales for everything from medical devices (printed prosthetics) to everyday products like computer parts and iPhone cases.
Virtual Reality Training
VR creates an opportunity for companies to train their employees on-demand, without worrying about limits on space or time. For example, engineers can simulate an installation and test out different tactics before building a prototype.
Similarly, sales teams can rehearse their pitches in a virtual environment, perfecting each word before meeting with clients in person. There are plenty of ways manufacturing companies will take advantage of VR; it’s up to you to imagine them!
The possibilities extend far beyond training. By creating an immersive experience, manufacturers can create marketing opportunities that were previously impossible or very expensive to produce. Imagine being able to hold a customer’s hand as they walk through your factory and watch your product come together from start to finish!
It might sound like science fiction now, but it’ll be reality sooner than you think. To get ready for the future of manufacturing, here are some things you should consider
Collaborative Design
As 3D printing and product development continue to evolve, we’ll see a decrease in large-scale manufacturing. Most consumer products will be designed in small batches by manufacturers or design firms and then distributed digitally to consumers.
Mass production has already begun shifting toward small batch production, with many companies releasing new models every few months or even weeks. The only difference is that today these companies release it through brick-and-mortar retailers instead of digitally.
When 3D printing becomes more widespread, these designs can be released at once digitally with each iteration adding new layers of functionality to each model, completely changing how consumers interact with products and manufacturers alike.
Advanced Mold Design and Analysis
The world is changing and manufacturing businesses are adapting to reflect that. In times past, machining was a labor-intensive task that required much physical force.
But with computer-assisted design (CAD) systems, it’s now possible to design a part on a computer and then build it using 3D printing or some other kind of advanced manufacturing process. The ability to use CAD makes it easier than ever for businesses to make parts at their own factories—or even in their customers’ facilities—instead of outsourcing all production work to an outside vendor.
Although 3D printing and additive manufacturing technologies have gained widespread adoption in recent years, many manufacturers are still struggling with one big problem: Designing these new kinds of parts properly so they can be built at scale efficiently by machines.
Rapid Prototyping
A 3D printer can allow you to make a physical, tangible model from your idea in just hours. This is called rapid prototyping and it’s going to change how we approach manufacturing for good. Instead of investing millions in a single product before you know if it will work, companies will be able to rapidly test out new ideas on 3D printers.
The initial investment in building a prototype is minimal and as soon as a design gets approved, you’ll have an inexpensive machine that makes mass production cheaper than ever before. And because of metaverse technology, you won’t even need to print each part individually. You can print them all at once with a single command.
In addition to reducing costs associated with prototyping and production, 3D printing also opens up opportunities for consumers to customize their products like never before.
When consumers are involved in every step of creating their own products, they feel more connected to them—they want them more! —and that results in higher sales volume across multiple industries (just look at Etsy).
Quality Assurance
High quality assurance is a must for any manufacturing company, no matter how big or small. To make sure you’re shipping a quality product, you can use software to test and analyze every aspect of your product—the materials used in its construction, how much stress it can withstand, etc.
By using virtual reality (VR) simulations for testing, companies can save on overhead costs and improve efficiency. You could even conduct virtual hands-on trials by allowing customers to try out their products before they purchase them.
Inventory Management
Improved inventory management will mean decreased excess inventories and faster delivery times. Retailers can see exactly where an item is at any given time. In addition, consumer habits can be used to reduce excess inventory.
If a product isn’t selling well in store A, it can be moved to store B, making sure that more products are moving and aren’t sitting in boxes gathering dust. This could drastically cut costs for businesses since they won’t have to carry as much dead weight around with them all day.
Order Tracking & Fulfillment
The main advantage that virtual reality will provide manufacturing companies is immediate order tracking and fulfillment.
Virtual reality will allow customers to see exactly what they are ordering, at each stage in its creation, so that they can confirm it was made according to their specifications before authorizing payment.
This immediacy will help eliminate problems such as errors in communication or interpretation. If an issue does arise, companies can quickly make adjustments before further production begins and avoid shipping faulty products out to customers.