Orange, a global telecoms operator and leader in digital services, and LACROIX Group, an international technological equipment manufacturer, are exploring the benefits of 5G at the LACROIX Electronics plant in Montrevault-sur-Evre, France.
As a tool for business recovery and transformation, 5G will enable manufacturers to develop the concept of a modular factory and improve the technical management of buildings.
To carry out this test, Orange designed and deployed an indoor 5G network based on Ericsson equipment. Four indoor 5G antennas (Ericsson Dot) were installed inside the plant, broadcasting experimental frequencies to cover the production space. Orange operates a virtualized network core, distributed between the premises of Orange and the LACROIX Electronics plant. This enables local processing and data security, as well as network performance and efficiency, suitable for LACROIX Electronics use cases.
LACROIX Electronics wants to co-innovate with Orange to make the plant more adaptable. The reliability of wireless connectivity will provide more flexibility in the organization of machines. The installation of the production islands in the factory may eventually be modified according to the type of production needed.
The reliability of 5G will also allow for better production quality control. By taking high-resolution photos of electronic processes, for example, real-time verification of the quality of welds and the presence of components can be performed. Taking and sending images in real time can be combined with Machine Learning in order to improve detection algorithms and also ensure that there are no errors in the batches produced or if a readjustment of a machine is necessary.
Helmut Reisinger, CEO Orange Business Services
We are very pleased to collaborate with LACROIX Group as part of this digitized, human and environmentally friendly factory of the future. 5G will be a digitization facilitator for Industry and a competitive lever for both the economic environment and all enterprises, regardless of size or location.
Vincent Bedouin, CEO LACROIX Group
The French electronics industry is changing, and our industry needs to be able to rely on wireless technology that can cope with the massification of data at our plants.
