How 5G Technology Changes Manufacturing

Manufacturing has undergone tremendous changes in recent years, and factories that produce daily commodities are no longer just production centers. In the past, factories were equivalent to assembly lines, but today, they rely more on technology and Internet connections.

The production process usually requires communication between robots or computers at all times.

With the transformation of the manufacturing industry, its technical requirements have also changed. With the growth of the company’s business, the scale of factories may continue to expand, but the equipment and technology they rely on will tend to be miniaturized and more closely connected.

More processes are automated, which means that the demand for bandwidth in factories will continue to grow. If the network is unstable and communication lags, all-day production may be at risk－even a communication delay of one second may have a serious impact on factory operations.

A significant change in the manufacturing industry now is the transition from Wi-Fi to 5G.

The large-scale application of Wi-Fi is one of the biggest changes that factories have experienced in recent decades.

This has brought an unprecedented transformation in the manufacturing industry and provided enterprises with the networks needed to maintain interconnection and production. Today, Wi-Fi still plays a role in the manufacturing industry, but it is gradually being replaced by the more powerful 5G.

Right now, companies are no longer concerned about whether they need to transition to 5G－but when.

The road to 5G

We first need to understand how Wi-Fi first entered the manufacturing industry, so that we can understand how we are caught in the current whirlpool of debates about traditional networks and 5G networks.

According to the traditional method, network devices and systems are connected through dedicated cables, and different protocols are used according to the specific needs of the enterprise.

This method later evolved to connect to the network via Ethernet, and later Wi-Fi became a wireless access method. Although a large number of manufacturers have chosen wireless networks, many manufacturers have not seen a return on investment at all.

Therefore, these manufacturers choose to continue to use traditional cable connections, delaying the transition to emerging network technologies.

Today, we see that 5G can allow these manufacturers who use emerging network technologies to jump directly to the wireless network in a way that Wi-Fi cannot achieve.

The associated cost of wired equipment hinders production agility and limits the manufacturer’s ability to expand or adapt. 5G technology provides a good opportunity for business leaders to migrate to wireless networks at a much lower cost than previous wireless networks.

5G technology also helps manufacturers improve their operations. The two main characteristics of wireless networks are below.

The first one is coverage and signal penetration. When using Wi-Fi, users need to connect and use it very close to the source, and 5G signals can cover several miles-which is very beneficial for factories with large areas such as car assembly plants.

The other is the issue of signal penetration－5G networks will not have problems before reaching extremely high frequencies, but Wi-Fi is different. Regardless of the frequency, the penetration of Wi-Fi signals is generally weak.

When considering these two network schemes, it is very important to analyze the purpose of each scheme. Wi-Fi is built around a single user’s setup scheme, such as a home or school, and the protocol used is a best-effort protocol.

The agreement provides users with network services based on the principle of “first come, first served”－the more users connected to the network, the slower the speed and the more unstable the network.

On the other hand, as people need higher bandwidth, 5G came into being. It will not encounter the protocol problems encountered by Wi-Fi, the 5G network supports users to connect to the Internet at the same time, and it is easy to use.

For safety reasons, some manufacturers must be strict and responsible when constructing network infrastructure, such as petrochemical refineries that must be wired in explosion-proof facilities.

This may significantly increase capital costs, but wireless 5G networks are low-cost and adaptable, and can adapt to any environment, so they can offset the increased costs.

5G can also turn workers’ mobile devices into practical factory tools. After connecting these mobile devices to a private network, it is convenient to communicate and perform tasks within the company.

The development of 5G technologies has even brought opportunities for the development of enterprise-specific applications, which can be easily downloaded to the mobile phone, thereby helping to improve employee work efficiency.