Application of industry 4.0 technologies to the design and manufacturing of handicraft products

Abstract

Considering as a starting point the principles that characterize 
the artisanal and industrial production systems, this article 
explore the mechanisms to promote interdisciplinary 
relationship between industrial designers, industrial 
manufacturers and artisans; the main objective is to enhance 
the knowledge for the development and consolidation of the 
craft activity. We propose a methodology which industrial 
facilitators 4.0 are incorporated into the craft technics using
methods of engineering design, technological solutions of 
production and innovations respecting the identity values of 
craftsmanship. The best available techniques in the industry 
and emerging trends as Industry 4.0 or Factories of the future 
were analyzed; this analysis shows that some fundamentals, 
concepts and strategic plans can be applied to craft processes.
These factors support a viable proximity between the three 
centers of industrial production, technological innovation and 
craftsmanship. The proposal, seeking to have an open, holistic 
approach, was developed through analysis and intervention 
phases, through enabling technologies 4.0. This methodology 
is structured in five phases, which sequenced the processes of 
analysis and intervention. This model allows the definition of 
a strategic plan for restructuring of the activity, providing the 
artisan upgrade skills to new media and industrial technologies, 
allowing the need to adapt theirs work to current market 
demands. The proposal has been validated through a qualitative 
research with collaborative tools conducted in the field of 
crafts of wicker in Madeira, Portugal.