A new report from Kaleido Intelligence, a leading connectivity market intelligence and consulting firm, has found that smart manufacturing will generate almost $5 billion in cellular connectivity revenue by 2028, a CAGR of 36.7% from an expected $772 million in 2023.

This wealth of data is generated from an increasing level of automation in maintenance, alongside a significant expansion of real-time video-based use cases, which will push monthly ARPU over $3.00 in many places from 2024, thanks to high levels of data transmission.

Mixed Connectivity Networks the Future for Manufacturing

The new research, Cellular IoT Connectivity Series: Manufacturing Industry Opportunities & Forecasts, has found that the manufacturing industry will transmit nearly 220 petabytes of data over cellular channels by 2028, due to this increased video-based automation. However, the majority of data generated will remain local due to the integration of edge computing, reducing the cost of cellular connectivity for end users.

The research also anticipates many deployments leveraging LPWAN technologies alongside data-intensive ones, and indeed several use cases being better served by non-cellular data entirely. The report notes that being able to offer both cellular and non-cellular connectivity to customers is rapidly becoming a key component of industrial IoT offerings.

Private Networks Bring Reliability but also Complexity

These increasingly complex network architectures will be supported through the use of private cellular networks in many cases, with technologies like DAS struggling to compete with dedicated networks in terms of reliability, security and latency in the years ahead. Kaleido notes that many such deployments are also focused on 5G even where the full features of the latest cellular standard are not utilised, both as a future-proofing method and to allow ease of management for service providers.

However, the increasing network complexity will restrict connectivity to businesses that can afford to deploy and manage the networks, with only 8% of manufacturing establishments worldwide adopting cellular connectivity by 2028. This is because the technologies require dedicated management, and as such will remain out of the reach of most small- and medium-sized enterprises for the foreseeable future.

Research author James Moar remarked:

“Cellular connectivity can bring many benefits to manufacturers, by providing a reliable platform for predictive maintenance and elements of production automation. However, both the complexity of the systems and upfront costs of managed services will make more budget-constrained businesses think twice about adopting the technology, particularly in the current economic climate. This will keep connectivity use confined mostly to larger businesses that have the ability to make costly technology investments.”

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IoT Analytics published a 217-page adoption report containing statistics on the current and future status of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing.

This research is based on the feedback from 500 decision makers in manufacturing organizations.

Key insights:

• A look at five key statistics shows that Industry 4.0 activity has risen since 2011, with COVID-19 and the 2022 slowdown presenting recent bumps on the road.
• The analysis considered five indicators: Public search interest, academic papers, startup funding, M&A activity, and enterprise adoption.

Key quotes:

• Dimitris Paraskevopoulos, analyst at IoT Analytics, says: “The concept of Industry 4.0 was introduced 11 years ago and first started as a vague concept to revolutionize manufacturing through “cyber-physical systems”. It has since become a mandatory part of most manufacturers’ strategy. Today, search interest has increased by 140 times and all signs point to the fact that interest in Industry 4.0 is still going strong.”

• Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO of IoT Analytics, adds:
  

  “Our latest research shows that industrial companies have further advanced on their digitization journey. The fact that 72% of manufacturers have an Industry 4.0 strategy in place is a clear indicator that adoption is happening, and Industry 4.0 is here to stay.”

The rise of Industry 4.0 in 5 stats

More than 10 years after its creation, it seems that Industry 4.0 is in full swing: Public search interest has risen 140 times since then, 50,000 research papers were published on the topic in 2021 alone, start-ups are now receiving a total of $3 billion in funding each year (Q3 2021 to Q3 2022), and M&A activity has doubled.

The term “Industry 4.0” was first publicly introduced at Hannover Fair 2011 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who (as rumor has it) picked up the term, sparking a number of interesting discussions as a result.

What first started as a vague concept to revolutionize manufacturing through “cyber-physical systems” has since taken shape.

Some of the key advances since 2011 include:

• Much more powerful chipsets
• Widespread adoption of cloud services
• Containerization of software
• Creation of much-improved software middleware/tools
• Open interfaces to edge computing hardware
• New and improved communication standards/protocols
• Availability of relevant AI models and libraries

Few of these were obvious 10 years ago.

| “Industry 4.0” Definition
The use of modern I4.0 tech stack elements, or specific supporting technologies that enable manufacturers to integrate various data sources, achieve higher OEE, reduce costs, or improve other KPIs relevant to a production setup (manufacturing of goods, mining, oil, and gas) mostly in conjunction with rolling out new or improved use cases.

Here is a look at five key stats that show how “Industry 4.0” activity has changed since 2011:

#1 PUBLIC SEARCH INTEREST: 140 TIMES HIGHER

Searches for Industry 4.0 on Google in 2022 are 140 times higher compared to the year it was first introduced and made public (2011). In addition, related terms such as Industrial IoT and Smart Manufacturing grew quite fast in the same time frame as well (32 times and 3.5 times more searches respectively).

Industry 4.0 is an umbrella term that describes several advances in the manufacturing industry. The below picture shows how four of the supporting technologies for Industry 4.0 have also risen in popularity in the same time frame:

Search interests for “Cobots” increased more than 10 times since 2011, “Additive Manufacturing” almost nine times, “Digital Twin” more than four times, and “Machine Vision” 1.3 times. These supporting technologies are also representative of the interest in several other Industry 4.0-related technologies.

#2 ACADEMIC PAPERS: 200,000+ PAPERS PUBLISHED

More than 50,000 academic papers on Industry 4.0 were released in 2020 and 2021, and more than 200,000 have been published in total within the last 10 years. It is safe to say that a lot of research is being done on Industry 4.0. One of these ideas can be the “next big thing” that will move the topic forward.

Based on Google Scholar, the three most cited papers relating to Industry 4.0 are:

#3 FUNDING: 2,513 DEALS SINCE 2011

The annual funding of start-ups that are active in Industry 4.0 has increased by +319% from 2011 to 2021. 2021 saw a total of $2.2 billion of funding spent on upcoming companies that develop technology related to Industry 4.0. A total of 2,513 deals were announced in the 11-year time frame. The total number of funding rounds decreased when COVID-19 hit in 2020 and has also taken a hit as of late with the inflation and war-related slowdown.

Notable investment rounds included a $179 million Series A for BrightMachines in 2018, a $100 million Series C for Tulip Interfaces in 2021, and a $75 million Series E in Xometry in 2020.

#4 M&A ACTIVITY: DOUBLED FROM 2011 TO 2021

The annual number of Industry 4.0-related acquisitions reached a peak of 132 in 2021. This marks a 116% increase in the past 10 years. In the first three quarters of 2020, there were less than half
acquisitions compared to the usual average in the rest of the years. COVID-19 had a clear impact on the M&A activity as well.

Notable acquisitions included AspenTech acquired by Emerson for $11 billion in 2021, Fetch Robotics acquired by Zebra Technologies for $290 million in 2021, and IQMS acquired by Dassault Systèmes for $425 million in 2018.

#5 ENTERPRISE ADOPTION: MOST ORGANIZATIONS NOW HAVE AN INDUSTRY 4.0 STRATEGY

A 2015 World Economic Forum survey of 250 market leaders found that 88% of the participants did not understand the underlying business models and long-term implications of the industrial IoT to their industries

A 2019 Industry 4.0 adoption survey by IoT Analytics showed that the situation had changed with 25% of Industry 4.0 use cases already fully or extensively rolled out with enterprises on a global level.

The latest 2022 Industry 4.0 adoption survey now shows that companies have even further advanced. Companies that are not executing against an Industry 4.0 strategy are in the minority. A staggering 72% of the survey respondents report that they are in the process of implementing their Industry 4.0/Smart Factory with many initiatives in progress and some already completed.

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Through its plug-and-play edge software platform, IOTech will deliver connectivity solutions and more to King Steel’s Award-Winning Injection Moulding Machines NexCell®.

IOTech, the edge software company, today announced it is partnering with King Steel Machinery Co., LTD to provide Industry 4.0 capabilities and connectivity to smart manufacturing equipment.

King Steel selected IOTech’s industrial edge software platform to deliver real-time data acquisition, data storage, data visualization and analytics for its award-winning NexCell® Injection Moulding Machines.

IOTech plug-and-play edge platform software allows users to create industrial applications that leverage the latest advances in AI, analytics and inferencing technologies. The edge platform enables easy data acquisition from an extensive range of industrial OT devices/sensors to efficiently act on the data. Transformed data or processing results can then either be sent to any SCADA or IT/Cloud endpoints for further processing/storage. Alternatively, commands can be sent back to the connected OT devices.

“We’re pleased that King Steel selected IOTech’s edge software to enable its Industrial 4.0 capable smart manufacturing offerings,” said Keith Steele, CEO of IOTech.

“We make it easy for our partners and customers to connect their equipment and manage their data regardless of the communication standards used. It provides them the ability to create future-proof solutions that can be easily evolved as needed.”

IOTech’s advanced OT connectivity solutions provide simplified integration with a broad range of industrial devices and enable the acquisition of real-time machine data at very low latencies. Initially, King Steel requires integration with Modbus and Siemens S7 endpoints supported by the King Steel equipment. Normalized multi-device access is provided in form an Industry 4.0 data layer based on the OPC UA standard with support for both client/server and publish/subscribe communication models.

“It’s our pleasure to partner with IOTech to provide Industry 4.0 capabilities to our customers,” said Jim Chen, General Manager of King Steel. “Through IOTech’s edge computing solution, we are able to create an optimum product and service that brings significant value to our customers.”

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Advancing smart factories, SIPOAL is a smart single point lubricator leveraging LoRaWAN® for constant real-time connectivity.

Semtech Corporation, announced its collaboration with Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a next-generation technology company that helps enterprises and startups reimagine their businesses for the digitally connected age, and Xorowin Mechatronics, a technology company focused on producing cyber-physical systems for industrial automation needs.

Semtech’s LoRa® devices and LoRaWAN® offer real-time monitoring for Enthu’s and Xorowin’s SIPOAL self-powered electromechanical controller for industrial use cases.

