The digital influence on mechanical engineering: Observation of the IBM report and the WEF report
Introduction
Apart from many other factors, it is the curiosity and innovation that drives forward various branches of engineering. The story is not different in the domain of mechanical engineering. Although mechanical engineering is the oldest branch of engineering, its evolution has been at par with other branches. Even in the present digital age, mechanical engineering has modified itself to suit the requirements and dynamics of industry and academics.
New courses are being added to mechanical engineering so that it does not become redundant and keeps on progressing by leaps and bounds. Different mechanical engineering institutions in the country are making sweeping reforms in order to step up their academic standards. The mechanical engineering colleges in Ghaziabad are no different. They have made constant reforms in various courses of mechanical engineering so that there is no gap between the courses taught by them and practical skills required in the industry. By now, it is extremely important to take a look at the various trends and technologies that have influenced mechanical engineering in a significant way.
The digital influence: Observation of the IBM report and the WEF report :
The digital influence on mechanical engineering has acted as a catalyst for this particular branch. As per a report by IBM titled The digital transformation assessment report, it was noted that about two third of the manufacturing processes are now being automated. We can make three important observations out of this report.
The first important observation is that new tools, techniques and methodologies are being adopted in the domain of mechanical engineering.
The second observation is that there is a high integration between mechanical engineering and computer science engineering because of the different tools and techniques that are used in computer science engineering and now being borrowed into the mechanical domain.
The third important observation is the focus on software platforms and applications for automating various work processes and monitoring of mechanical systems remotely.
There is one more report from the world economic forum which is titled The future of jobs report 2020. There are three important observations that have been made in this report.
The first important observation is that more than 60% of the employees that are working in the domains of mechanical engineering would need to upgrade their skills. This is only possible when focus is laid on online courses and training and a concrete policy framework is also laid down.
The second important observation of the report is that automation would become the cornerstone of industries for operating in the mechanical domain. While this has ramifications like job loss for different employees, we cannot ignore the fact that a large number of jobs would be created simultaneously. However, in order to adjust and assimilate the workers into prospecting jobs, a lot of training would also be required. Various stakeholders would have to play an equal role in this venture.
The third important observation made by the report is that the jobs in the domain of research and development related to mechanical engineering would increase by a significant amount. This calls for the establishment of incubation centers and research cells within the companies so that preparation for the future can be made in advance.
Further observations: The next level of manufacturing:
Previously, different types of processes related to the manufacturing were more manual than automatic. Over a period of time, the digital influence started to increase and techniques like computer aided design came to the forefront. After computer aided design started to gain traction, computer aided manufacturing also became prominent. This can be regarded as the initial level of automated manufacturing.
With the help of the new technology, it became possible to run different simulations and create a virtual interface before properly implementing them in the physical world.
The next level of manufacturing is quite different. It is very flexible and allows on-demand production. In simple terms, we are able to create multiple copies of three dimensional objects based on the demand or the project that we handle. This helps in cutting down the cost and making the entire process of manufacturing efficient and effective. This is linguistically called additive manufacturing or 3D printing.
The way ahead:
In the future, we are moving towards sustainable manufacturing. This type of manufacturing is not only driven by mechanical components and digital simulations but also by environmental considerations. The aim is to improve the entire life cycle of manufacturing by making use of smart materials. This is probably the aim of mechanical engineering in the future, that is, to drive and be driven by sustainable engineering processes.
