IMPLEMENTING THE AUGMENTED REALITY AS AN INDUSTRY 4.0 APPLICATION TO SIMPLIFY THE BUSBAR BENDING PROCESS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Skilled operators have a vital rol e in Industry 4.0 manufacturing, esp ecially in a small manufacturing environment. To impl ement Industry 4.0 conc epts, it is nec essary to find an innovative solution that will improve the skills of operators in manufacturing. Augm ented reality (AR) has b ecom e a part of this innovative solution by providing interactive live guidanc e, i. e. easy transfer of information to operator, esp ecially the production, ass embly and maintenanc e information. This pap er demonstrates a simple method for impl em enting AR, particularly in small enterpris es. It also shows ben efits of impl em enting AR: the production quality is improved by offering an interactive and reliabl e training for technicians to improve th eir skills, which l eads to the minimisation of errors occurring during the production. Moreover, this pap er sh eds light on the industry trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and presents the effectiven ess of augmented reality during the pandemic. A real exampl e has been impl emented on a busbar bending process in order to simplify the task of the operator esp ecially when the complex bent shape is produc ed.