Industry 4.0 | manufacturing
Industry 4.0 and are discussing it with our system partners and with many customers. But how and when our machines can be integrated into an ‘intelligent’ environment is decided in the final analysis by what benefits and added value there are for the customer,” he says. Franz emphasises that implementing an Industry 4.0
Arburg demonstrated Industry 4.0 production of “smart” NFC luggage tags at K2016
means access to an organisation’s MES or ERP system via the industry-standard OPC UA interface system, as well as to the machinery maker’s own CMS (Condition Monitoring System) and Windows-based Web-Service 24/7. The company claims Wittmann 4.0 will open the door to Industry 4.0 while addressing processors’ key concerns around cyber security. Germany-based Arburg was among the first of the major injection machinery companies to investigate the potential of Industry 4.0, demonstrating a fully con- nected production system as far back as its 2014 Technology Days open house event. The company’s Managing Director of Technology and Engineering, Heinz Gaub said at K last year that its focus in its Industry 4.0 developments is to address customer need. “We are less concerned with the theoretical constructs than with practical and implementable applications,” he said. On its stand at K, Arburg demonstrated production of a “smart” luggage tag which was injection moulded and then “individualised” using its Freeformer 3D print technology. The multi-station process used NFC chips and laser-printed QR codes to support direct connection to its host computer system to allow storage and retrieval of all production data. While Industry 4.0 is on the watch list for companies
worldwide, it is really only a top priority for those in the more developed markets, according to Haitian Interna- tional Member of the Board, Professor Helmar Franz. He says that the Chinese machinery maker sees its responsibility in this area being to support customers following the Industry 4.0 path rather than to lead them. This means making sure that its equipment is supplied with all the interface options – such as Euromap 77 – needed to connect to other equipment and to plant or business-wide manufacturing systems. “We are placing great emphasis on the theme of
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production system is not a task that can be taken on by injection machinery makers alone. “There are still some general challenges to be overcome that cannot be solved by one party only, the key items being data security, network accessibility, and internet stability. In addition, there is the question of what makes sense. Not everything that is already technologically feasible today necessarily makes economic sense for the individual plastics processor,” he says. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery also says it is placing its focus on ensuring its equipment is prepared for Industry 4.0 rather than attempting to direct its customers along a specific path. “We are now focusing on Industry 4.0 ready – implementing inter- faces. But our long term solution is to integrate services and solutions, says the company’s Chief Operating Officer Andreas Schramm. At the present time, the German-headquartered
company can provide OPC UA connectivity on new equipment and offers a Remote Box retrofit option for existing machines. This interface supports the company’s vision of a ‘Smart Factory’ based on smart machines synchronised to external ERP systems, robots and supply chain; smart service through the integration of quality assurance, remote diagnostics and maintenance; and smart production through connection to a manufacturing execution system (MES) to track real time production. The latest version of Dr Boy’s Procan control system
– Procan Alpha 4 – includes an OPC UA server to support Industry 4.0 connectivity via Euromap 77 compliant interfacing. Dr Boy Managing Partner Alfred Schiffer says that its Industry 4.0 applications proved to be one of the key areas of visitor interest on its display at K2016, where the company also demonstrated its status app that allows current machine data to be viewed on any mobile device. Integrating the OPC UA capability into the control avoids the additional expense of an external OPC client and wrapper, the company says. Italian injection machinery maker Negri Bossi has also enhanced its established Amico and Supervisio remote monitoring to support Industry 4.0. The Italian injection machinery maker says its Amico 4.0 solution enables sharing and exchange of production data across injection moulding machines anywhere in the world, supporting integration of remote service, process support and production monitoring tools.
Focusing on practical implementa- tion: Heinz Gaub, Arburg
Industry 4.0 must deliver value for customers: Helmar Franz, Haitian
Preparing for Industry 4.0: Andreas Schramm, Sumitomo SHI Demag
January/February 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 45
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