From Traditional Manufacturing to Intelligent Manufacturing—A Glance of High-end Smart Factories in Hubei Province

Text & photos by Li Xi,Zhang Lihe,Yu Zhijun,Wu Yadi & He Weiguo

In Wuhan Transfer Center of Shunfeng Express,the sorting robot Little Red is sorting and transporting parcels orderly.順豐速運武漢快運中轉場，分揀小車“小紅人”正有條不紊將快件分揀和傳送。

With the in-depth interfusion between AI technology and the traditional manufacturing industry ,intelligent manufacturing is placed on the top agenda for many enterprises.

What will the future factory look like? What functions will they have? What changes will they bring to the manufacturing industry?

To answer the questions,we have visited a number of smart factories in Hubei Province and explored how the AI technologies are applied to the traditional manufacturing industry in upgrading and transforming their productive power.

Little Red Robot

Around 11 pm on September 10,2019,we arrived at Wuhan Transfer Center of Shunfeng Express on Zoumaling Street,Dongxihu District and found the automated sorting system busy sorting and transporting numerous parcels at a rapid speed in a well-lit workshop.

This station is responsible for the heavy parcels of Shunfeng Express in Wuhan,and most of the parcels weigh more than 10 kilograms.In the past,it took a large number of sorters to complete the same amount of work,but now it only needs several workers’ assistance.In the SSC robotic sorting area on the second floor,40 sorting robots,nicknamed Little Red,were transporting parcels to their designated places.

We quickly glanced at the whole process of the robots’ parcel sorting.A box with the tag of “microwave oven” was coming on the belt.After passing the infrared scanner,it fell precisely on the back of a Little Red that stood ready when the box was put on the belt.The Little Red moved along the route as programmed and followed the transportation rules.It moved straight,turned left and straight again.At the destination,the box was unloaded steadily and then slid precisely into the proper truck compartment.

We are told that the robot sorting system could handle 1300 parcels per hour,which took 30 skilled workers to do the same job in the past.It helped to save more than 60% of production cost under the same conditions.

Amazing Smart Tailor

In the past,it took seven steps to make clothes—namely,pattern drawing,pattern cutting,pattern grading,pattern marking,marker making,apparel cutting,and apparel sewing.But now in the workshop of Wuhan I’d Group Ltd.,the entire process before apparel cutting is mainly done by computers and machines.

The designer first singles out an apparel pattern stored in the computer and tapes it to the smart cloth cutter.Two minutes later,the garment pieces of sleeves,chest,and back are done.Usually the cloth-plaiting machine sends tens of folds of cloth to the smart cloth cutter,and the cutter employs an automatic laser scissor to cut the cloth into designed pieces in a short time.

The garment pieces would be categorized according to different types and specifications,and then sent to the designated tailor by the robots.The smart fetching system would then help transport the semi-finished product to the next line.

大型振動篩加強梁動態受力分析和壽命預測 盧世坤，劉初升，高 遲，王鳳平，王 明，張鳳翔，呂 琳1(28)

In the workshop of Wuhan I’d Group Ltd.,the intelligent cloth cutter is cutting tens of folds of cloth into a designed pattern within a few seconds through precise computing.武漢愛帝針紡實業有限公司車間，經過智能裁床的計算和切割，數十層布料在極短時間內被切成衣片。

隨著人工智能技術與傳統制造業的深度融合，智能制造成為眾多制造工廠轉型升級的必然趨勢。

未來的智能工廠是什么模樣？有哪些本領？它們又會給行業帶來哪些變化？

這段時間，我們走訪了全省各地多家智能工廠，探秘傳統制造工廠轉型升級背后的新技術。

奔跑的“小紅人”

2019年9月10日晚11 時許，武漢市東西湖區走馬嶺街順豐速運武漢快運中轉場，壯觀的工廠里燈火通明，琳瑯滿目的快件在自動化分揀設備上快速流轉，令人目不暇接。

該中轉場是順豐速運在武漢的重貨中轉場，快件多以10 公斤以上的貨物為主。在過去，重貨的中轉分揀是需要人海戰術完成的，而這里，卻沒有看到太多工人。在平臺二層的SSC 智能機器人分揀區，40 臺分揀小車“小紅人”正在場地內馱著快件滿場奔跑。

記者仔細查看了一個快件經過機器人分揀的全過程：傳送帶上，一件印有“微波爐”字樣的紙箱飛馳而來，經過一道“安檢門”的紅外掃描后，“小紅人”從傳送帶下方同步出發，分秒不差，快件從傳送帶末端穩穩地落在了“小紅人”的后背上，“小紅人”馱著快件，直行，左轉，前進，按照程序計算出的路線和“交通規則”，到達目的地后自動把貨物平穩卸下，快件如坐滑滑梯一般，準確地流向下一區域的貨車廂內。

神奇的“智能裁縫”

傳統服裝生產流程是：手工畫版、剪出紙樣、放碼、排版、按紙樣畫嘜架、裁剪、縫制。

在武漢愛帝針紡實業有限公司車間，裁剪和裁剪以前的流程都是以電腦和機器為主。

在制衣車間，設計師從電腦中調出一個服裝版型，將其發送到智能裁床，兩分鐘后，袖子、前胸、后背等衣片就出來了。當自動碼布機將數十層布料，送至智能裁床，經過電腦激光切割，數十層的衣片不一會兒就裁好了。

衣片按照不同品種和規格分類，放入貨架后，機器人自動取貨，送到指定裁縫工位。工位上方，智能吊掛系統自動行進，將衣服的半成品傳送到相應崗位。

此前，每個裁縫以20 件衣服為一捆，做完后，起身送往下一道工序。現在，打捆、拆捆、起身等過程都省下來，效率變高。由于在一個系統上，各個工序逐漸同步起來。這樣，同時在線生產的產品從50 個增加到了200 個，生產效率提高近30%。每個裁縫生產數量增長，工資也相應增加15%至20%。

In the past,the tailor needed to pack 20 clothes into a bundle,and send them to the next worker by walking.But now the machine helps eliminate the process of bundling,debundling,and walking,thus improving efficiency.All the working procedures could be performed at the same time.Meanwhile,the products made are increased from 50 to 200 per worker,improving the efficiency by a large margin.In return,every tailor’s salary is also raised by 15%-20%.

