Practical 5G
Recently we mentioned that from a carrier perspective the impact of 5G on consumers has been somewhat less than originally expected but has found its way into the business market where it serves as a connection topology for private networks. These networks can span various business locations but are most effective as part of what are loosely known as ‘smart’ factories. These facilities can range from small highly automated production centers to vast complexes that encompass everything from business offices to warehouses to large production and assembly operations.
Before the smart factory concept came into being, production lines were hard wired, meaning that cables were run to various points around the production lines, either in a false floor or overhead. Not only is this an expensive process, but if the line needs to be reconfigured at a later date, those cables have to be pulled and rerun to new locations, a slow process, and one that essentially limited the number of potential connections for the line. A wireless network does not have those limitations as reconfiguring a line would mean just moving the sensor or terminal to a different point and reestablishing the network connection, which can take weeks off of a large production line reconfiguration project.
Where the comparison between 5G and a hardwired network on a factory floor becomes more difficult is bandwidth. Ethernet (hard-wire) theoretically offers higher bandwidth, although 5G continues to offer more adaptable spectrum products. But what balances that give and take is the cost of installing a 5G network at ~50% of a hard-wired one, and is, as noted above, far easier and less expensive to reconfigure. This weighs the choice more to the wireless side, especially as 5G bandwidth options get closer to matching ethernet.
So, what does a smart factory outfitted with a 5G private network actually look like? Here’s a practical example:
Pegatron (4938.TT), one of Taiwan’s biggest OEMs, began construction on a greenfield factory in Batam, Indonesia, a few miles from Singapore across the Singapore Strait. The factory, which is ~915,000 ft2 (23 acres) was built to consolidate the operations of 8 other factories and is Pegatron’s first in Southeast Asia. The factory recently officially opened (actually started production at the end of last year) and has 26 active production lines with seven more to be built. There are ~6,000 employees at the complex who produce ~2.5m units/month, primarily CPE equipment (80%) and network products (20%). The factory has 3 floors that contain ~5,000 machines and 1,000 devices that are interconnected, including automated guide vehicles and cameras that monitor production processes across the floor, with 21 5G radio units as access points across the facility. Each production line has terminals, cameras, sensors, and process machine output data connections that can be reviewed in almost any configuration. One might want to see all of the data for a particular line or all of the data for a particular process across all the lines, and as digital wireless data, configuring such information for control panels or dashboards becomes easy. One can even take camera information for a particular line or process and review it to see what caused a problem that appeared at the end of the line, or use the process review camera information to create training videos that reduce the need for hand-holding during new employee on-boarding. The camera data and AR can also be used for repair and maintenance, but by far the most important ability for such a network is its cost and reconfiguration ability.
All in, whether consumers recofnize the merits of 5G or feel they should pay a premium seems a smaller issue when compared to the abilities that 5G bring to a smart factory like the Pegatron facility in Batam. The flexibility and low installation cost make it a no brainer for those interested in having a flexible and reconfigurable factory that can adapt to new customer demands or new processes. The LinkedIn video below shows the factory and all the equipment operating under the 5G private network (2:33):
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pegatron-5g_pegatron-5gs-new-smart-factory-in-indonesia-activity-7301915512660275200-TSaM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACZQsABSTeutynN9EcgEHCoOEmLOINmF7M
Before the smart factory concept came into being, production lines were hard wired, meaning that cables were run to various points around the production lines, either in a false floor or overhead. Not only is this an expensive process, but if the line needs to be reconfigured at a later date, those cables have to be pulled and rerun to new locations, a slow process, and one that essentially limited the number of potential connections for the line. A wireless network does not have those limitations as reconfiguring a line would mean just moving the sensor or terminal to a different point and reestablishing the network connection, which can take weeks off of a large production line reconfiguration project.
Where the comparison between 5G and a hardwired network on a factory floor becomes more difficult is bandwidth. Ethernet (hard-wire) theoretically offers higher bandwidth, although 5G continues to offer more adaptable spectrum products. But what balances that give and take is the cost of installing a 5G network at ~50% of a hard-wired one, and is, as noted above, far easier and less expensive to reconfigure. This weighs the choice more to the wireless side, especially as 5G bandwidth options get closer to matching ethernet.
So, what does a smart factory outfitted with a 5G private network actually look like? Here’s a practical example:
Pegatron (4938.TT), one of Taiwan’s biggest OEMs, began construction on a greenfield factory in Batam, Indonesia, a few miles from Singapore across the Singapore Strait. The factory, which is ~915,000 ft2 (23 acres) was built to consolidate the operations of 8 other factories and is Pegatron’s first in Southeast Asia. The factory recently officially opened (actually started production at the end of last year) and has 26 active production lines with seven more to be built. There are ~6,000 employees at the complex who produce ~2.5m units/month, primarily CPE equipment (80%) and network products (20%). The factory has 3 floors that contain ~5,000 machines and 1,000 devices that are interconnected, including automated guide vehicles and cameras that monitor production processes across the floor, with 21 5G radio units as access points across the facility. Each production line has terminals, cameras, sensors, and process machine output data connections that can be reviewed in almost any configuration. One might want to see all of the data for a particular line or all of the data for a particular process across all the lines, and as digital wireless data, configuring such information for control panels or dashboards becomes easy. One can even take camera information for a particular line or process and review it to see what caused a problem that appeared at the end of the line, or use the process review camera information to create training videos that reduce the need for hand-holding during new employee on-boarding. The camera data and AR can also be used for repair and maintenance, but by far the most important ability for such a network is its cost and reconfiguration ability.
All in, whether consumers recofnize the merits of 5G or feel they should pay a premium seems a smaller issue when compared to the abilities that 5G bring to a smart factory like the Pegatron facility in Batam. The flexibility and low installation cost make it a no brainer for those interested in having a flexible and reconfigurable factory that can adapt to new customer demands or new processes. The LinkedIn video below shows the factory and all the equipment operating under the 5G private network (2:33):
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pegatron-5g_pegatron-5gs-new-smart-factory-in-indonesia-activity-7301915512660275200-TSaM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACZQsABSTeutynN9EcgEHCoOEmLOINmF7M
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