Drone Manufacturing and its Importance 

In the 20th century, one would look into the sky, and the only flying objects one would see were birds and planes. The situation is no different now; it is just that there would be more planes flying and fewer birds. However, in specific areas like agriculture, wars, combat operations, and mines, there is another flying object: drones. Drones have become a magical innovation that can perform otherwise arduous and costly operations. 

This has meant that the application of drones has increased over the years, and drones of all sizes and shapes are now available on the market. The demand for drones has risen so much that the Manufacturing of drones is becoming more specific. 

Important points to consider in Manufacturing of drones 

1. Not all drones are equal. We would consider quadcopters when considering drones for aerial photography and recreational use. These drones lend stability and ease of control. Then, there are fixed-wing drones suitable for long distances and endurance. We would only feel some types of drones as they are outside the scope of this blog. However, with each application, the critical point to note is that the drone’s design would differ, and so would the manufacturing of the drone. 
2. Large number of parts: The number of parts in a drone assembly is not tiny. Battery, electronics, PCB, and high-strength carbon fibre are components that need to be assembled to manufacture a high-quality drone. These materials must be sourced from different suppliers as these are specialised components. 
3. Precision Manufacturing: Drones are made for rough and brutal uses. Challenging scenarios like wind, rain, hurricanes and all these scenarios need to be considered. These are high-performance components, as mechanical failure of these components could jeopardise the entire operation. 
4. Made to design rather than made to stock: Except amateur drones for personal/ fun activities, most drones would be designed for specific tasks, and hence, the exact use case needs to be considered. If significant demand is made to create or engineer, then safety stocks of different components in the inventory must be kept low. It needs to be ensured that there is a very elaborate sourcing strategy while finalising the suppliers. 

Important points to consider in Production Management Systems for Drone Manufacturing

A production management system or Manufacturing Execution System for drone manufacturing should have the following components:

1. Dynamic Inventory Management System: The manufacturer should have live and accurate inventory at anytime. This will help her carry on with the production process without the inventory shortage. Whenever the inventory levels go below the safety stock levels, she should get a notification from the system. 
2. BOM Management: Since there are multiple parts in drone assembly and manufacturing, the production management system for drone manufacturing should have a solid Bill of Material management system. The BOM management system should be able to configure manufacturing BOM and not just purchase BOM. 
3. Material Requirement Planning: A drone manufacturer would receive multiple customer orders. These orders would consist of various drone configurations. The production management system for drone manufacturing should be able to fetch the orders (from the order management system) and bill materials, and evaluate this with the live inventory. This analysis will determine the quantity of components that need to be purchased from different suppliers. Based on this, purchase requisition and purchase orders can be generated. 
4. Live production tracking: Different components are issued to assembly units from the store and are assembled in various stages. Essential stages need to be mapped to enable effective system production tracking. 
5. Traceability of parts: All components must be traced to their production process, suppliers, operator, machines, and process parameters to enable end-to-end traceability in the system 

ManufApp offers manufacturers a comprehensive production management system. It helps improve productivity, reduce inefficiencies in the production processes, reduce leakages and ultimately improve the company’s top line and bottom line.  

Summary

The drone industry is a varied industry with different nuances. As the demand for drones is rising, so is the complexity of specifications. Demand for drone manufacturing is increasing, and some specialised players are just manufacturing drones. A sound production management system for drone manufacturers can ease the entire manufacturing process and help manufacturers improve their profitability.