“With our launch of SIPOAL with LoRaWAN integration, Xorowin is committed to supporting customers globally in reducing the operational costs while improving uptime and productivity of their machines,” said Girimurugan Srinivasaraghavan, CEO at Xorowin Mechatronics. “LoRaWAN allows us to provide solutions that meet today’s automation needs through the constant connectivity that’s meeting the industry’s high performance standards.”

SIPOAL consists of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart single point lubricator and self-powered electromechanical controller which delivers the precise volume of lubricant to the lubrication point of machinery automatically at frequent intervals of time programmed by the user.

“The SIPOAL smart lubricator is a unique product for the Industrial IoT segment,” said Shanmugam Kanagaraj, director of operations at Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd. “Through our work with Xorowin Mechatronics and Semtech for its LoRa devices, delivering this solution is moving the needle for Enthu Tech as well as the industrial market as a whole for the solution’s long range capabilities with LoRaWAN.”

According to Xorowin Mechatronics, the SIPOAL smart lubricator has been deployed in industries developing textiles, auto-looms and sugar canes. Additionally, the SIPOAL smart lubricator solution could be deployed in any kind of industries where single point or multipoint lubrication is required such as steel, cement, food and beverages, paper, and printing. By implementing LoRaWAN, SIPOAL is able to provide lubrication to machines during runtime without any impact on production and can be configurable via a mobile and web platform in real time.

“As industrial factories continually strive to improve productivity and performance, Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard are the best solutions that match automation needs for a smart factory,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing and strategy for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“The SIPOAL solution from Enthu Tech and Xorowin Mechatronics showcases the capabilities of LoRaWAN to ensure limited to no downtime of state-of-the-art machinery factories depend on today.”

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5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been taking over the world. From gaming to business to manufacturing, these technologies are deemed essential. It may be a significant generational shift, but the benefits are superb. And you may have to follow the trend to keep up with these changes if you’re a modern-day manufacturer. By doing so, you can improve and benefit from the following:

1. Connected Screwdriver

One of the latest applications of the Internet of Things is cellular IoT in screwdrivers. High-precision screwdrivers require routine maintenance, which varies depending on the utilization rate. And for decades, many screwdrivers have only seen manual procedures from recording to maintenance.

Thanks to IoT technology, screwdrivers can now be connected with real-time motion sensors. The sensor is then connected to the company’s in-house cloud and systems, which act as a repository for the gathered data. As a result, connected screwdrivers pave the way for more tools to make intelligent analyses and replace manual data tracking with automated systems. With such, you can reduce manual work, and the digitized operating procedure can help you produce more.

Apart from that, you can strengthen your system by using 5G in manufacturing. With the high-speed, wireless connectivity, you could make the connected screwdrivers more efficient and productive. The better the connection is, the fewer the chances of lags in your system.

2. Monitored Supply Chains

Supply chain tracking with IoT simplifies what would otherwise be a work-intensive, fallible task. IoT technology makes your materials location-aware, enabling them to send information regarding their place. This allows it to be tracked more efficiently, decreasing downtime and shortages.

IoT sensors can also notify the respective personnel when supplies are running low. For AI monitoring, you’ll need faster speed and stronger bandwidth, which you can have by using 5G in your network. 5G also protects the system from being disrupted by naturally occurring disasters by reconnecting to different suppliers when needed.

You can keep manufacturing processes seamlessly with monitored supply chains because you won’t have to run out of raw materials. You know when to order the supplies, and since you know when the supplies you need will come, you can easily adjust the speed of your manufacturing process.

3. Gathering Data

Manufacturing is no simple activity—facilities vary, team members are spread out, and assets function independently. This paves the way for operating in silos, hindering management from gathering operational data to make more informed decisions. As a result, these tasks become repetitive.

Moreover, manufacturing systems deliver a substantial amount of data. If obtained and evaluated correctly, this data can impart transparency, allowing management to increase productivity and shift to smart manufacturing.

With the low latency and high bandwidth feature of 5G, companies can support the ever-increasing data flow. Such data ranges from real-time information about how equipment is being used to average equipment performance. This means you can now have access to a more comprehensive overview of the processes within facilities, making you create smarter decisions.

In addition, downtime due to frequent equipment failure will also be reduced, allowing for an overall more productive operation.

4. Predictive Maintenance

The holy grail of manufacturing — predictive maintenance — will only be possible by leveraging IoT. By constantly monitoring asset conditions and letting them self-monitor, facility management services can determine whether an asset is bound to fail. With such, you can have the chance to act before a failure occurs.

Moreover, assets that communicate in an interconnected system can inform other assets when they’re failing. This allows them to stop the process before failure extends to the entire system. Altogether, these predictive measures can increase asset performance and prolong the asset’s lifespan through optimized asset operation.

Practically, every asset, equipment, and system are generating data. Keeping track of this data instantaneously will alert you if something is out of order—or about to be—so you can address the problem in its infancy before it turns out to be an expensive repair or replacement.

Inevitably, assets and machinery will deteriorate over time, but historical data is taken into account with predictive analysis and machine learning techniques. This way, you can arrive at predictions as to when a specific asset requires, for instance, a refurbish or a significant overhaul. This also means that IoT gives way to improved building operating systems, averting failures and keeping you happy.

Conclusion

Instead of resisting the trends, modern-day manufacturers may do better if they learn and incorporate technological innovations in their systems. That way, you can have a more efficient process that can remove manual tasks, which take the most of your employees’ time. Instead, your people can focus more on other complicated roles for a more productive day.

The post 5G And IoT: Smart Strategies For Modern-Day Manufacturers appeared first on IoT Business News.

IoT Analytics this month launched the Smart Factories Insights Report 2021 discovering 80 smart factories, portraying 10 of them in detail, and highlighting commonalities and best-practices.

The analysis of these also uncovered some common misconceptions about what it takes to realize a smart factory.

Key findings of the research include:

• Factories are becoming more intelligent, flexible, and sustainable through the power of technology, data, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• IoT Analytics researched how 80 of the world’s best factories became so smart and discovered that, among other things, there is much more to smart factories than technology.

Introduction – The smart factory as a competitive advantage

Moderna, the American biotechnology company and maker of the well-known Moderna vaccine, is the poster child of how a digital-first vision applied to a smart factory can be a business game-changer in 2021 and beyond.

In 2018, the company invested in a new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Norwood, Massachusetts as part of its 10-year vision to “integrate automation and digital technology into everything we do.” The company equipped the factory with various state-of-the-art digital technologies that enabled end-to-end testing, developing, and scalable manufacturing capabilities for mRNA drug candidates. Some of the latest robotics, automation, AI, data analytics, and blockchain technology were deployed to create a digitally connected ecosystem or a “smart factory.” The goal was to be able to use the digitally advanced factory to scale up production quickly and with agility, according to the market need.

In 2020, Moderna’s smart factory was put to the test by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, the company became one of the first US companies to enter phase III of a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine, just months after the genetic code of the virus was released.

The smart factory became a cornerstone for Moderna to accelerate the vaccine development process in several ways, including using AI-based algorithms for massive sequence optimization and using digital twin technology to rapidly simulate and test the related production processes. This vaccine development process, which usually takes an average of 10 years, was reduced to months, in part thanks to Moderna’s previous investments in smart factory technologies.

Our latest research on smart factories shows that Moderna’s facility is a prime example of a new generation of factories that are more agile, sustainable, collaborative, and efficient than many of the factories that exist today.

What a smart factory really is – a definition

Based on our research, a smart factory is “the holistic transformation of people, processes, and technologies along with the use of data to achieve the intended performance/business goals of one or more production site(s).”

Commenting on the findings of the research Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO at IoT Analytics, says:

“It is important to understand that a smart factory is not a destination or an end goal, but a journey that all manufacturing organizations can embark on at their own pace.”

Sharmila Annaswamy, senior analyst at IoT Analytics, adds:
“The “smartness” of a factory is measured on a spectrum. Factories of all shapes and sizes can assess their maturity and begin their journeys (e.g., by using digital maturity models, such as the Acatech model or Fraunhofer’s I4.0 assessment model, which are discussed in the report). According to our research, this amorphous nature of smart factories has led to the formation of seven common misconceptions, which are discussed below.”

Seven misconceptions about smart factories

1. Smart factories must be started from scratch (greenfield projects).

WRONG. For sure,greenfield smart factory projects (i.e., new factories built from scratch) are easier to realize because there is no existing infrastructure to upgrade and no existing processes that could be disrupted, making planning and implementation much easier. Our research, however, shows that many existing (brownfield) facilities are also becoming smarter, in some cases with worldwide recognition.

Industrial automation vendors are at the forefront of showcasing how a brownfield smart factory transformation can be achieved. Here are two examples:

• Schneider Electric has showcased how its own technologies (e.g., EcoStruxure platform, AVEVA platform) are in use at their own factories. The Schneider Electric facility in Lexington, USA, was recognized as an advanced lighthouse factory by the World Economic Forum in 2020.
• Siemens Electronics Works plant in Amberg, Germany was also recognized as an advanced lighthouse factory by the World Economic Forum in 2021. Using the company’s own solutions, from Siemens Cloud infrastructure to digital twins, the plant has achieved a 50% increase in efficiency and now serves as a guideline for other smart factories.

2. Only large organizations can realize smart factories.

WRONG. It is true that IoT Analytics research from 2019 shows that big companies are further along and less budget-constrained, but there are ways that make realizing smart factories viable for smaller companies as well. Here are some examples:

• Financial support. There are several industry associations, like CESMII in the U.S. or the Gaia-X community in Europe, that provide subsidies and support for SMEs who are looking to make their factories smart.
• Determine viability. Non-profit smart factory initiatives, like Smart Factory OWL and Smart Factory KL, allow manufacturers to witness and test certain technologies off-site and discuss them with like-minded professionals before spending on them.
• Pay per use. A notion exists that smart factory initiatives involve a lot of CAPEX, infrastructure, and data upgrading and hence are not suitable for SMEs. The rise of as-a-service business models (mostly for software but also increasingly for everything else, including expensive equipment), pushes those costs to OPEX, bringing smart factories within the reach of SMEs.

3. There is a one-size-fits-all blueprint for realizing a smart factory.

WRONG. Unfortunately, no two smart factories look exactly alike because each has different production characteristics, and, perhaps even more importantly, each has its own performance/business goals.

