Automation in Industry 4.0

In times of volatile markets and customised products down to a batch size of 1, rapid batch changes have become a crucial factor. Modular manufacturing intelligence directly at field level provides the necessary flexibility, such as in the design of valve terminals or carrier systems with built-in controllers.

In the SmartFactory Industry 4.0 research project, Festo played a major role in making flexible, modular and interconnected machine cells from various manufacturers a reality. Festo has already put this into practice at its Scharnhausen Technology Plant. There, the company is showing, among other things, that the set-up times of networked assembly lines can be reduced from several hours to just 13 seconds. This means that you can also easily implement new technologies or production methods in a single afternoon. Even the time needed to relocate the entire system can now be reduced from three weeks to just three days.

It’s important to note that in Industry 4.0, existing systems can also be kept cost-effective with suitable retrofitted components. For the time being, manufacturers or users will have to define the specifications of the machine interfaces for their own processes themselves; the relevant standards or VDMA recommendations have yet to be released.

Energy costs are not going to decrease by themselves. The key to efficient production lies in your own resources and in energy management that is only possible in connected systems. The Festo production building, the Scharnhausen Technology Plant, is a prime example. With features such as excellent insulation, heat recovery and compressed air generation tailored to demand, the site meets the highest energy standards.

Above all, however, connected sensors monitor the consumption of every machine. The M2M (machine to machine) applications communicate autonomously via OPC UA with the manufacturing execution system (MES), which is configured for optimal synchronisation and prevents energy peaks. Existing systems were retrofitted with the necessary sensors and mini control systems, including the electrical terminal CPX and our energy efficiency module MSE6-E2M. This required an investment of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 euros per machine. In terms of benefits, this will save the factory about 3 GWh of energy and the investment will pay for itself in less than three years. In other customer projects, the support provided by our Festo Energy Saving Services has even resulted in savings of up to 60%. For new systems, the greatest potential lies in their cost-effective design.

A major benefit of Industry 4.0 is predictive maintenance, which minimises unplanned downtime. iPads were an essential part of the pilot project at Festo as they enable service personnel to not only view system error messages on their tablets, but also all repair instructions, plans, bills of materials and spare parts lists. If necessary, they can consult experts via chat, load past repair orders and take a look at the spare parts warehouse online. This makes it immediately clear which error messages are still unresolved and which employee and priority they have been assigned.

In the future, maintenance activities could be expanded even further to include a real-time connection to the order list and AR (augmented reality) support. The pilot project was so successful that we are currently rolling out this system in all Festo factories. The production systems’ OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) has increased significantly, employees are more motivated and the investment has paid for itself in less than six months.

You can also use the AX Smartenance (smart maintenance) mobile maintenance app in your factory as a digital maintenance manager.

Industry 4.0 is all about practical applications. In our Scharnhausen Technology Plant we produce our valves, valve terminals, printed circuit boards and modules on networked assembly lines in a flexible, energy-efficient and highly productive process.