Industry 4.0 and the IoT: how can you optimise your facilities?
As the industry is constantly evolving, we are committed to working with manufacturers at the cutting edge of technology. This enables us to continue offering you solutions tailored to your needs, whilst also increasing the profitability of your facilities and reducing your costs.
Discover examples of the solutions offered by our partners below
Why Industry 4.0 and the IoT?
Today, the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – itself building on the Third Industrial Revolution – is enabling the digitisation of communication and the creation of interconnected systems. The hallmarks of this new revolution are the use of sensors that convert physical quantities into electrical signals. The processing of these signals by high-performance processors and more substantial data storage enable rapid analysis and reduce geographical dependence.
The driving force behind this Fourth Revolution is known as the IoT (Internet of Things). In industry, we even refer to it as the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things). In practical terms, the IoT consists of connected objects that communicate with one another without human intervention. For example, these can range from simple sensors to smartphones and tablets.
By combining these connected devices with automated systems, it is possible to collect and analyse digital data in order to trigger an action that enables a process to be studied or a specific task to be carried out. For example, this might involve installing sensors on production machinery to analyse their cost-effectiveness or to gather information about their components in order to prevent potential breakdowns.
What are the benefits and potential?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers significant benefits for our businesses:
- increased productivity
- optimisation of production
- real-time monitoring and adjustment of production equipment (prevents breakdowns and production stoppages, adapts to market needs or changes specific to each customer)
- linking production equipment to websites to personalise a company’s offering to its customers (mass customisation)
Furthermore, this new revolution offers enormous potential across four key areas:
- factory digitisation (or the smart factory). This involves fitting sensors to production equipment to carry out self-diagnosis, thereby enabling remote control and integration into the overall production system.
- the customisation of production (or smart production). This enables automatic adjustments to be made to production equipment to meet the specific needs of each consumer (mass customisation) whilst remaining cost-effective.
- The use of new digital tools. These new tools enable the creation of a virtual replica of all or part of the production line in order to carry out process simulations or tests, or to facilitate maintenance and repairs.
- The resource-efficient factory. The aim is to improve production efficiency whilst conserving the company’s resources (better management of resources and energy).
What solutions do our partners offer?
ASCO NUMATICS
ASCO equips its proportional valves with IO-LINK® communication technology
A few weeks ago, ASCO Numatics (Emerson Group) unveiled its Sentronic proportional pressure control valves fitted with IO-LINK® communication technology. These valves now provide access to Industry 4.0 and the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and enable users to prepare for preventive maintenance by carrying out real-time checks and diagnostics on their installations.
Source: ASCO.com
BOGE
BOGE ‘airstatus’: continuous safety and management wherever you are
Via the RS485 interface, Boge compressed air system components can be interconnected and transmit precise, real-time information on their operation. BOGE ‘airstatus’ is a remote diagnostics system that allows you to monitor the operation of 32 components from your smartphone, tablet or computer, wherever you are. This technology therefore gives you greater overall control over your installation.
Source: BOGE.com
FESTO
Scharnhausen Technology Plant
For its new German factory, Festo has decided to invest heavily in new technologies. This factory, which produces valves, valve terminals and electronic components, fits perfectly into the ‘smart factory’ concept. On the one hand, Festo staff work alongside production robots in real time, depending on production requirements. For this reason, maintenance technicians are equipped with tablets to communicate with these robots, but also to enable them to quickly identify any malfunctions and rectify them immediately. Furthermore, the factory is equipped with a comprehensive energy transparency system that enables real-time monitoring of energy flows and consumption levels on site.
Festo also offers its customers a wide range of products and solutions to enable them to integrate Industry 4.0 components into their facilities. Through the use of sensors and the IO-LINK® connection, users can monitor production in real time and receive detailed diagnostics on production status, for example.
Source: FESTO.com
GEMU
Processing Industry 4.0
To meet its customers’ needs, Gemü has invested heavily in new technologies, specifically RFID. To this end, Gemü equips its products with chips that allow users to access all the necessary documentation, such as technical data sheets or installation manuals. Furthermore, thanks to the Conexo app, it is also possible to identify the exact location of a component within a plant, as well as to record information such as the date of the last maintenance and to schedule a technician’s visit electronically (via email) based on the plant’s requirements. The Conexo app enables the management of multiple plants as well as the performance of analyses across different sites. The data collected is transferred electronically directly into users’ maintenance programmes or even to an ERP system.
Source: GEMU-GROUP.com
WIKA
New generation of WIKA electronic pressure switches
WIKA has launched the new generation of PSD pressure switches with the PSD-4. As well as offering switching response times of 3 ms, an adjustable output signal measurement range with a span of 5:1, self-diagnostic functions and EMC compliance with the latest standards… the PSD-4 now features IO-LINK® technology as standard.
This means that the instrument communicates directly with connected systems, sending all process data and diagnostic information in real time. This is why it is possible to configure the PSD-4 at any time to meet the requirements of the installation. Furthermore, replacing and configuring a new unit is instantaneous, as all configuration data is stored within it.
Source: WIKA.fr