In our research, we identified eight typical performance/business goals, which we grouped into three types: operational, commercial, and R&D. The examples below highlight how different goals can lead to different types of smart factory deployments (in this case the Moderna plant has a different goal than the Trumpf factory). Examples:

• Moderna (Operational goal—Improving agility). The Moderna example discussed earlier is an example of how increased agility created by a smart factory created tremendous value. In this case, time to market was crucial, not just for the company, but for the entire world, and investments in the smart factory ended up eventually paying huge dividends for Moderna, whose stock ended 2019 at <$20/share and today is trading at ~$400/share.
• TRUMPF (Commercial goal—Showcasing new offerings). TRUMPF’s €30M Smart Factory in Chicago realizes TRUMPF’s vision of networked production and acts as a showcase for TRUMPF customers. One of the main goals of the factory is to showcase the art of the possible and help customers of TRUMPF realize their own smart factories.

4. Smart factory initiatives are mostly about technology.

WRONG. While new technology is often a key part of a smart factory transition, it is not the only part and, according to our research, not the most important one. Almost all smart factory practitioners that we have interviewed in the last two years have pointed us toward the importance of less tangible aspects, mostly related to people and processes within an organization. In fact, when asked about the success factors of Industry 4.0 initiatives, only one of the top 10 success factors revolved around technology.

One particularly important concept to consider is change management, which is required to ensure that the transformation process is transparent and that employees feel included throughout the process. Example:

• Infineon introduced change ambassadors at their factory in Singapore. In 2017, Infineon, a Germany-based global electronic and semiconductor manufacturing company, announced a five-year transformation roadmap for its manufacturing site in Singapore. To engage employees right from the start, members of the workers union were appointed as change ambassadors to facilitate two-way communication of new initiatives and promote feedback between shopfloor staff and management.

5. Smart factory initiatives replace existing continuous process improvement projects.

WRONG. Smart factory initiatives need to work alongside existing process improvement tools (e.g., Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma) rather than replace them.

Our research shows that Smart factory technologies play a vital part in automating aspects of data collection and analysis, and in eliminating inefficiencies and errors associated with manual processes, thereby improving the efficiency of the continuous improvement process.

Even though the “Lean” methodology in its purest form avoids significant technological assistance, many practitioners now try to use various smart factory technologies to help eliminate different wastes. The picture below shows some selected smart factory technologies and which of these can help with which forms of waste.

6. Scaling the successes at one factory to other factories in the network is easy.

WRONG. Scaling from one smart factory to several others is often the most difficult part because each factory setup is inevitably different from the predecessors, with both the tangible (machine conditions, IT landscape, product features) and intangible conditions (employee mindset, management mindset) being entirely different in different locations.

The journey of a smart factory often begins with a single digital use case and quickly grows into a mesh of technologies and use cases. Approaches on how to navigate the strategic decisions around scaling a smart factory approach vary.

Some companies find that it is easier to first try out some of the technologies and use cases in an existing factory before building a new smart factory from scratch (greenfield). Example:

• Siemens. The German conglomerate invested heavily into digitizing its existing Amberg plant before deploying a similar setup, with very minor local modifications, at its greenfield Chengdu plant in China. Siemens claims that, on a technology and process level, the plant is a one-on-one replication of the Amberg plant.

Other companies have employed the opposite approach. Rather than building a new smart factory based on best practices from an existing plant, they build a new flagship plant and use it as the central element in their smart manufacturing network strategy. Example:

• Bonfiglioli. In 2016, Bonfiglioli, an Italian manufacturer of power transmission components, introduced its “EVO” (short for evolution) strategy to build technologically advanced smart factories. The company built a new flagship factory at its Clemintino Bonfiglioli site, Italy, and is now using the plant to recruit new employees, train existing employees, and continuously transfer technologies and methodologies to its other plants in various locations worldwide.

7. A smart factory must be fully automated.

WRONG. While many smart factories contain highly automated systems, automation is not a prerequisite for realizing the goals of smart factories.

According to our research, data, not automation, is the key foundation underpinning all smart factory use cases. Technology that enables the acquisition, orchestration, and analysis of relevant data will empower the humans running the factory to make faster, more informed, and ultimately better decisions. Example:

Hugo Boss. Apparel manufacturing is considered one of the most labor-intensive industries. Hugo Boss’s apparel manufacturing smart factory in Izmir, Turkey, has implemented technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning, cloud computing, and data analytics alongside its 3,500 workers to produce suits, jackets, shirts, and coats. The factory improves efficiency by using more than 1,600 Wi-Fi-enabled tablets to capture data and empower front-line employees with order and operational data.

Conclusion

As the example of the Moderna smart factory has shown, investing in production technology, personnel, and processes can pay enormous dividends. Today’s generation of smart factories is not necessarily characterized by heavily high-tech greenfield installation. Due to the rapid change in customer preferences and the availability of promising technologies, companies of all shapes and sizes can (and should) have a comprehensive smart factory strategy in 2021—regardless of their current digital maturity. The messaging is clear: Companies that have already embarked on their smart factory journey will continue to adapt better to the dynamic business environment and grow faster than those that have not.

Here are three action points that, based on our research, have worked for several manufacturers to start their smart factory journey:

• Action point 1: Focus on a use case and not a technology. Out of the many use cases out there, pick an applicable high-ROI, high benefit use case and then experiment with suitable technologies. (Note: IoT Analytics has performed several IoT use case analyses and measured ROI of each, e.g., in 2019 as part of the Industry 4.0 Adoption Report. We will publish a new IoT Use Case Adoption Report in September 2021, based on input from 200+ practitioners.)
• Action point 2: Do not wait for employee engagement. Engage front-line workers from the beginning of the smart factory project. Alleviate their doubts through transparent communication and empower them through upskilling efforts. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
• Action point 3: Tie the smart factory to an existing process improvement initiative. Support the initiative with smart factory technologies to make processes more efficient with technology.

The post What are smart factories? 7 misconceptions and a definition appeared first on IoT Business News.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the US-China trade friction have failed to slow Thailand’s resilient electronics and electrical (E&E) industry which on the contrary many investors see as a haven, Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) data shows.

In the first nine months of 2020, the number of foreign and domestic companies which applied to invest in Thailand’s E&E sector actually rose to 106 projects, from 94 projects in the same period in 2019, making it by far the most popular sector, totaling over $1.2 billion in investment applications submitted to the BOI.

With a supply chain of some 2,500 companies and 800,000 employees ranging from researchers with doctoral degrees to vocationally trained technicians and experienced assembly line workers, it is the country’s largest manufacturing employer, according to Thailand’s Electrical and Electronics Institute (EEI).

“E&E is fundamental to Thailand 4.0“, said EEI president Narat Rujirat, referring to the innovation-driven growth strategy of Southeast Asia’s second largest economy.

This ambitious vision involves creating a regional hub for futuristic industries including medical devices, electric vehicles, robotics and automation. At its heart is the technological transformation of one of Thailand’s long-established core industries, electrical and electronics, into what is today termed “Smart E&E” and the emergence of the so-called Internet of Things (IOT).

Thailand’s E&E sector has burgeoned into a global powerhouse and is the world’s second largest exporter of computer hard disc drives, air conditioners and washing machines, according to GSB Research, a unit of Thailand’s largest state-owned bank.

Foreign investors success stories in Thailand’s fast evolving E&E sector are numerous.

Back in 2002, New York-listed Benchmark Electronics Inc. paid $45 million for the Thailand and U.K. operations of an American competitor. Today, Benchmark’s Thailand unit accounts for one-fifth of the company’s $2.3 billion global revenues after morphing into a manufacturer of such sophisticated, high value-added products as surgical lasers, defibrillators and optical sensing technology for electric vehicles.

“The Thai acquisition was an excellent decision,” Mr Ronald Rocha, Benchmark’s Asia Vice President for Electrical Manufacturing Systems, said at the unit’s headquarters in the appropriately named Hi-Tech Industrial Estate north of Bangkok.

“In the past, companies would go to countries like Thailand just to reduce cost. We are here because of capability, technology and quality as well as the low-cost advantage. The government is industry friendly, there is a high emphasis on education and the workforce is very stable. Growth for us has been nonstop.”

Delta Electronics Inc., a Taiwan-based multinational that is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of power supplies and electronics fans that are essential to cool computers, smart phones, home appliances and, increasingly, medical devices and electric vehicles, first opened a factory in Bangkok in 1988 and in 1995 listed its local subsidiary on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Today, Delta Electronics (Thailand) employs 12,000 people and accounts for $1.6 billion, or about 18 percent, of the group’s $9 billion global revenues. Bangkok is the regional headquarters for all Delta’s operations in Southeast Asia, India and Australasia and the Thailand business oversees research and development hubs in Bangkok, India, the U.S. and Germany. Next year it plans to expand further by opening a third factory in Thailand.

“As an investor we really wanted to find a country that can give you confidence for the long term and that is why we chose Thailand,” says Delta Thailand President Jackie Chang. “It is also very good for logistics, such as air and sea freight, and the people can adapt easily to different cultures.”

Other global giants with presence in Thailand include Daikin, Mitsubishi, Sony and Toshiba of Japan, LG and Samsung of Korea, Bosch and Siemens of Germany, Seagate and Western Digital of the U.S. The sector also includes local champions such as chip designer Silicon Craft and ThaiGerTec, a Thai-German joint venture that designs and develops microelectronics, powerelectronics and embedded systems for the automotive industry.

In total, Thailand’s E&E industry generates $56.5 billion worth of exports in 2019, or 24 percent of total exports, according Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce and GSB Research.

In addition to a strong supply chain and skilled human resources, Thailand’s attraction for E&E investors also stems from its strategic geographical location at the crossroads of Asia, which has enabled it to become one of the world’s top exporters.

Investors also benefit from privileges offered by the BOI. E&E companies focused on innovation and research and development can receive tax breaks of up to 8 years and other incentives such as renewable smart visas of up to four years for international talent and investors in key sectors such as smart electronics, as well as their families. The BOI also supports companies by helping establish industrial linkage, sourcing of local suppliers and business matching. Many companies have developed strong partnerships with local academic institutions.

