Microfactory

Typically factories follow a serial architecture. At the beginning of the chain is the raw material. Which is then passed onto a series of stations that perform a specific task on the material. This enables large volumes to be produced and opens up possibilities to optimize material flow and tasks performed at each station. But one drawback is that it is difficult to manufacture different variants or even different products on the same production line. Serialized manufacturing units are common in a lot of industries.

Microfactories are a relatively new paradigm for manufacturing units. The factory is split into cells. Each cell is equipped with a set of robots and/or human operators that performs a series of tasks. Think of them as an averaged sum of a few stations from the conventional paradigm. These robots can be programmed to build different products and have various end-effectors for performing a set of tasks instead of just one. What this does is now each of these cells can be programmed to build a whole line of products instead of just one, without compromising on the flexibility.

Arrival, a UK based electric vehicle startup is pioneering this concept to develop microfactories to build their vehicles.