Industry 4.0 is the latest of the industrial revolutions. From its roots in Industry 1.0, marked by mechanization, to the mass production of Industry 2.0 and the digital advances of Industry 3.0, each stage paved the way for today’s Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Although the term Industry 5.0 has also started to be used, its exact existence has not yet been clarified.
Not just about automation, Industry 4.0 refers to interconnected systems, real-time data analysis, and smart technologies that reshape production processes globally. In this article, we examine the definition, importance, benefits, and technologies of Industry 4.0.
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Contents
What is Industry 4.0?
Industry 4.0 is a term first coined at the Hannover Fair in Germany in 2011. A working group formed by Robert Bosch GmbH and Henning Kagermann in October 2012 prepared a proposal dossier on the 4th Industrial Revolution to be submitted to the German Federal Government. The Industry 4.0 report prepared by the working group was presented at the Hannover Fair on April 8, 2013.
In developed countries, there is an integration of industry and technology that started many years ago and is now being realized. Following previous major industrial revolutions, countries and companies have had to develop various strategies to keep pace with global changes. One of these strategies is Industry 4.0, which is also on the agenda in Germany to maintain a competitive advantage among these changes.
As you can see from the name, this is the fourth industrial revolution. There were three other industrial revolutions before this one. The industrial revolutions from the past to the present are as follows;
First Industrial Revolution
The First Industrial Revolution began in the very beginning of 1800. The invention of the steam engine released production processes from dependency on animal and human force and gave rise to new manufacturing systems with the engineering era.
Second Industrial Revolution
A century after the start of the first industrial revolution, the increased use of oil and electricity led to what historians call the Second Industrial Revolution. It was characterized by technologies that remain in regular use today, like the assembly line and techniques for mass production.
Third Industrial Revolution
The third Industrial Revolution began in the middle of the twentieth century with the coming of computers. This was primarily created from earlier development on the automation of factories and robotics. This was also marked by the introduction of computerized business systems for managing and analyzing data.
Fourth Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution refers to the period when manufacturing processes were greatly data-driven. Many companies have big data that they cannot analyze manually. This revolution made it possible for manufacturers, through artificial intelligence, to analyze, predict, understand, report, and not only collect this data. Industry 4.0 is less defined by one technology—the integration of varied systems, tools, and innovations.
What is the Importance of Industry 4.0?
Industry 4.0 aims to integrate Information Technologies and Industry. One of its key components is a new generation of low-cost, space-saving, energy-efficient, and highly reliable hardware and the operating and software systems that support them. The second key component is the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an Internet-connected intelligent system equipped with sensors and processors, where all kinds of devices can exchange information with each other.
These systems are used in machines in factories to create “smart factories”. This allows production to take place in a self-optimizing way that is less dependent on human intervention. Adoption of Industry 4.0 will reduce production times, costs, and energy consumption while increasing production quantity and quality.
What are the Benefits of Industry 4.0?
Combining or eliminating labor through the use of technology in production helps to reduce human error. Human-machine systems optimize production processes, enabling small batches of products to be designed for more flexible and high-quality customer customization. With automation and optimization, productivity increases, decision-making processes are improved and management becomes more efficient.
These developments stimulate economic growth, provide a competitive advantage, and increase the traceability of products, allowing remote access. It also increases investments and creates new employment opportunities. All these advantages make Industry 4.0 even better.
Industry 4.0 Technologies
The fourth industrial revolution has brought innovative technologies that are increasingly transforming life, working methods and industrial operations as a whole. Let’s take a look at what Industry 4.0 technologies are:
- Big Data and Analytics
- Smart Robots
- Vertical and Horizontal System Integration
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Cyber Security
- Cloud Technologies
- Additive Manufacturing
- Simulation
- Enriched Reality
Big Data and Analytics
Big data analysis methods are helping to improve production quality, save energy, and simplify equipment maintenance. As part of Industry 4.0, collecting and comprehensively evaluating data from production systems as well as corporate and customer-based management systems is becoming standard in real-time decision-making processes. Companies that use big data today earn 50% more profit. They are 41% more effective in their market efforts. They can reduce their advertising spend by 37% and are 37% more successful in their use of social media.
Smart Robots
Manufacturers in various industries have long been using intelligent robots in their operations. Robot technology is developing rapidly around the world. Robots have become more autonomous, flexible, and collaborative. In addition, the cost of ownership is falling. In the future, robots will interact more with each other. They will work more safely side by side with humans. At the same time, they will improve their ability to learn.
Vertical and Horizontal System Integration
Many IT systems today are not fully integrated. Companies, suppliers, and customers are rarely connected end-to-end. The same is true for engineering design, manufacturing, and service functions. However, as universal data integration networks develop across the enterprise, companies, departments, and competencies will become more aligned.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Today, most sensors and machines do not benefit from networked, integrated data processing. The current structure is often designed with sensors and field devices with limited AI and automation control mechanisms connected to the overall production control system in vertical automation pyramids. However, the Internet of Things will enable more devices, and even semi-finished products, to be connected by standardized technologies, enabling them to benefit from integrated data processing. This will allow hardware in the field to communicate with each other and, where necessary, with centralized control systems. It will also enable real-time decision-making by eliminating the need for one-stop analysis and decision-making.
Cyber Security
Most companies still use management and production systems that are not interconnected. However, with increased connectivity, secure communication based on machine identification and access management is becoming essential to protect critical industrial systems and production lines against cybersecurity threats.
Today’s businesses ensure cybersecurity using tools such as industrial firewall devices and security dashboard software.
Cloud Technologies
Many companies are turning to cloud-based software for enterprise and analytical applications. But going forward, more product-related data will need to be shared between facilities and companies. As the performance of cloud technologies increases, response times will drop to a few milliseconds.
This will lead to an increase in machine data and functions on cloud platforms and the proliferation of data-driven services in production systems. Systems that monitor and control processes are even expected to move to the cloud. Today, much of the software used by businesses tends to be cloud-based. The number of cloud-based ERP software is also growing rapidly.
Additive Manufacturing
Most companies have begun the use of additive manufacturing techniques in prototyping and manufacturing the parts they use. This is going to be very prevalent in the future, particularly in the areas of complex and lightweight design for small quantities of specialized product productions. This is especially in aid of high-performance, decentralized additive manufacturing systems to reduce logistic costs and inventory levels. The manufacturers of today’s manufacturing management systems have already begun to provide similar cloud-based solutions.
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Simulation
Today, 3D simulations are used during the design phase of products, materials, and production processes. In the future, however, these simulations will become commonplace in factory operations. Virtual models that are created with actual data will generate a virtual reality of the physical world complete with machines as well as products and people. This way, operators will be allowed to test the parameters of the machines in the virtual environment before tracking a product on the production line. This will again reduce machine setup time and improve quality.
Augmented Reality
Many services, comprising picking parts within warehouses and sending repair instructions to mobile devices, are supported by augmented reality technology. However, such technology is still being developed. It will no doubt be hugely incorporated by companies in the future to make better decisions and operations processes by providing real-time information to their employees.
Videos Related to Industry 4.0
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