Similarly, both Benchmark Electronics Inc. and Delta Electronics (Thailand) are upbeat about the prospects for Thailand’s E&E sector. “We have a lot to look forward to,” says Mr Rocha. “Next year and 2022 are going to be pretty big for us. We are increasing our investment and the BOI is going to be a big part of what we do here.”

The post Thailand’s electronics sector still a magnet for investors thanks to established industries in Smart E&E and IoT appeared first on IoT Business News.

• BT becomes lead technology partner for Worcestershire 5G Testbed (W5G)
• BT to run and manage the live 5G Private Network, which uses Ericsson equipment, for Worcester Bosch factory and Malvern Hills Science Park
• BT enables Worcester Bosch to accelerate smart manufacturing across its factory through 5G, IoT, edge computing and autonomous robots
• UK’s first live 5G factory installation key to revitalising manufacturing sector and driving economic recovery across Worcestershire and the UK

BT today announced that it is working with the Worcestershire 5G Testbed (W5G) as its lead technology partner to accelerate its vision of smart manufacturing delivered through the UK’s first live 5G factory installation.

Building on its role in the development of the W5G Testbed over the last two years, BT is providing its expertise across 5G Private Networks, wearable devices, IoT, data analytics and mobile edge computing. The combination of these technologies will make intelligent, dynamic and fully automated manufacturing processes a reality.

BT will enable W5G to accelerate through the next phase of its development, moving it to a sustainable, scalable footing by expanding its scope to include new industry 4.0 enabled use cases. These include enabling local engineering company Worcester Bosch, and others, to boost productivity by using autonomous robots to transport products and materials, for example. The installation of collision detection sensors connected over the 5G Private Network will also help to ensure health and safety on the factory floor.

Gerry McQuade, CEO of BT’s Enterprise business, said:

“Working with W5G and Worcester Bosch, we’re creating a smart factory where machines can learn and adapt to changes on the factory floor as they happen, and make instant, autonomous decisions to optimise the production line.”

“This is only possible by harnessing 5G Private Networks, IoT, data analytics and mobile edge computing. BT’s role is in making these technologies work in perfect harmony to gather and interpret the vast volumes of data generated by connected machines and turning this into real-time and actionable insight.”

“We’re already leading in 5G innovation across healthcare, education, broadcasting and education. The digital transformation of manufacturing processes will be critical in rebooting the sector and driving regional regeneration across the UK. We’re really excited to be at the forefront of making this a reality.”

The UK’s first 5G factory installation has been switched on at the Worcestershire 5G Testbed, with Worcester Bosch working with BT and W5G to explore ways of boosting productivity through robotics, IoT, big data analytics and augmented reality. These technologies are running over the live Private 5G Network and edge computing infrastructure which is now being fully managed by BT.

Carl Arntzen, CEO Worcester Bosch, said:
“We have learnt an awful lot within the W5G Testbed, both about the 5G network itself, but most importantly about the skills and competencies we need in-house, and what data to stream in order to develop a real-time understanding of the behaviour of various machines. We are very eager to continue this learning and are confident we can travel much further on this journey, deliver the productivity gains we predicted, and go much further in developing the smart factory of the future. We intend to play a key role in making the fourth industrial revolution a reality.”

BT will also bring the scale and expertise needed to extend the benefits of 5G Private Networks to more manufacturers in key sectors such as Aerospace and to SMEs. Further details about these industry 4.0 use cases will be announced over the coming months.

The insight gleaned from the Worcestershire 5G Testbed will be used to stimulate innovation across the manufacturing sector in the region. This will kick-start the regional growth which will be essential in driving a vibrant local economy following Covid-19 and beyond. BT will also use this insight to understand how to optimise private networking, IoT, data analytics and edge computing for the fourth industrial revolution. The data driven solutions created through the effective combination of these technologies will transform manufacturing and other industries nationally.

The testbed’s initial 5G Private Network installation has so far yielded positive results – increasing factory output by as much as two per cent.

Councillor Ken Pollock, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure, said:
“If this productivity gain was applied across the whole of the UK’s manufacturing sector, it would make a significant contribution towards boosting national productivity, revitalising the manufacturing industry and stimulating the economy. This level of growth will be absolutely critical to the success of post-coronavirus Britain.”

As well as managing the 5G Private Network which uses Ericsson equipment, BT will also provide access to its world leading innovation capabilities at the EE Mobile Labs in Borehamwood. The EE Mobile Labs team, working with Ericsson, will provide the resource and capability to support the W5G Testbed. Its primary scope will include support for the 5G private Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) from Ericsson, Wide Area Network (WAN) and the Multi Access Edge Computing (MEC) environment.

The post BT Accelerates the Next Phase of UK’s First Live 5G Private Network for Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing appeared first on IoT Business News.

As various industries become more accustomed to the idea of mass, precision manufacturing, CNC machining* is gaining more prominence. Already an incredibly advanced process, it seems to be improving on a fairly constant basis, with methods becoming more exact and better able to handle a wider range of materials. It’s in part for this reason that, as another article here on our site pointed out, machine tools (including the likes of 3D printers, CNC machines, etc.) are expected to grow in revenues to $134 billion by 2030. And frankly, it wouldn’t be altogether surprising if that number turned out to be a low estimate.

As to what specifically will cause revenue growth for CNC machining, there are a few factors to consider. First and foremost is simple, natural expansion of interest and use. It stands to reason that as more businesses emerge, and more positive use cases of this type of machining become known, its applications will compound. Additionally there’s the increasing versatility of CNC machining to consider. As Fictiv makes clear in a helpful, overarching look at CNC machining, this is no longer a single process, but rather a type of manufacturing that can be conducted in numerous ways according to need: three-, four-, and five-axis machining, milling, turning, and gear hobbing, and so on, all capable of shaping a variety of plastics, metals, and other materials. This versatility should also lead to more use in the coming years.

Maybe more than anything else though, it will be the expanding and improving Internet of Things that will propel CNC machining toward greater revenues and more widespread utility. The IoT stands to revolutionize many manufacturing practices, in fact, as it further connects and digitizes our factories. But a few potential benefits stand out specifically as potential drivers of CNC machining growth:

Product Quality Control – With the IoT working in conjunction with CNC machining efforts, companies have the ability to outfit each and every part produced with a tiny sensor that connects it to a larger network. This makes it easier not only to track the products throughout any subsequent shipping and assembly efforts, but also to recognize and address production errors. If sensors detect a defect, the machining process can be halted if necessary until it’s sorted out.

Preventative Maintenance – Preventative maintenance is one of the most commonly cited benefits of the IoT in manufacturing, and it’s certainly a factor where CNC machining is concerned as well. As Particle put it, the IoT allows for real-time, remote condition monitoring – not only of products, as described above, but of the machines themselves. With CNC machining mechanisms essentially left alone to produce orders, IoT-connected sensors can make sure that they’re doing so adequately, alert management to any issues, and even give advance notice of any general maintenance or upkeep needs.

Automated Labor – This is a fairly large point that could make for a whole topic of conversation unto itself, but it’s also important to mention that the IoT stands to enable other robotic systems to work alongside CNC machining. Consider, for instance, something as simple as organizing products once they’re created. Right now this is more or less considered a human task, but with the IoT allowing various machines and systems to communicate with one another, we can also see this sorting and organization fully automated. This can reduce labor costs for one thing, but also prevent workplace injuries.

Given these benefits, and the positive impact they can have on related industries, we fully expect the IoT to play an ever larger role in driving CNC machining and other advance manufacturing processes forward.

The post How The IoT Will Change CNC Machining appeared first on IoT Business News.

Opportunities abound equally for the manufacturing sector and technology vendors.

Technology investments in the industrial and manufacturing sector are set to skyrocket, jumping from US$59 billion in 2019 to US$375 billion in 2030.

Including hardware revenues, that figure climbs to over US$1 trillion, according to data from global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research.

Manufacturing is in the midst of a major digital revolution and is investing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), robotics (AGVS, AMRs) and cloud-based simulation and modeling.

Ryan Martin, Principal Analyst, Industrial & Manufacturing, at ABI Research, says:

“The transformative shift toward Industry 4.0 technologies and the broader field of software-defined manufacturing (SDM) presents a massive opportunity for a wide range of technology providers and implementers.”

Intelligently connected hardware represents the largest share of revenue, growing from US$200 billion in 2019 to a staggering US$800 billion in 2030, but will diminish in proportion as associated software and services take hold. After hardware, data and analytic services is the fastest growing segment in terms of revenue generation, reaching more than US$185 billion in 2030, up from just US$11 billion in 2019.

“As the amount of custom code required to deploy new solutions on the factory floor drops, data and analytic service revenue growth in smart manufacturing will accelerate,” Martin explains.

Machine tools, asset tracking, and connected PLCs will experience the most growth in terms of connected service revenue over the next 10 years. By 2030, machine tools such as 3D printers, computer numerical control (CNC) machines, lathes, mills and industrial drills, will grow in revenues to US$134 billion; asset tracking will reach US$78 billion, and Connected Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) will hit US$40 billion.

According to Martin:
“Industry 4.0 is creating millions of new end points that need to be interconnected. However, the existing infrastructure can’t support it, which is creating an opportunity for connectivity experts and providers to step in.”

Currently, there are 260 million digital factory connections, with 230 million of those connections made via a fixed line. But, by 2023, a vast number of the 5.5 billion digital factory connections will be wireless. “This is driven by the rise in newly connected endpoints, including sensors, mobile robots (AGVs, AMRs), advanced asset tracking (RTLS), condition-based monitoring, and predictive maintenance applications, etc.,” says Martin.

The leading industries driving these revenues overall include automotive, heavy machinery, food, beverage, tobacco products, and electronics. And, though Industry 4.0 is a global phenomenon, roughly half of the global revenue opportunities will be concentrated in China and the United States, followed by Germany and Japan. Furthermore, the United States leads the way in most industries such as automotive, while China leads in machinery, nonmetallic mineral products, primary metals, and textiles.

“There is a long and compelling list of digital transformation technologies and pilot projects that are now graduating to the factory floor. The companies and production environments embracing these opportunities have quickly seen the benefits and want to scale, rather than risk falling behind,” concluded Martin.

