Industry 4.0

We have seen in the past the evolution of the production processes, from the first industrial revolution, that of the steam machines to the last 3.0 called the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Today we are at the beginning of a new one, named ‘Industrie 4.0’. Let´s explain a little further the concept Industrie 4.0!

The term "Industrie 4.0" originates from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government, which promotes the computerization of manufacturing. It was globally assimilated years later as Industry 4.0.

 

Industry 4.0 is a state in which manufacturing systems and its products are not simply connected, drawing physical information into the digital domain, but also communicate, analyze, and use that information to add intelligent action back into the physical world.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The manufacturing is the process of information creation, communication and action. While its output is a physical object, manufacturing inevitably begins with information:

First of all, a design is created via drawing, design software, or the scanning of a physical object, thus creating the data. These data are then communicated to machines that execute the design, from the digital to the physical realm.

That is really a closed loop: Physical to digital to physical again. It is here that the overlap between the concepts of Industry 4.0 and the IoT becomes clear.

One of the main advantages of smart factories is the energy savings they produce. At EDIBON, we have the necessary equipment for engineering students to learn and contribute to this new industrial era.

INTERNET OF THINGS

The IoT is then a crucial element of Industry 4.0. The IoT concept has gained importance in recent years as the connectivity among the components of the entire production process, has become better understood.

Currently, a host of connected technologies is advancing rapidly, including high-quality sensors, more reliable and powerful networks, high-performance computing, robotics, artificial intelligence and cognitive technologies. Taken together, these technologies can change manufacturing in profound ways.

All this can be enhanced by adding the financial, organizative, delivery aspects of the whole enterprise, known as the Internet of Services.

The sum of IoT (Internet of the Things) and the IoS (Internet of Services) forms the new concept of INDUSTRY 4.0

EDIBON has in its catalogue AE –PLC –FMS production cells to introduce learners in the world of automatized factory. They are managed by sophisticated PLC with a built-in Webserver providing access to the PLC by a user at a remote location through the Internet.

In this way, the cell is connected to the control of the factory, sending information of the production, the state of the cell, alarms, provision of materials or receiving orders about stopping or continue the production in order to meet the requirements of the order, etc.

 

At EDIBON we are aware that all these innovations are the ones that mark the beginning of the digitalization of the industrial world through the Internet of Things, which requires an intelligent integration of IoT in the heart of companies.