Faced with the prospect of automating their furniture assembly line to enhance productivity and minimize human error, a high-quality wooden furniture manufacturing company explored various options, not only among embedded solutions providers but also different hardware options. The challenge lay in finding a solution that would automate the production line efficiently without posing deployment challenges due to size, cost, or excessive power consumption.
In a strategic move, the company opted for a single board computer (SBC) over larger system-level alternatives, envisioning a more discreet integration into their existing factory infrastructure. After careful consideration and evaluation, the furniture manufacturer concluded that AAEON's PICO-ADN4 was the perfect fit for the stringent requirements of their project. This decision highlighted a preference for a streamlined, cost-effective solution that could seamlessly integrate into their existing processes while delivering the automation capabilities essential for optimizing their assembly line.
Project Requirements
Due to the intricate processes involved in manufacturing furniture, the company required a solution capable of reliably issuing control commands to ensure each unit that left the assembly line met consistently high standards. Consequently, accuracy was a priority, which meant that latency during any stage of the manufacturing process could have costly effects on the whole production line.
The automatic woodworking machine was designed to operate for extended periods, so the customer wanted to minimize unnecessary costs by opting for a power-efficient solution. However, given the complexity of the application, the board in question still needed to efficiently handle data from multiple sources, process it, and issue prompt instructions to other machinery.
Lastly, the deployment environment for the board posed challenges, as the facility housed machinery with diverse power requirements, presenting a risk of potential damage to the Single Board Computer (SBC) due to power surges. Additionally, the application's surroundings required careful consideration. Although automating the manufacturing process made the byproduct disposal more efficient, the presence of contaminants such as sawdust, wood chippings, and dust could not be entirely avoided. Therefore, it was imperative that the chosen product would not be affected by its harsh deployment setting.