The post Digital Factory Revenues to Jump to US$375 Billion in 2030 appeared first on IoT Business News.

Smart manufacturing is a broad concept; it is not something that can be implemented in a production process directly. It is a combination of various technologies and solutions which collectively, if implemented in a manufacturing ecosystem, is termed as smart manufacturing. All these technology and solution can be categorised under three broad categories as connectivity, intelligence, and flexible automation, and is broadly called as enabling technology.

Data is at the core of growth of smart manufacturing where data will decide what to do and when to do. Analysis of these data will help in making the production process efficient. Companies are constantly investing and exploring the benefits from these enablers, said, Sachin Garg – Associate Vice President, MarketsandMarkets.

Some of the prominent enabling technology in today’s manufacturing ecosystem are mentioned below. Other IT related technology includes Human Machine Interface, Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence, Plant Asset Management, Manufacturing Execution System, Industrial Communication, and Warehouse Management Systems.

These technologies are yet to evolve and adopted at full scale by the manufacturing ecosystem. However, these technologies may bring big changes in the way manufacturing is being carried out in current scenario.

Attractive Opportunity in Smart Manufacturing Market

According to a report from MarketsandMarkets, a global research firm, the Smart Manufacturing Market is expected to reach USD 299 Billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 12% between 2018 and 2023.

MarketsandMarkets has done a detailed study on below mentioned enabling technology with respect to the smart manufacturing ecosystems:

Digital Twin

In past, Engineers use to create some scientific model to understand the real-world problem. During initial days of industrialization, it was comparatively easy but as machine become sophisticated so does its modelling. Digital twin was in existence roughly from last 50 years but it is now that it is being used in widespread way. This is mainly because of innovation and advancement in sensor and network technology, which helped in digitalizing any existing or new model. Other technologies which compliments the digital twin includes Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality (AR/VR).

Blockchain In Manufacturing

Blockchain is still at nascent stage of its development, but it has huge scope in manufacturing ecosystems. In a very simple way where ever there is a transaction, that transaction is validated, recorder (can’t be changed at later stage) and secured, this entire concept is called as blockchain. Supply Chain and smart contracts are some of the important application of blockchain in manufacturing. The blockchain market in manufacturing has yet to evolve fully, and thus we are expecting the market to start generating significant revenue from 2020 onwards.

Automated Guided Vehicle

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are used for automated handling of materials. AGVs safely handle and transport all kinds of products, eliminating the need for human intervention in production, logistic, and in warehouse environments. AGVs can increase the efficiency and productivity of material handling operations. Now, many of AGV is also equipped with robotics related accessories which helps AGV to be implemented and perform wider level of application.

Industrial Cyber Security

Smart manufacturing is all about data, so all the equipment, component and systems implemented under the ecosystem of smart manufacturing is driven by data. To protect these data organization should implement robust industrial cybersecurity, as it is important for smooth operation of the manufacturing shop floor. Advanced cybersecurity products provide comprehensive security to critical infrastructure and ensure confidentiality, integrity of the system.

Industrial Machine Vision

Industrial machine vision is a combination of mechanical, optical, electronic, and software systems used to detect defects in objects, surfaces, materials, and manufacturing processes. In recent time machine vision has got huge popularity specially in the ecosystem of smart manufacturing, which helps in improving quality, increasing flexibility, and operational efficiency. Machine vison coupled with robotics systems and Artificial Intelligence will further help in strengthening the manufacturing systems under the concept of smart manufacturing.

Machine Condition Monitoring

Machine condition monitoring is the process of determining operational state and condition of a machine for detecting potential breakdowns with the help of automation. Machine condition monitoring optimizes equipment readiness and reduce maintenance and staffing requirements. It is used to prevent unscheduled outages, reduce downtime, and optimize machine performance. This technique is primarily classified into preventive machine monitoring and predictive machine monitoring. Predictive monitoring allows companies to detect potential trouble, diagnose problems, and choose remedial actions before downtime occurs.

Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market

Manufacturing industry is already experiencing benefit of implementation of artificial intelligent. Collaborative robots, predictive maintenance are few applications where artificial intelligence for manufacturing is implemented. Among these, predictive maintenance uses AI to predict the failure of any machine or its component in advance. Collaborative robots is one such application where human and machine has to work in sink, which is enabled by AI.

Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robots, or co-bots, are robots that are designed to work alongside humans in a workspace to provide enhanced efficiency. These robots are different from industrial robots in a number of ways, such as the absence of “safety fence” while working alongside humans, simplified programming and reduced setup time. Implementation of AI in Co-Bots will further strengthen its capability to work in accordance with Human.

3D Printing

Industrial 3D printing is used in various applications such as tooling, robotics, and special machinery. Robotics forms an important part of industries such as automotive, aerospace & defense, and others. Industrial 3D printing simplifies the expensive and time-consuming process of manufacturing tools, eliminating assembly lines and thereby, reducing labor costs as well. Industrial 3D printing is also used for developing special machinery such as heavy equipment and machinery components.

The post Smart Manufacturing Implementation is Moving Up appeared first on IoT Business News.

IBM works with Novate Solutions®, Inc. to Improve Performance of Critical Assets and Operations.

IBM today announced Maximo Asset Monitor, a new AI-powered monitoring solution designed to help maintenance and operations leaders better understand and improve the performance of their high-value physical assets.

An extension of IBM’s market-leading IBM Maximo capabilities, this new solution will help unlock essential insights with AI-powered anomaly detection and provide enterprise-wide visibility into critical equipment performance. The result is faster problem identification that can inform better decisions and reduce downtime.

According to a 2016 report by analyst firm Aberdeen Research, unplanned downtime can cost a company as much as $260,000 an hour. A comprehensive view of asset performance across operations may help reduce downtime, but that visibility has been difficult to achieve due to fragmented legacy systems, data silos and geographic barriers. With Maximo Asset Monitor, organizations can now aggregate data from across the enterprise and combine it with advanced predictive analytics and AI to identify operational patterns.

Capabilities like AI-powered anomaly detection can help organizations identify the most important alerts among the hundreds generated daily from critical assets. This can help teams respond quickly to the most critical anomalies and gain greater insights into root cause variables that lead to asset failure.

Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., general manager, IBM IoT, said:

“As critical assets become more connected, intelligent and complex, the model for operating and maintaining them must evolve. Organizations must move faster to spot patterns and react to maintenance issues quickly, accurately and safely.”

“With the launch of the new Maximo Asset Monitor solution, IBM is helping organizations better understand their data and automate workflows with preventative, predictive and prescriptive maintenance actions to help extend asset life and improve operations. According to IDC, monitoring performance and scheduling repairs with predictive maintenance can reduce maintenance costs by 15-20%, improve asset availability by 20%, and extend the lives of machines by years.”¹

IBM is recognized by analyst firm IDC as a leader in Enterprise Asset Management applications.² IBM Maximo is deployed across 99 countries, seven continents and used by many of the world’s largest organizations. IBM has a long history of working with organizations like Novate Solutions®, Inc. to help monitor and manage their assets and operational performance.

Novate Solutions leverages Maximo Asset Monitor to expand process control services

Novate Solutions is an industrial technology and engineering services firm in California that is collaborating with IBM to develop a new, scalable, remote monitoring and support service for industrial manufacturers. The application of IBM Maximo Asset Monitor enabled by AI and analytics leverages existing infrastructure collected from SCADA systems to detect anomalies to predict system failures.

The analysis of data by engineering professionals at Novate’s Support Operations Center provides insights into the root cause of an anomaly and its process implications. These experts are able to identify events that may warrant immediate proactive intervention which enables maintenance and engineering support teams to take action before the control system is designed to react. The ultimate goal of Novate is to improve production reliability and reduce costly unplanned downtime.

“Our goal is to revolutionize how industrial manufacturers utilize data and technology to improve production metrics by providing a scalable service that virtually every manufacturer can afford. We are collaborating with IBM to enable this transformation by leveraging AI technology with IoT data and analytics,” said Rob Mora, executive vice president, Novate Solutions®, Inc.

“The ability to recognize anomalies in real-time and proactively make changes to operations can have a tremendous impact on increasing plant reliability and driving continuous improvement for manufacturers of any size.”

The post IBM IoT Launches AI-Powered Monitoring Solution with Anomaly Detection appeared first on IoT Business News.

AI-Enabled Industrial Analytics Solutions Optimize Machine, Production and Quality Outcomes for Manufacturing 4.0.

Hitachi Vantara today announced Lumada Manufacturing Insights, a suite of industrial internet-of-things (IoT) solutions that empower the manufacturing industry to achieve transformative outcomes from data-driven insights.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and DataOps, Lumada Manufacturing Insights optimizes machine, production and quality outcomes to set the foundation of digital innovation that is essential to Manufacturing 4.0.

“Data and analytics have the power to modernize and transform manufacturing operations. But for too many manufacturers today, legacy infrastructure and disconnected software and processes slow innovation and impact competitive advantage,” said Brad Surak, chief product and strategy officer at Hitachi Vantara.

“With Lumada Manufacturing Insights, customers can lay a foundation for digital innovation that works with the systems and software they have already to operationalize immediate gains in uptime, efficiency and quality and transform for the future.”

Accelerate Manufacturing Transformations

Lumada Manufacturing Insights applies data science rigor to drive continuous improvement opportunities based on predictive and prescriptive analytics. The solution integrates with existing applications and delivers actionable insights without the need for a rip-and-replace change of costly manufacturing equipment or applications. Lumada Manufacturing Insights supports a variety of deployment options and can run on-premises or in the cloud.

“With Hitachi Vantara, our customers benefit from our deep operational technology expertise and distinctive approach to co-creating with them to accelerate their digital journey,” said Bobby Soni, chief solutions and services officer at Hitachi Vantara.

“With our proven methodologies and advanced tools, we can tailor solutions for our customers that enhance productivity, increase the speed of delivery, and ultimately deliver greater business outcomes.”

