PASSPORT TO INNOVATION
Whereas reconfigurable manufacturing means you have the option of always reconfiguring the complete system. I always compare reconfigurable systems to LEGO blocks. Machinery parts are like LEGO blocks: They are standardized, and you can always configure them in new ways. This setup is very adaptable to the normal adapta- tions and changes you have in production. So, if you need a lathe, just put a lathe in there. If you need a scale, just put a scale in there. Just plug it in—as easily as plugging in your printer at home. So reconfigurable systems work with the plug-and-play principle, and in this context we call it “plug and produce.”
What products are coming out of your demo factory
already? What do you see coming out of it in a year? We are very happy that we are the first group to really
offer a set of products that are compatible with each other. We defined our own standards within this group. Now these products are compatible, based on these standards. We have a backbone connector, and we use a backbone
cable to connect all the modules. We also have interface boxes from the backbone to the different modules. These interface boxes have circuitry built-in—for example, net- works, which are like energy switches and energy measure- ment. We have a pneumatic air supply in these boxes and so on. These boxes represent one such product that today is available from three different companies. We also have what we jokingly call our machine USB
connector. It’s as simple as a USB connector but it’s a bit bigger as it includes current, internet/Ethernet, high volt- age etc. This connector is also available from three different suppliers. Additionally, we have Festo flexible conveyors and conveyor locks, so you can lock the modules to each of the sides where the conveyor ends. All these products were developed within our group.
Now, we’re ready to offer the first products that can be used to set up such very, very flexible and reconfigurable systems.
At a recent conference in California, I heard you
declare that mass production is “out.” You said we’re moving to more individualization of products, and to lo- cal production. Is “mass customization” the main reason reconfigurable manufacturing is necessary? What other reasons would you point to? I am convinced we are moving into this direction. As I
pointed out earlier, the fact that China is putting so much money into the development of high technology makes it clear that China has recognized that just offering cheap labor is not a good business model for the future. This is driven by consumer behavior: The customer today can sit in front of his computer and configure his products as he wants and then, just with the click of the mouse, can place his order. That customer will not wait for another six weeks for the products to be delivered from, let’s say, China. Production has to move closer to the consumer markets. But now we need to make the right production tech- nologies available because we don’t have enough cheap labor in typical consumer market areas. We have to bring in more automated technologies. Automated systems must be very flexible and really reconfigurable—because we won’t be producing in masses; we will be producing in much smaller lot sizes, even down to lot size one. This will completely change the markets and also the driving force for production technologies.
What is the biggest impediment to the shift to smart
manufacturing? Cybersecurity is one of the major threats. We just experienced an external hacker attack on the German internet where up to one-half of the connec- tions were
blocked.This makes it clear that even big and well-known telecom companies are not fully prepared for what can happen. Think about this happening to a production company.
Production will stop for two days or so until everything has been reconfigured. Or, even much worse, what will
Detlef Zühlke, one of the fathers of Industrie 4.0, holds court at the Hannover Messe trade fair in Germany last April.
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March 2017 Photo by SmartFactory-KL/Michael Schaefer
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