Industry 4.0 | manufacturing Industry 4.0 holds the potential to change the face of advanced
manufacturing. But what does it mean for the plastics processing sector? AMI Magazines’ Editor-in-Chief Chris Smith learns more about Industry 4.0 visions and developments from some of the plastics industry’s leading equipment producers
Mapping the future of Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 promises to harness the power of the digitally-connected world to deliver a fully-decentral- ised manufacturing environment where every detail of production can be logged, recalled, analysed and, most importantly, automatically acted upon. A “cyber-physi- cal” environment where orders placed in a supermarket or car showroom are automatically fed through to factories and supply chains and where every individual part and component can be tracked from anywhere and at any time. It is a revolutionary strategy and one that proponents and potential users alike are still working to transition from theory to practice. One of the biggest promoters of the Industry 4.0
manufacturing concept is the German machinery association VDMA, which sees it as a huge opportunity for its members and their customers. “Industry 4.0 is the fusion of hardware and software to improve management
www.injectionworld.com
in production. And it as a field where we can gain business,” says Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of the plastics and rubber division of the association. However, while Industry 4.0 concepts have been
under development for several years, Kühmann says yet more work is required to ensure effective implementa- tion as it means manufacturing industry having to deal with issues that have not in the past been top of the agenda . “One thing that is very important is data security. Data traveling to the cloud or wherever must be secured,” he says. “And the skills of people working on the shop-floor and in management have to change. Attitudes will have to change but let’s be certain, there is no way around Industry 4.0.” Kühmann is also Secretary General of Euromap, the
umbrella organisation that represents the continent’s plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers. Last
Skills will have to change: Thorsten Kühmann, VDMA
January/February 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70