Providing machine, production and quality analytics, Lumada Manufacturing Insights drives transformational business outcomes by enabling customers to:

• Build on the intelligent manufacturing maturity model and empower the digital innovation foundation for continuous process improvement.
• Integrate data silos and stranded assets and augment data from video, lidar and other advanced sensors to drive innovative new use cases for competitive advantage.
• Drive 4M (machine, man, material and methods) correlations for root-cause analysis at scale.
• Evaluate overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and enhancement recommendations based on advanced AI and ML techniques.
• Evaluate scheduling efficiency and optimize for varying workloads, rates of production and workorder backlogs.
• Monitor and guide product quality with predictive and prescriptive insights.
• Improve precision of demand forecast and adherence to production plans and output.

“The big challenge for manufacturers is how to effectively manage the cost, resources and market pressures of supporting use cases for the immediate now and the transformative future,” said Mike Guilfoyle, director of research at ARC Advisory Group.

“Doing so requires a portfolio approach to transformation and a digital innovation foundation that is platform agnostic, secure and edge-to-multicloud capable. This is central to Manufacturing 4.0, and helps manufacturers accelerate time to value as they grow their digital competency.”

Early Adopters See Initial Benefits

“Significant short-lead products have to be designed, prototyped and delivered to meet the demands of our customers and partners as we accelerate the product supply for 5G. Ericsson and Hitachi Vantara have collaborated to test Lumada Manufacturing Insights to gear up for an anticipated increase in new product introductions, establishing a digital innovation foundation for sustained gains,” said Shannon Lucas, head of customer unit emerging business for Ericsson North America.

“We are leveraging the same solution that we will take to our joint customers in partnership with Hitachi Vantara, and will further expand IIoT use cases based on our 5G technologies.”

“As a progressive manufacturer, our focus was to accelerate transformative change, eliminate data silos and build a foundation for digital innovation that would accelerate our journey toward Manufacturing 4.0. We leveraged the IIoT workshop to align our use cases with our business transformation priorities and have a roadmap for success with Lumada Manufacturing Insights,” said Vijay Kamineni, business transformation leader at Logan Aluminum.

“The collaboration with Hitachi Vantara enables us to define business goals for each stage of our transformation, with clear outcomes that we believe will accelerate gains in productivity, quality, safety and sustainable manufacturing. Hitachi Vantara brings a unique IT/OT advantage that will help us in the long run.”

“Humans and machines working together to deliver the vision of ‘digital drilling’ is driven by our ambition to achieve transformative outcomes, drilling our best wells every time and consistently achieving Target Zero for accidents. With Hitachi Vantara, we are realizing time to value with industrial analytics and the powerful Lumada platform to process more than 20,000 data streams per second per rig, providing actionable information to the right people at the right time and helping make optimal decisions. This drives our operational excellence and consequently our competitive advantage,” said Shuja Goraya, CTO at Precision Drilling Corporation.

“We’re leveraging insights from video and lidar, integrating it with Lumada Manufacturing Insights to deliver business outcomes. It’s driving process optimization through effectively identifying improvement opportunities and shortening well delivery times for our customers. It’s all about effective use of data to make better decisions and then being able to consistently execute on these learnings. We are excited about our strategic partnership with Hitachi Vantara.”

Availability

Lumada Manufacturing Insights will be available worldwide Sept. 30, 2019.

The post Hitachi Vantara Brings Industrial IoT to the Production Floor With Lumada Manufacturing Insights appeared first on IoT Business News.

Haltian’s new end-to-end Smart Factory Service reduces factory costs up to 90% – compared to traditional automation techniques, by providing a straightforward and secure asset and process digitalization for industrial enterprises. This solution sees Haltian combine their Thingsee IoT platform and industry-grade retrofit sensors with AWS IoT Greengrass Edge Computing, and private LTE technology and paves the way for 5G.

Haltian Oy is the first vendor on the market to offer industrial enterprises a complete and fully integrated wireless Smart Factory solution with on-site infrastructure.

The innovative product development and global IoT company, has just launched its end-to-end Smart Factory solution, based on its Thingsee IoT platform. This includes new industry-grade retrofit sensors with a Gateway device, coupled with an Edge Computing platform based on the AWS IoT Greengrass technology, and optional Private LTE for secure, local wireless connectivity.

McKinsey Global Institute has conducted a study that predicts that the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is expected have an enormous efficiency boost in factories globally – and that the annual economic value of this can reach up to USD 3.7 trillion by 2025.

The study by McKinsey&Company in 2018 however, also identified several challenges, which can slow down the adoption of digital transformation and industrial IoT in factories. These include a lack of reliable and mature IoT platforms, insufficient application of these and a lack of analytics development and unsuited data communication and connectivity technologies.

Haltian’s Smart Factory solution addresses these main market challenges with a secure and cost-efficient, end-to-end approach. Haltian’s sensor devices use Wirepas IoT Mesh networking to transmit data to the local Thingsee Gateway device, which then relays it to the Thingsee Edge on-site solution based on AWS Greengrass Edge Computing. The Private LTE technology complements the solution with flexible and secure wireless connectivity. This end-to-end infrastructure then enables factories to process all IoT applications and collect sensor data on-site, without having to transmit data through the public Internet.

“No production breaks are needed for installation and digitalization investment is reduced by 90% per data point, compared to the traditional automatic valves”, Pasi Leipälä, CEO and co-founder of Haltian explains. “This Smart Factory solution has been developed hand-in-hand with large industrial customers and leading connectivity partners, to deliver a true fit-for-purpose solution”.

Leipälä continues:

“Our Smart Factory uses leading IoT technologies including the fast-growing Wirepas Mesh, which is the most reliable technology for connecting thousands of wireless sensors in a demanding radio environment. AWS’s Edge Computing technology and Private LTE complement the onsite solution with unprecedented edge scalability, and a robust data collection infrastructure.”

“Thingsee is the most flexible IoT platform in the market and these new technologies takes secure onsite solutions a decade further. The 5G-factory era is approaching fast and Haltian will be amongst the first vendors to get it right,” he concludes.

New IoT Sensors and Gateway Devices:

The new retrofit sensor devices included in the Haltian Smart Factory solution are Thingsee ANGLE and Thingsee ENVIRONMENT RUGGED sensors, and Thingsee GATEWAY LAN.

The sensors are delivered to the customer as ‘plug-and-play’ – the firmware is customer specific and operational out-of-the-box. After the sensors are installed and powered on, they automatically connect to the local Thingsee IoT Platform by using the Wirepas Mesh IoT connectivity protocol.

The smooth and thought-through installation process does not require a production break at the factory.

• Thingsee ANGLE is a unique, retrofit sensor device, which is attached to manual valves. It has magnetic and mechanical angle sensors to monitor the valve’s position and reports any dispositioned valves to the Cloud to allow for a rapid fix by the maintenance staff. The power-frugal Thingsee Angle sensor has up to ten years of battery life.

• Thingsee ENVIRONMENT RUGGED sensor monitors, and wirelessly reports all conditions in the factory – including the temperature, humidity, luminosity, the machine run-time data and more. The sensor is equipped with a rugged IP67 casing, and its replaceable battery can operate up to five years depending on the set transmit interval.

• Thingsee GATEWAY LAN collects data from the sensors through the Wirepas Mesh IoT connectivity and aggregates it to the local Thingsee IoT Platform over the ethernet. The Thingsee LAN Gateway is easily installed by just plugging in the LAN and power cables. After this, it automatically connects to the customer´s local IoT network. If the LAN cable is left unplugged, the gateway operates as a Wirepas Mesh router node, enabling indoor positioning and offering more reliable local Edge infrastructure applications.

The post Haltian Launches 5G-Ready Smart Factory Solution with AWS IoT Greengrass Edge Computing appeared first on IoT Business News.

Ericsson has launched Ericsson Industry Connect, an easy-to-use cellular connectivity solution to accelerate Industry 4.0 digital transformation.

Ericsson Industry Connect enables communication service providers to offer dedicated cellular networks at factories and warehouses starting with 4G/LTE, with a clear path to 5G.

The offering strengthens Ericsson’s private networks and IoT portfolios by making 4G and 5G technologies accessible to new industrial markets.

Purpose-built for industrial environments such as factories and warehouses, the dedicated cellular connectivity solution enables secure, reliable coverage with high device density and predictable latency.

With a network management experience designed to be easy to use and manage for information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) professionals, the solution aims to make cellular technology rapidly deployable for factory and warehouse staff.

With industrial-grade wireless connectivity, Ericsson Industry Connect can enable innovative Industry 4.0 use cases such as: digital twin inspection (a real-time digital replica of a physical entity) with massive amounts of sensors; mobility for human machine interface (HMI) instructions for workers; collision avoidance and remote control for autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs); and collaborative robotics for automated operations.

Åsa Tamsons, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Area Technologies and New Businesses, Ericsson, says:
“Ericsson Industry Connect is built on design thinking to meet industrial customers’ requirements on speed, reliability and security, while being easy to install and manage. It helps enterprises to accelerate their automation and operational efficiency to the next level. It complements service providers’ offerings to enterprises with a solution that is easy to scale. Ericsson Industry Connect increases the relevance of cellular solutions in the high growing segment of industrial connectivity – leveraging Ericsson’s technology leadership, strength in connectivity, and R&D investments to date.”

Swedish provider of transport solutions, Scania has already implemented Ericsson Industry Connect in its smart production lab in Södertälje, Sweden.

Roger Hartonen, Senior Manager Industrial IT, Scania Group, says:
“High quality, fast, and secure connectivity of our industrial environment is now an absolute must for us. Ericsson Industry Connect gives us reliable wireless connectivity which will enable flexibility for us on the factory floor. At Scania, we are driving the shift toward sustainable transport by continuously innovating our manufacturing processes.”

Pierce Owen, Principal Analyst, ABI Research, says:

“The technology case for private LTE has existed for some time now, but with Industry Connect, Ericsson has productized that technology in a way that empowers implementers and operators to deliver the benefits of private LTE to factories and warehouses with a real business case.”

The post Ericsson launches Ericsson Industry Connect to accelerate Industry 4.0 appeared first on IoT Business News.

• 5G commercial services targeted to launch nationwide in early April 2019

• Mobile broadband subscribers to be initial beneficiaries

• National and global IoT and Industry 4.0 opportunities to be explored

KT (formerly known as Korea Telecom) has awarded Ericsson a 5G commercial contract to enable the nationwide launch of commercial 5G services in Korea starting early April 2019.

