Industry 4.0. Technology for the benefit of business
Smarter, faster, more efficient production: this is Industry 4.0
Daughter of the digital transformation that is sweeping society, Industry 4.0 has become a new dimension of business.
The term Industry 4.0 was first used in 2011, in Germany, during the annual trade fair in Hannover.
This term was used to draw attention to the great change we are experiencing. Thus, one can define this state of transition as a fourth industrial revolution characterised by a technological mix of robotics, connectivity and programming.
The stages of the industrial revolution
1784: the steam engine is born. Production is mechanised by harnessing the power of water and steam.
1870: mass production begins. Accelerating the process is the use of electricity, the internal combustion engine and the use of a new energy source: oil.
1970: birth of information technology. With the advent of the digital age, levels of automation increased with the introduction of electronic systems and Information Technology.
This new phase uses very advanced levels of connectivity and automation, supported by new technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data, AI. These new technologies, in fact, make it possible to collect, manage and analyse an incredible amount of data, allowing decision-making and production processes to be optimised.
Factory 4.0
Factory 4.0 is therefore equipped with interconnected machines that enable
- continuous data collection
- autonomous and preventive maintenance
- the possibility of remote control
The first and most important spin-off of telecommunication is real-time access to all information. Secondly, other benefits can be identified in terms of:
- Productivity: through cost optimisation and increased production speed, lower set-up costs, reduced errors and downtime.
- Efficiency: derived from the use of software that analyses the data collected and can also produce predictive models.
- Safety: the ability of machines to perform autonomous maintenance reduces the number of interventions carried out by operators and, therefore, the risk of accidents.
A distinctive feature of this revolution, compared to the previous ones, is the use of enabling technologies, i.e., according to the definition of the European Community, technologies that are 'knowledge-intensive and associated with high R&D intensity, rapid innovation cycles, substantial investment expenditure and highly skilled jobs'.
Consequently, by exploiting these solutions, it will be possible to increase the value of the production system chain, through a fast and direct interconnection between all company assets.
Enabling technologies
- Advanced robotics. Interconnected machinery, collaborative robots, rapidly programmable and equipped with artificial intelligence
- Additive manufacturing. 3D printers connected to digital development software, digital manufacturing
- Augmented reality. Wearable devices through which to experience a plane of reality superimposed on our own
- Horizontal/vertical integration. Integration of information along all steps of the value chain, from producer to consumer
- Simulation. Possibility of simulating new processes before making them operational
- Industrial Internet or Internet of Things applied to industry. Multidirectional communication between production processes and products
- Cloud. Management of large amounts of data directly on the network
- Cyber-Security. Ensuring security during operations on the network and on cloud systems
- Big Data and analytics. Analysis of a large database necessary for the real-time production of useful information to optimise products and processes
The implementation of these new technologies requires a paradigm shift: it is not enough to insert new machines, but the organisational model must also be changed and implemented.
In conclusion, we can say that the smart factory, or intelligent factory, is characterised by digitalised, dynamic production and more fluid processes. In other words, by automated and interconnected production models, communicating assets, traceable and traceable processes, collective and shared management of information throughout the supply chain.
