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On June 2 Plataine (Waltham, Mass., U.S.) AI-based and IIoT (Industrial IoT) solution provider and Eastman Machine Co. (Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.) a cutting machine manufacturer, announced a partnership agreement. This partnership is said to offer significant benefits to industrial manufacturers, including reduced material waste, improved manufacturing efficiency and quality control on the production floor.

Plataine and Eastman’s collaboration will enable industrial manufacturers to put in action Plataine’s Digital Assistants (see “Composites 4.0: digital assistants, edge computing and the future of smart factories”), delivering real-time proactive recommendations that can impact the bottom line of the business. In addition, automation will also lead to a paperless production environment. Plataine says its AI-based Digital Assistants help shop floor production workers dynamically optimize operations and eliminate delays during the manufacturing process by delivering predictive alerts, actionable insights and real-time recommendations.

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Further, the combination of increased process automation and improved human-machine collaboration, Plataine notes, streamlines production, ensures higher quality, reduces the risk of human error and minimizes re-work and scrap. Real-time asset tracking further reduces material waste and human error, as well as eliminating production delays. The system automatically generates a complete digital thread — a comprehensive record of all stages of production (see “Digital thread vs. digital twin”) — giving full traceability from raw material to end product. The digital thread is also said to deliver radically improved quality control and ensures that the customers are always audit-ready.

“Eastman offers the industry’s widest range of fabric cutting machines, as well as a comprehensive line of fully automated spreading and material handling systems,” says Trevor Stevenson, vice president of Eastman. “Now, working with Plataine, we have future-proofed our offering to our customers, ensuring that they leverage the tangible manufacturing optimization benefits of the latest AI-based and IIoT technology today, and also ensuring that they are ready for the challenges tomorrow will bring.”

Eastman Machine Co. designs custom cutting solutions for elite manufacturers around the world. In collaboration with world-renowned material producers and industrial manufacturers, Eastman says its engineers are continuously innovating and expanding product offerings. Automated cutting systems, engineered for single to high-ply requirements, reduce labor while maximizing quality and material use for a range of demanding materials. According to the company, Eastman machinery is proven to be simpler to operate and less expensive to maintain, boosting productivity and efficiency.

“Eastman’s engineering capabilities are world class. I am excited about our partnership with Eastman, that will enable our joint customers to leverage the benefits of the AI- based and IIoT technologies, drive reduction in production costs and bring manufacturing efficiency to a new level,” says Avner Ben-Bassat, CEO and president at Plataine.