What is a modular microfactory?

A modular microfactory can broadly be described as a compact manufacturing environment built from production modules that can be combined or reconfigured to meet different manufacturing requirements.

Rather than designing a production line as one fixed system, a modular approach divides manufacturing capability into elements that can perform different functions. Depending on the application, these might include additive manufacturing, machining, robotics, inspection, assembly or other production processes.

The important part isn't simply that the factory is small. It's that its production capability is modular.

What is a microfactory?

Since the concept emerged, the term has been applied to a wider range of small-scale manufacturing systems.

Early microfactory research focused on miniaturising production equipment to better match the size of the components being manufactured. Today, the term is used more broadly for relatively compact manufacturing environments.

As a result, there isn't one prescribed size or configuration that makes something a microfactory. A microfactory might occupy part of an existing production facility, operate as a standalone manufacturing environment or be deployed closer to where production capability is needed.

What makes a microfactory modular?

Modularity changes how the manufacturing system is constructed.

Instead of creating a production line around a fixed combination of equipment and processes, manufacturing functions can be organised into modules with defined interfaces.

That makes it possible, depending on the architecture, to:

• add production capability;

• replace or upgrade equipment;

• change the configuration for different production requirements; and

• expand capacity by adding further modules.

This principle is already established in modular manufacturing research. Modular microfactory systems have been developed around independently functioning workstations and standardised interfaces that allow production systems to be reconfigured.

The exact meaning of a module varies between implementations. It might be an individual machine, robotic cell, inspection station or a larger group of equipment performing a particular manufacturing function.

Modular microfactory vs conventional factory

The difference is primarily architectural rather than simply one of scale.

Compared with a dedicated production line designed around a relatively fixed combination of equipment and processes, a modular system is designed with reconfiguration in mind. Changing that system can require significant re-engineering or new equipment.

A modular microfactory instead starts with the assumption that its required capabilities may change.

This doesn't make modular microfactories inherently better than conventional factories. Highly optimised, dedicated production lines remain extremely effective for many forms of stable, high-volume production.

Modular approaches become particularly interesting where production requirements are less predictable, product mix is higher or manufacturing capability needs to change over time.

How does a modular microfactory work?

There is no single modular microfactory architecture.

A system could combine several different manufacturing technologies, such as:

• additive manufacturing;

• CNC machining;

• robotic handling;

• assembly;

• inspection and metrology;

• post-processing; and

• material handling.

The physical equipment is only part of the system.

In digitally coordinated modular systems, software can play an important role in managing production information across different machines and processes. Production information needs to move between different machines and processes while maintaining information about what should be produced, how it should be produced and what happened during production.

This becomes particularly important when equipment comes from multiple vendors or when production capability is distributed across more than one location.

Where can modular microfactories be useful?

Modular microfactories are particularly relevant to manufacturing environments where flexibility is valuable.

That might include high-mix, lower-volume production, localised manufacturing, rapidly changing production requirements, research and development, or situations where organisations want to introduce additional manufacturing capability without constructing an entirely new conventional production line.

They are also being explored in areas such as aerospace and defence, where the ability to adapt manufacturing capability and produce closer to demand can be valuable.

However, modularity introduces its own challenges. Machines still need to communicate, processes need to be qualified, production needs to be controlled and manufacturing data needs to remain traceable.

Simply putting several machines into a small building doesn't create an effective modular manufacturing system.

From modular microfactories to manufacturing networks

A modular microfactory can operate independently, but the same principles can extend beyond an individual facility.

Manufacturing capability can potentially be distributed between different cells, suppliers or

locations while being coordinated through common digital infrastructure.

This is where the distinction between a modular microfactory and a modular microfactory network becomes important.

The individual microfactory provides manufacturing capability.

The network connects capabilities.

Authentise Modular Systems is exploring how these ideas can be taken further through Open Modular Microfactory Networks: manufacturing systems designed to be modular, networked and open to equipment and capabilities from multiple suppliers.

We'll explore that model in more detail in our forthcoming Complete Guide to Open Modular Microfactory Networks.

Related concepts

Open manufacturing — in the context of Authentise Modular Systems, this describes an approach that prioritises interoperability and the ability to integrate technologies from different suppliers.

Distributed manufacturing — distributing production capability across multiple locations rather than concentrating all production in one facility.

Machine-agnostic manufacturing — manufacturing systems designed to work across equipment from different vendors.

Manufacturing resilience — the ability of manufacturing capability to adapt to disruption and changing requirements.

These concepts overlap, but they are not interchangeable. Together, they help explain why modular manufacturing architectures are receiving increasing attention.

Explore Open Modular Manufacturing

Learn how Authentise Modular Systems is developing open, modular and machine-agnostic approaches to modern manufacturing.