MTEK Consulting brings operational experience and collaborative robots to the Nokia led industry group delivering on the Factory-in-a-Box idea and Industry 4.0

Alfta, Sweden - A Nokia-led group of 12 electronics industry players today unveiled the “Conscious factory in a box” concept, showing how manufacturers can stay ahead of the demands of Industry 4.0 through agile production that can be packed, transported and brought back into service in a matter of hours.

The group, which started working on the concept in the summer of 2017, aimed to build a single electronics manufacturing line using cargo containers that can be moved to locations as demand dictates. Collaboration was driven by the expected changes in manufacturing sparked by Industry 4.0, including cloud-based solutions, robotics and new electronic manufacturing IoT solutions, all of which will demand greater agility and flexibility from manufacturers. Potential use cases include building for ‘country of origin’ requirements, new production introduction and disaster recovery.

In late 2017, the project took a step forward at Nokia’s Digital Creativity Lab opening in Munich, where a cargo container with a collaborative robot assembly station was packed, moved to a new location by truck, then restarted within hours at the new location where small Lego™ cars were assembled, proving the precision of the machines.

The final step in the proof of concept was achieved on 09 Feb 2018, when full electronic manufacturing of a printed circuit board and robotic assembly and testing took place. The group – Nokia, MTEK Consulting, Beta Layout, DHL, Fuji, HARTING, Isel, isoloc, Mycronic, Rehm Thermal Systems, Viscom, and 42Q – now plans to demonstrate this full capability at the Hanover Messe in April 2018.

MTEK Consulting contributes with operational excellence and state of the art collaborative robot solutions with smart assembly tables, feeders and fixtures printed and customized in our own industry 4.0 center - Swedish Creative Collaborative Robot Center located in Alfta. “I am proud that MTEK has been selected to play in this world-class team gathered by Nokia”, says Mattias Andersson, founder and CEO at MTEK Consulting. “I hope our efforts and achievements in realizing Industry 4.0 not only will be of benefits to MTEK but also contribute to increasing Swedish and European industry competitiveness”, continues Mr Andersson. 

Visit us at Mobile World Congress in the Swedish IoT stand in the Swedish Pavilion 7E41.