Korean operators have joined forces to target early April 2019 as the go-live date for the world’s first nationwide provision of 5G commercial services in time to support commercially available 5G smartphones. KT’s planned nationwide 5G network plays a central role.

Under this initial commercial contract – the first since Ericsson was selected as a 5G supplier to KT in November 2018 – Ericsson is providing 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software from Ericsson’s complete 5G platform to cover KT’s 3.5 GHz Non-Standalone (NSA) network.

Korean consumers are known as early adopters of technology such as advances in mobility, gaming, streaming, infotainment, and interactive functionality. All of these require large, and rapidly growing, amounts of data and bandwidth.

Such KT subscribers, with 5G smartphones, are set to be among the first globally to benefit from the enhanced mobile broadband enabled by 5G through seamless and ultra-low latency user experiences.

In addition to immersive media, KT’s 5G commercialization use case plans covers: smart factories, safety, drones, and connected vehicles.

Ericsson 5G can also enable KT to open up Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 opportunities to Korean enterprises on a global scale.

Jinho Choi, Vice President, Access Network Design, KT, says:
“Having worked successfully with Ericsson on 4G LTE, we are pleased to continue that partnership to make our 5G ambitions a reality with Ericsson’s leading 5G technology.”

“Korea is one of the most competitive and technology-advanced markets in the world. By taking a global lead to enable nationwide commercial 5G services through commercially available 5G smartphones, KT is demonstrating our commitment to our customers and showing how we can drive a global 5G ecosystem where Korea plays a key role.”

Patrick Johansson, Head of Ericsson Korea, says:
“We’ve worked with KT for many years to bring the very best mobile user experiences to its customers. Notably on 5G, we worked closely together to show the world what 5G could do during a major global winter sports event in 2018.”

“With 5G we aim to help KT to take their customers’ experiences to new levels, whether through enhanced mobile broadband for mobile subscribers, or helping to make national and global IoT and Industry 4.0 opportunities a reality for enterprises and industries.”

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Solution capable of handling massive amounts of real-time data from smart factories.

Crate.io, developer of CrateDB, a leading SQL data platform for real-time machine data and IoT applications, today announced a new application-specific solution for the manufacturing industry.

The Crate IoT Data Platform for Discrete Manufacturing enables the collection, analysis, storage, and provisioning of data for integrated manufacturing control within smart factories – both locally and in the cloud.

The data generated from smart factories comes in from countless sensors, machines, power supplies, employees, and various applications – and new data is arriving every millisecond. To properly capture, assess, and leverage this critical information for intelligent control requires both a real-time database and a reliable platform tailored to IIoT architectures, interfaces, data formats, and performance requirements.

At the core of Crate.io’s new discrete manufacturing solution is CrateDB, a distributed SQL database optimized specifically for the requirements of IoT manufacturing, including real-time time-series management. The database combines the familiarity and convenience of SQL with the scalability and flexibility of NoSQL, and enables the storage and processing of all structured and unstructured data types, the handling of high volumes of data in real-time, and unlimited scaling that supports the growth of the organization using it.

CrateDB allows the processing of time-series data in the millisecond range, in addition to enabling full-text search and geospatial queries for use within AI algorithms. The decentralized concept of the CrateDB database not only delivers simple and unlimited scaling by adding new nodes, but also ensures data consistently and availability.

CrateDB itself builds on the production-optimized Crate Machine Data Platform, which provides standard interfaces to machines, devices, sensors, and applications that enable collected data to be enriched, analyzed, visualized, and distributed. It also allows the integration of microservices to trigger automated activities such as alarms. Capabilities such as ID management and monitoring & logging are also part of the platform.

Due to the specific requirements involved with Discrete Manufacturing, Crate has now created the IoT Data Platform for Discrete Manufacturing. It provides core capabilities for IoT device management, data enrichment, data science (including AI and machine learning), and dashboards.

Building on the expertise gained through use cases from manufacturing customers, the Crate IoT Data Platform provides an integrated basis for the development and implementation of individual solutions in manufacturers with massive data volumes. It allows for monitoring, forecasting, and control of sensor behavior in real-time, enabling immediate response to increase the availability of manufacturing production lines, operational efficiency, safety and, ultimately, profitability.

The Crate IoT Data Platform for Discrete Manufacturing is now available and has already been installed at approximately 20 factories throughout the United States and Europe. ALPLA, a world leader in the packaging industry, has successfully leveraged the solution to monitor, control, and maintain distributed manufacturing facilities.

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5G Americas Report Details 5G Communications for Automation in Vertical Domains.

The rationale for the development of the 5th generation of mobile communications (5G) was not only to expand the broadband capabilities of mobile networks, but also to provide advanced wireless connectivity for a wide variety of vertical industries, such as the manufacturing, automotive and agricultural sectors. The fourth stage of the Industrial Revolution, also termed “Industry 4.0”, is the next era in industrial production, which will be largely dependent upon advanced mobile wireless communications connectivity.

5G Americas, the industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas, today announced the publication of 5G Communications for Automation in Vertical Domains, summarizing automation concepts and communication modeling for vertical domains incorporating the key specific use cases, requirements and security mechanisms.

Communication for automation in vertical domains comes with demanding and diverse requirements with respect to latency, data rates, availability, reliability, and in some cases, high-accuracy positioning. The vertical industries that will reap the benefits of this new level of automation will range from railways, buildings, factories, healthcare, smart cities, electrical power supply and special events. These new Industry 4.0 opportunities will be possible through making sure that communications between machines is secure, dependable and seamless.

To achieve this, 5G supports three essential types of communication: enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC).

Connectivity is a key component of Industry 4.0 which aims at significantly improving the flexibility, versatility, usability and efficiency of future smart factories, integrates the Internet of Things (IoT) and related services in industrial manufacturing, and delivers seamless vertical and horizontal integration down the entire value chain and across all layers of the automation pyramid. Meeting these objectives will greatly depend on the 5G technical performance such as supporting a peak data rate of 1–20 Gbps; connection density 1 thousand – 1 million devices/km2; reliability of 99.999 percent; enhanced battery life of 10 years; higher position accuracy; latency 1–10 ms; and strong privacy and security.

Chris Pearson, President, 5G Americas said:

“New 5G technology developments will provide powerful and pervasive connectivity between machines, people and objects. Moreover, wireless communication, and in particular 5G, is an important means of achieving the required flexibility of production, supporting new advanced mobile applications for workers, and allowing mobile robots and autonomous vehicles to operate successfully in the future.”

It is becoming increasingly important that 5G technologies have the capabilities to provide ultra-reliable and low-latency communication which will enable automation in vertical domains through mission-critical machine type communication use cases. A 3GPP study item focuses on the requirements for automation in verticals with critical communications as an enabler for wireless control loops, identifying the normative 3GPP work needed to deliver 5G for automation in a variety of industries.

“5G technology will provide a wide range of vertical applications such as IoT, Virtual Reality (VR), industrial control, smart cities, smart grids and smart factories,” adds Rao Yallapragada from Intel and a co-leader of the white paper working group. “Security and seamless communication offered through 5G will be of utmost importance as we move towards automation of verticals.”

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PTC Earns Top Score, Ranking Above GE, ABB, and Siemens, and Continues Impressive Run of Industry Recognition.

PTC today announced its ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation Platform was ranked as the top smart manufacturing platform in ABI Research’s “Smart Manufacturing Platform Competitive Assessment.”

Platforms from 11 major vendors were analyzed by criteria such as innovation and implementation, including each firm’s overall business model, partnerships, product functionality, and system integration capabilities. ThingWorx received top scores in overall innovation, including its compelling use of augmented reality (AR) and tied for the top spot in its digital twin functionality and protocol adaptability and device connectivity.

“Industrial companies choose PTC to capitalize on the transformative value of the IoT, elevating their position in the competitive market and achieving the full potential of a smart, connected business,” said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. “We are honored by this accolade from ABI Research that recognizes our innovation and positions PTC as the industry leader. With the ongoing support from customers and our strategic partnership with Rockwell Automation, PTC will continue to deliver on our commitment to the industrial space.”

Additionally, PTC’s ThingWorx was rated the overall leading platform with advanced innovative initiatives across transformative technologies. ThingWorx is comprised of a rapid application development platform, advanced analytics, connectivity, machine learning, augmented reality, and integration with leading device clouds. Together, these beginning-to-end capabilities enable users to create revolutionary applications and services to achieve IoT-driven business transformation and support digital initiatives across various industries.

Pierce Owen, principal analyst, Smart Manufacturing, ABI Research, said:

“PTC’s innovation in areas such as augmented reality, protocol adaptability and connectivity, and digital twin capabilities solidified the company’s spot as the industry leader.”

“Assessed by implementation and innovation, ABI Research recognizes PTC’s capability to advance industrial transformation and revolutionize the industry.”

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PTC’s ThingWorx to Enable Predictive Maintenance to Reduce Energy Consumption and Unplanned System Downtime.

PTC today announced that China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd. (CIMC), a world leading supplier of logistics and energy equipment, successfully launched its smart manufacturing pilot project, ‘IoT + MES,’ built on PTC’s ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation Platform.

Echoing the concept of ‘Made in China 2025’ and efforts to promote the deep integration of the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and the real economy, CIMC has been committed to innovation and promoting the development of smart manufacturing. Its subsidiary, Qingdao CIMC Reefer Container Manufacture Co., Ltd (QCRC), took the lead in piloting the integration of IoT and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

As the overall platform for the QCRC pilot project, ThingWorx will connect to the company’s MES to form an integrated factory information platform and data application consumption platform to achieve full-course visual operations, conduct big data analysis of major technologies, and ultimately help reduce operating costs and increase production efficiency.

ThingWorx is the industry leading, award-winning Industrial Innovation Platform from PTC that includes technologies and tools that enable users to rapidly develop, deploy, and extend apps and augmented reality experiences. ThingWorx contains a broad set of features, including a variety of connectivity options, application development tools, and analytics all built around a single, real-time view of a physical object in the digital world.