Smart “Control Brain”

On September 11,we arrived at the Industry 4.0 workshop of Soufeiya Home Collection Co.,Ltd.located in the Hi-Tech Zone of Huanggang City.In the spacious workshop,there was neither annoying noise nor stinky smells.A few workers were inspecting rows of robot arms,busy putting various forms of wooden boards on the running lathes.Starting from the smart warehouse,all the working procedures,including board cutting,edge banding,drilling,sorting and packaging,are performed by robots and through the smart logistics network system.Not a single worker is needed in this process.The system could allocate tasks dynamically,calculate the cutting precisely,and minimize the waste of boards by maximizing the utilization.

In the Industry 4.0 workshop of Suofeiya Home Collection Co.,Ltd.,robotic arms are taking the boards from the shelves and processing them automatically.索菲亞家居湖北有限公司工業4.0 車間，機械臂從周轉貨架上自動存取板材進行智能加工。

In the workshop of SAIC-GM Wuhan Branch,hundreds of robots are welding the BIW (Body in White).上汽通用汽車有限公司武漢分公司車身車間內，數百臺機器人正對白車身進行焊接。

Lying in the center of the workshop is a see-through glass room.It is the control room of the Industry 4.0 workshop.It works like a chief engineer who has all the plans in his grasp.Likewise,the room could monitor the operation,production tasks,progress,efficiency,and other information of the whole production system and every production line in real time through three screens.

“What makes the Industry 4.0 workshop different from the traditional workshop is that it turns the once isolated workshop into a smart production line,which shortens the production cycle of every batch,speeds up the logistics,and reduces the interval between every procedure.” One manager in charge said.

The shuttling Little Red Robot,the amazing smart tailor,and smart control brain are good examples of high-end smart factories in Hubei Province.At present,by implementing the strategy of “investing 1 trillion yuan in the technological reformation of 10,000 enterprises” Hubei Province is fulfilling the opportunities brought by the interfusion of information and industrialization,and boosting the transformation and upgrading of its traditional manufacturing industry,driving itself towards a leader in the future of the smart manufacturing industry.

聰明的“中樞大腦”

9月11日，記者走進位于黃岡高新區的索菲亞家居湖北有限公司工業4.0 車間，偌大的車間里，既沒有刺耳的噪聲，也沒有刺鼻的氣味，工人寥寥無幾。

In Workshop II of the HGTECH Laser Robot System Intelligent Factory,a worker is commissioning an auto body welder for a new Civic model of Dongfeng Honda.華工激光智能裝備事業群2 號車間內，項目團隊正在進行東風本田新款思域汽車車身焊接線體的安裝調試。

一排排機械臂在忙碌地“舞蹈”，一塊塊造型各異的板材在車床上“奔跑”。從智能立體原料倉出發，每一塊原料板件經過開料、封邊、打孔、分揀、打包等工序，均由機器人和智能物流網聯系統完成，全程不落地，不經人手。系統十分聰明，能實時動態地分配工作任務，對板材的開料進行精確計算，最大程度提高板材利用率，有效減少木材浪費。

車間正中央有一間透明的玻璃房子，是這個4.0 車間的“中樞大腦”。它就像運籌帷幄的總工程師一樣，通過三塊顯示大屏，清楚地呈現著整套生產系統及每條生產線的實時運行狀態、生產任務、生產進度、生產效率等信息。

“4.0 車間與普通工廠車間最大的不同，在于成功地將傳統生產車間的制造孤島聯接為一條智能化生產線，大大縮短每批次板件的生產周期，加快了物流轉運，減少了工序之間的等待時間。”企業負責人介紹說。

奔跑的“小紅人”、神奇的“智能裁縫”、聰明的“中樞大腦”，是湖北高端智能工廠的一個個剪影。當前，湖北正深入實施“萬企萬億技改工程”，搶抓兩化融合發展的新機遇，助力傳統制造業轉型升級，加快新舊動能轉換，推動制造大省向智造強省邁進。

過去10年，湖北高新技術產業增加值從2008年的1104.94 億元上升到2018年的6653 億元，增長5 倍多。大到新能源汽車、高端數控裝備、工業機器人，小到手機、電子元器件、5G 芯片，越來越多的湖北“智造”正走向全國乃至世界。

In the workshop of Yicheng Tianshu Textile Co.,Ltd.,the digital monitor at the bottom of the spinning machine is moving back and forth and detecting the broken thrums,and the workers only need to assist the operation.宜城天舒紡織有限公司生產車間，紡紗機下方的數字化跟蹤儀來回監視數萬根線頭是否斷開，工人只需輔助操作。

In the past decade,the added revenue from the new technology industry in Hubei increased from 110.494 billion yuan in 2008 to 665.3 billion yuan in 2018,with a growth of more than five times.More and more products—such as new energy automobiles,high-end CNC equipment,industrial robots,mobile phone,electronic components,and 5G chips—manufactured in Hubei with smart technology,are sold widely throughout China and the rest of the world.(Translation:Li Li)