{{Short description|Designing automated factories to not require humans on-site}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} '''Lights-out manufacturing''' or '''dark factory''' is the [[manufacturing]] methodology of fully [[automation|automating]] the production of goods at factories and other industrial facilities, without requiring any [[work (human activity)|human labour]] presence on-site.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Dark Factory and the Future of Manufacturing: A Guide to Operational Efficiency and Competitiveness |last=Gisi |first=Philip J. |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |location=New York, NY |date=2024 |isbn=978-1-032-68815-2 |page=3 |doi=10.4324/9781032688152}}</ref> Many of these factories are considered to be able to run "with the [[lighting|light]]s off," but few run exclusively lights-out production. For example, in [[computer numerical control]] [[machining]], the presence of human workers is typically required for removing completed parts and setting up [[tombstone (manufacturing)|tombstone]]s that hold unfinished parts. As the technology necessary for total automation becomes increasingly available, many factories are beginning to use lights-out production between [[shift work|shifts]] (or as a separate shift) to meet increasing production demand or to save money on labor.
An '''automatic factory''' is a place where [[raw material]]s enter, and finished products leave with little or no human intervention.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Charles R. |title=Toward the automatic factory: a case study of men and machines |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn |isbn=0-8371-9301-X |year=1977}}</ref> One of the earliest descriptions of the automatic factory in fiction was the 1955 short story "[[Autofac]]," by [[Philip K. Dick]].<ref> [https://web.archive.org/web/20080102142304/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,818947,00.html "Automatic Factory"] in Time magazine 1953 Sep. 28 </ref>
==Real-world examples==
==="Lights out" computer numerical control (CNC) machining=== CNC machines do not require continuous operator attention, and some models can run unattended.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Takei Masami (Fuji Heavy Ind. Ltd.) |title=Realizing Unattended Hours of Continuous Operation of Machining Center with Addition of Intelligent Function |url=https://jglobal.jst.go.jp/en/detail?JGLOBAL_ID=200902224635754335 |journal=Subaru Technical Review |language=ja |year=2003 |volume=30 |page=251–256 |issn=0910-4852 }}</ref> A few machine shops run CNC unattended on nights and weekends. Although the machines are run without being under constant supervision, it is a common practice to always have a person in the vicinity of the machine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.wustl.edu/dist/3/655/files/2017/05/SEAS-Student-Machine-Shop-Safety-Manula-1iopesn.pdf|title=SEAS Student Machine Shop Safety Instruction Manual|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref>
===Existing "lights-out factories"=== [[FANUC]], a Japanese [[robotics]] company, has been a lights-out factory since 2001.<ref name="fanuc">{{cite news |publisher=CNN Money |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343371/index.htm |title=Fade To Black The 1980s vision of "lights-out" manufacturing, where robots do all the work, is a dream no more. |author1=Null, Christopher |author2=Caulfield, Brian |date=June 1, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123102010/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343371/index.htm |archive-date=23 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Robot]]s are building other robots at a rate of about 50 per 24-hour shift and can run unsupervised for as long as 30 days at a time. "Not only is it lights-out," says Fanuc vice president Gary Zywiol, "we turn off the air conditioning and heat too."<ref name="fanuc"/><ref>https://www.autodesk.com/redshift/lights-out-manufacturing/ RedShift by Autodesk. 3 December 2015</ref>
In the [[Netherlands]], [[Philips]] uses lights-out manufacturing to produce [[electric razor]]s, with 128 robots made by [[Adept Technology]]. There are only nine human [[quality assurance]] workers who oversee the end of the manufacturing process.<ref>{{cite web|last=Markoff|first=John|title=Techonomy 2012: Where's My Robot?|url=http://techonomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WheresMyRobot.pdf|work=Techonomy|accessdate=2016-03-05|date=13 November 2012}}</ref>
In the manufacturing of [[integrated circuit]]s using 300 mm wafers, the entire [[Manufacturing|manufacturing process]] is completely automated{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}, with workers only making sure that the process runs without problems and repairing any faulty machinery.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}.
[[Xiaomi]] has an 860,000 square foot factory in [[Changping, Beijing]] capable of manufacturing 10 million smartphones a year across 11 fully automated production lines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bochis |first=Nicolae |date=2026-02-02 |title=Xiaomi's Dark Robot Factory Can Make A Phone Every Second Without People - Here's How |url=https://www.bgr.com/2087200/xiaomi-dark-robot-smart-phone-factory/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=BGR |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=((24/7 Staff)) |date=2024-07-22 |title=Xiaomi Launches First Fully Automated Smartphone Factory |url=https://www.supplychain247.com/article/xiaomi-launches-first-fully-automated-smartphone-factory |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Supply Chain 24/7 |language=en}}</ref>
[[ASE Technologies|ASE Group]], a Taiwanese company that handles outsourced [[semiconductor packaging]] and testing have 56 lights out factories. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Smart Manufacturing |url=https://ase.aseglobal.com/esg/smart-manufacturing/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ASE |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=ASE opens fifth factory in Penang, embracing AI-driven smart manufacturing |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250218PD220/ase-malaysia-expansion-ai-smart-manufacturing.html |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-12 |title=The 'Lights-Out' Factory: How AI is Revolutionizing Semiconductor Production |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250912PR202/semiconductor-industry-nvidia.html&chid=9 |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}}</ref>
==Motivations for lights-out factories== <!-- The quote is copy & pasted from reference --> Lights-out manufacturing may increase productivity and lower upkeep costs. Companies incorporating lights-out methodologies into floor plans only need to consider robotic workers, which minimize space and climate-control requirements. Human laborers can be dispatched to a separate location for tasks such as quality assurance. Optimizing manufacturing space for a fully autonomous robotic workforce allows for an increase in productivity.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
James Cook, an application engineer at [[Stäubli]], the business development and marketing manager at Stäubli Robotics, says robots can help lower building costs by requiring smaller work cells. He states that "manufacturers can fit a larger number of compact cells in the same space to increase production without adding heating, lighting, or cooling to the cost of the building."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brumson|first1=Bennett|title=Robotic Industries Association|url=https://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-Industry-Insights/Robotics-and-Energy-Cost-Reduction/content_id/1047|website=Robotics Online|publisher=Robotic Industries Association|accessdate=29 November 2017}}</ref> Floor space is also important for energy conservation, as a smaller space reduces energy consumption by reducing heating costs. Without human workers, [[Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning|climate-control]] systems are unnecessary, and smaller layouts require less electricity.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
==See also== * [[Automation]] * [[Self-replicating machine]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Industrial automation]]