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June, 2020


The Benefits of Modularity in Industrial Production


By Dipl. -Ing. Jakob Dück, Global Industry Segment Manager, HARTING M


odular approaches in mach - inery and plant operations are growing more successful.


Interfaces play a key role in these designs, streamlining products and making them as efficient as possible. The principle of modularity can


be illustrated by LEGO building blocks. A nearly infinite number of variations can be created from a few basic bricks and defined connecting elements. This approach is now being established in industry for products with a far greater degree of complex- ity and variability. The platform strategy of the


automotive industry is a typical example. Depending on the engine, transmission, axles, and chassis, var- ious types and brands of cars can be built. In industrial control and drive technology, systems like PLCs, IPCs, HMIs, and drive components can be customized from individual “slices” or several remote I/O blocks and cus- tomized to suit the machine or plant to be automated. They can be expanded or modified in the future without any major input. It can be argued that modular-


ization of complex products can only be successful if they are produced in the thousands (industrial controls) or


are aimed at a portfolio with less variance and complexity and an over- all lower cost level, without reducing the breadth and individuality of the product range.” There are a number of typical market demands and requirements in the market for man- ufacturing systems. Production systems call for a high degree of variability, enabling


ture different products in smaller quantities. The competition in mechanical


engineering is forcing the OEMs of production systems to expand their business models. In today’s B2B mar- ket, it is no longer good enough to adopt products, sell them to opera- tors and then wait for service and maintenance orders.


machines. Especially in the case of expen-


sive capital goods, it is often much more cost efficient for users to expand existing machines or to renew individual units or subsystems than to invest in an entirely new machine. Also, in some customer sectors


of the mechanical engineering indus- try, there is a widespread expecta- tion that machine modules and sub- systems from different suppliers can be combined into a production line without any major issues, and with- out losing technical capability or money. All of the requirements can be


met if production systems are consis- tently modularized and networked.


Factors to Consider Based on HARTING’s experi-


the manufacturing of a wider range of products even in small to medium unit quantities. These systems must be scalable and offer options for sub-


It makes sense to turn to service-oriented business


models. The average profit margin in the new machine market was 5.4 percent in 2018, compared with over


40 percent in the service industry. Demand for service is far less cycle-dependent than the demand for machines.


even millions (automotive) of times over. But, can a modular approach also prove successful if only a few hundred units of a certain type are made per year?


Benefits of Modularity There is currently no alterna-


tive to modularization in mechanical engineering. According to the VDMA, “Standardization and modularization


sequent expansion in both capacity and output. While the main focus used to be


on net productivity, mechanical engi- neering customers are now expecting more variability and expandability. In other words, it is not “highly sophisticated” systems for the pro- duction of components in high vol- umes that are in demand, but rather systems that can flexibly manufac-


Machine tool with key add-on modules as part of the production line. TCO models for the profitability


of investments, which were often used in the past, are more and more frequently extended by lifecycle cost (LCC) models. This allows for new forms business, including predictive maintenance and retrofit services, to be performed transparently. It is easier for machine builders


to convince users that the extended offering, in connection with the life- cycle of a plant, is more advanta- geous. The rising demand for subscrip-


tion models on the customer side con- firms this overall trend. In terms of OEMs, it also makes financial sense to turn to benefit- and service-orient- ed models. While the average margin in the new machine market stood at 5.4 percent in 2018, this margin was over 40 percent in the service indus- try. Demand for service is far less cycle-dependent than the demand for


ence with customers, OEMs should consider the following points when making the decision to go modular. The total estimated input and expen- diture for a new, consistently modu- lar product group or family must, at maximum, be so high that it can be plausibly introduced within a normal timeframe, and assuming worst-case market development. The technical challenges of the


planned division of the machine or plant into individual modules with transitions and interfaces should be assessed as generally feasible by all groups involved, including mechani- cal, electrical and safety engineers. All operational functions involved in the future service delivery process should be prepared to align their methods with the modular design of the machines. To what extent should a


machine or plant be divided into modules, and what is the general procedure to be followed? The real genius of LEGO bricks is not the bricks themselves, but in their inter- connections. The interconnections


Continued on next page


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