Podcast: Technology trends impacting the manufacturing industry in 2024

The manufacturing industry is perpetually advancing and improving, thanks in no small part to new and evolving technologies. The adoption rate of such innovations varies from industry to industry and company to company, with factors like specific needs, regulatory environments, and economic conditions affecting investment decisions. In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Laura Davis, the editor in chief of New Equipment Digest, takes a deep dive into the technology and equipment trends that are poised to change the industry in 2024.

Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

So to start, Gartner recently conducted a survey of manufacturers on what their plans were for 2024, specifically related to technology, and 54% of those surveyed said they plan on increasing their technology spending this year. Now, even though the economy isn't great at the moment, the thought behind this increased spending is that technology advancements will help manufacturers address staffing shortages, enhance productivity, and help unlock new revenue streams. And what would those technologies be? Well, here are six of the top trends we're expecting to see in 2024.

Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI, exploded in 2023. And it's only going to get stronger in 2024 as AI has become synonymous with innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness. As we go deeper into 2024, the role of AI, particularly generative AI, is evolving rapidly, reshaping how products are designed, optimized, and produced. While AI isn't anything new in the industry, it's been around a while, its rapid onset in the industry has made it a transformative force, offering a wide range of applications across various stages of the production life cycle. AI-powered algorithms analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns, and make autonomous decisions, enabling manufacturers to optimize processes, improve quality, and enhance productivity, whether it's predictive maintenance, quality control, or supply chain management.

What we're expecting to see in 2024 is the next frontier of AI, which is generative AI, which leverages advanced machine learning techniques to create new designs, solutions, and optimizations. Unlike traditional AI, which relies on predefined rules and data inputs, generated AI can generate new ideas and solutions autonomously based on very high-level objectives and constraints provided by the user. And it will empower manufacturers to explore more possibilities, uncovering new solutions and optimizing designs in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Generating thousands of design iterations based on specified parameters and objectives, Generative AI creates diverse design possibilities and optimizes performance, cost and sustainability to create innovative, high-quality products that meet customer needs and market demands. Processes can also be optimized by analyzing data from sensors, equipment, and production systems to identifying inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.