Increased Material Yield with AI and IIoT Based Production Optimization Software
Kanfit, a leading manufacturer of parts and assemblies for aerospace, medical devices, and other industries, that deliver ready-to-fly assemblies and products made of composites and advanced metals, has revealed how it benefits from Plataine’s AI and IIoT based optimization solution by automating and streamlining its raw material tracking, management, and planning, to significantly reducing waste and production delays.
Kanfit has over 35 years of experience working with composite materials, and its ready-to-fly assemblies provide customers with a full-service solution ranging from product specification to 3D modelling to serial production. The company prides itself on its short response time and is an authorized supplier to a range of leading companies, including Bell Textron, Boeing Gulfstream, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Lockheed Martin.
Kanfit persistently strives to adopt the latest manufacturing technologies and remains at the forefront of innovation. As part of its program to maximize its manufacturing capabilities, Kanfit set out to reduce its buy-to-fly ratio and material waste, while reducing overhead and errors driven by manual management of time sensitive materials. Kanfit managed to address these challenges with Plataine’s optimization solution, due to its strong experience in implementing Industry 4.0 solutions in the aerospace industry.
Plataine’s Time sensitive Material Management (TSMM) solution prevents usage of expired material or material likely to expire by the time the work order is completed. With Plataine’s TSMM solution, material information is automatically collected from factory sensors and logged throughout the entire manufacturing process, eliminating manual reporting and paperwork. The operators are pleased to be working with Plataine’s solution since it helps them to manage the receiving process automatically, easily track the location and the condition of materials as well as their remaining shelf-life across various production areas. The digitized and automated solution contributes to factory-wide benefits, improving overall efficiency, minimizing rework and waste, increasing material yield and ensuring compliance with audits.
Plataine’s AI software solutions optimize and automate Kanfit’s composite production processes. The solution for cutting and kitting is seamlessly integrated with Kanfit’s existing ERP system, enabling it to automatically create holistic and optimal production plans. It considers the complexity of kitting to find the optimal balance between material utilization and easy kitting, allowing Kanfit to maximize material utilization up to 3% and reduce costs. Dynamic and smart cut plans combine work orders, save material and reduce the overall number of cut plans, easing demand on CNC machinery, which increases capacity.
Shachar Fine, EVP Business Development at Kanfit: “Plataine saves valuable time and reduces quality risks by automating routine procedures. With the Plataine’s solution at hand, we have managed to significantly increase our buy-to-fly ratio and improve our overall equipment efficiency.”
Avner Ben Bassat, President and CEO of Plataine, adds “We are proud to be Kanfit’s innovation partner for making their factory a Smart Factory. With Plataine’s solutions, Kanfit automated their production processes and witnessed increased staff efficiency with paperless production and process automation, which are imperative as the whole industry deals with supply-chain challenges. We are excited about the future joint initiatives, which are already in process.”
For more information: www.plataine.com