Thus, ThingWorx supports remote data collection of connected devices, enables independent and secure connection between devices, manages devices/sensors, and integrates with multiple enterprise-level systems. The big data learning and analysis function in ThingWorx will also enable predictive maintenance and reduce energy consumption and unplanned downtime of those devices. QCRC project leaders will be able to understand the factory’s operations, abnormalities, and warnings in real-time, as well as future production trends.

Jinjie Pan, CIO, CIMC, said:

“The QCRC pilot project, ‘IoT + MES,’ is a case where information technology is used to solve the problem in business management. It provides data for operations, management, and decision-making.”

“This is our capacity-building effort to integrate automated devices and an information-based platform, and it is also our exploration of the integration of automation and informatization. The on-time launch of this project is a testament to our capability of organizing and rapid delivery.”

“We are excited to see a leading organization like CIMC utilize PTC’s ThingWorx platform to truly embrace the industrial IoT for smart manufacturing and digital transformation,” said Jerry Liu, DVP and president of Greater China, PTC. “We believe the successful launch of this pilot project will accelerate CIMC’s informatization development, facilitate its digital transformation, and promote the development of smart manufacturing in the Chinese market.”

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• Industrial applications of 5G jointly being explored and developed by Ericsson and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology – first 5G use case for making jet engine components now being tested for MTU Aero Engines

• Close to 1 millisecond latency achieved with the Ericsson 5G trial system – the ultra-low latency and very high bandwidth of 5G networks make it possible to control manufacturing machines in real-time, reducing costs and improving quality

• A new case study from Ericsson evaluates the business value of 5G in manufacturing

Ericsson and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology have teamed up to explore and develop industrial applications of 5G.

The first use case for production of jet engine components for MTU Aero Engines is currently being evaluated and is presented this week (April 23-27) at the Hanover Fair in Germany.

The components concerned, so-called blade integrated disks (blisk), are high-tech components where the disk and blades are produced as a single piece and serve the purpose of compressing the air inside jet engines. They are milled out of solid pieces of metal and have extremely high requirements towards accuracy and surface integrity.

Thomas Dautl, Director of Manufacturing Technology, MTU Aero Engines, says:
“A blade-integrated disk is a high-value component. The milling process takes 15-20 hours and the total lead time is around 3-4 months, including coating processes and quality checks.”

“The new 5G-based production technology will help make our operations more efficient.”

Applying 5G in the manufacturing industry has many important benefits in terms of costs, quality, and flexibility. The ultra-low latency and very high bandwidth make it possible to control machines in real-time, reducing manufacturing costs and improving quality of products.

The 5G-enabled blisk case alone can save approximately EUR 27 million for one single factory, and up to EUR 360 million globally, according to the latest Ericsson Consumer and Industry Lab Business Value Report. From a sustainability perspective, CO2 emissions from both the production of blisk and their operation in jet engines can be reduced by some 16 million tons annually on a global basis.

Moreover, the fact that 5G is a wireless technology also means machines can be equipped with sensors where fixed connections cannot be installed, and production lines can easily be adapted to new requirements – in a fraction of a second.

The Blisk pilot shows the technical capabilities of 5G such as ultra-low latency of close to 1 millisecond, which is vital for in-process, time-critical applications. Ericsson’s 5G trial system operating on 3.5 GHz is connected to an acceleration sensor mounted directly on the blisk in the production machinery. The vibration spectrum is transmitted in real time via 5G to the evaluation system. The very low latency helps correlate the vibration to the tool’s position and enable prompt adjustment of the production process.

Thomas Bergs, Managing Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, says:
“Many of our partners are planning to implement 5G on their manufacturing sites and see a great potential in having this technology in place. It will help the companies to become more competitive and profitable.”

Arun Bansal, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area Europe and Latin America at Ericsson, says:
“We are running 5G industry programs in Europe, North America and Asia. There is a strong demand from industries for 5G technology and together we can boost productivity and create new business opportunities. The Blisk project is a perfect example of what is possible in the industrial context with 5G in the future. Ultra-low latency of 5G makes this industrial use case feasible.”

The Blisk 5G use case is Ericsson’s first published tangible case study where the company takes a closer look at the business value of 5G-enabled production.

Watch this testimonial video to learn about the use case and business value for production of blade-integrated disks.

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Using Oracle Cloud, New FA-IT Open Platform Enables Rapid Collection, Analysis, and Utilization of Production Site Data.

Oracle today announced its collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) platform for smart manufacturing.

With Oracle Cloud, Mitsubishi Electric developed its new FA-IT Open Platform for factory automation. Using edge computing between devices and business applications, the new platform enables the rapid collection, analysis, and utilization of data at production site.

With organizations rapidly adopting Industry 4.0, manufacturers are increasingly seeking to optimize their total manufacturing processes by using IoT to collect data from all equipment in factories for visualization and analysis. Developing such IoT systems from scratch is an enormous task requiring that data be collected and modeled from a wide variety of production equipment, including existing equipment, for analytical purposes.

With FA-IT Open Platform, vendors can create manufacturing applications for operation on the platform, including connecting the platform to industrial networks to collect data from diverse devices and production equipment. The cloud-connected platform can be used to link manufacturing sites with cloud vendors’ own cloud-supported manufacturing-optimization services for supply chains, administration of multiple factories worldwide, and other applications.

FA-IT Open Platform leverages Oracle Database Cloud, Oracle Java Cloud, Oracle BI Cloud, Oracle IoT Cloud, Oracle IoT Production Monitoring Cloud, Oracle SOA Cloud, and Oracle Infrastructure as a Service. Information received in real time from machine tools and production terminals is received by Oracle IoT Cloud, enabling efficient real time processing with the extensible infrastructure. Mitsubishi Electric utilizes machine learning of Oracle Database Cloud, the reporting function of Oracle BI Cloud, and the cost-effective Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in the analysis of accumulated Big Data, contributing to further development of solutions in the factory automation area for customers and to smart manufacturing industry.

“Mitsubishi Electric develops advanced technologies and products for rapidly emerging factory automation,” said Toshiya Takahashi, corporate executive group senior vice president, factory automation system, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. “Our e-F@ctory concept for integrated automation reduces the total cost of developing, producing and maintaining products. Mitsubishi Electric’s new FA-IT Open Platform is based on edge computing to accelerate IoT utilization for smart manufacturing.”

“By adding Oracle Cloud services to this platform, we believe that it will be possible to visualize factories and build an application development environment. In order to provide the platform to customers early, we will also work with partner companies, including IT companies, to develop applications utilizing the platform.”

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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., also known as Foxconn, and Rockwell Automation announced today that they are collaborating to implement Connected Enterprise and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts for smart manufacturing in Foxconn’s new U.S. facilities.

The companies will also collaborate to develop and apply Smart Manufacturing solutions at Foxconn’s global electronics assembly operations and within the related industry eco-system. Technologies and extensive domain expertise of both companies will be combined to deliver a state of the art manufacturing system with unparalleled levels of operational efficiency.

Terry Guo, Foxconn Chairman and CEO, said:
“I am very excited about the opportunity for Foxconn and Rockwell Automation to work together. Foxconn is the global leader in electronics design manufacturing, and Rockwell Automation is the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information. I am confident that together we will increase operational efficiencies in electronics manufacturing to new levels, achieving the vision of Smart Manufacturing and Made in China 2025.”

The companies will also work together on workforce development and training. Specifically, as Foxconn increases its employee base in the United States, it has committed to participate in the previously-announced program developed by Rockwell Automation and ManpowerGroup to upskill military veterans and create a pool of certified talent for in-demand advanced manufacturing roles across the United States.

Blake Moret, Rockwell Automation President and CEO added:

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with a global technology and manufacturing leader to deliver advanced IIoT solutions to the electronics manufacturing industry.”

“Our work with Foxconn will further demonstrate the power and broad applicability of The Connected Enterprise. We are also pleased that Foxconn shares our commitment to expanding and upskilling the U.S. workforce to ensure there is the necessary talent for advanced manufacturing roles.”

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Strategic Collaborations, Comprehensive Research, and Applications for Connected Operations Will Help Global Manufacturers Unlock the Value of Industrie 4.0.

PTC today announced several new initiatives that advance its Industrie 4.0 strategy and will enable manufacturers to unlock value from the physical-digital convergence and transform their operational systems.

These include a collaboration with McKinsey & Company; strategic Industrie 4.0 work with acatech, the German national academy of science and engineering; and the upcoming release of connected operations applications built on the ThingWorx® IoT platform.

PTC works with hundreds of global manufacturers worldwide to support and advance their Industrie 4.0 strategies.
The new PTC Industrie 4.0 initiatives include:

• PTC partners with McKinsey & Company, the world’s leading management consulting firm, to create a global network of Industrie 4.0 Digital Capability Centers (DCCs). Using solution technology from PTC, the DCCs are designed to support companies at every stage of their digital transformation journey. The DCCs will include a realistic production environment, digital showcases with demonstrations of Industrie 4.0 technology, as well as experiential capability-building workshops to promote skills training and awareness of Industrie 4.0. The first DCC will open to visitors in Aachen (Germany) on March 30, followed by other DCC openings in Singapore, Beijing, Chicago, and Venice (Italy). In addition to McKinsey & Company, other PTC partners in Industrie 4.0 initiatives include manufacturing leaders GE, National Instruments, and OSIsoft. In addition, PTC and Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) are collaborating to develop new IoT solutions for industrial use cases.
• PTC, as a member of the acatech consortium, the German national academy of science and engineering, contributed to the development of the Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index that will enable companies to assess their current Industrie 4.0 capabilities and map out a structured digital roadmap that includes steps and capabilities needed to realize its value potential. The Index also will provide a unique multidimensional assessment that covers production and logistics, research and development, service, and sales and marketing. The Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index will be available for download on ptc.com in April.
• PTC will deliver new connected operations applications that support Industrie 4.0. The new applications, built on the ThingWorx platform, are designed to unify and contextualize digital data from enterprise IT systems with operational and physical data from machines and sensors to enable manufacturers to realize Industrie 4.0 potential more quickly.

Often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, Industrie 4.0 is the transformation of manufacturing through the adoption of smart, connected products and smart, connected operations. Industrie 4.0 makes use of major innovations in digital technology, such as edge and big data analytics, advanced networking, communications and security, robotics, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, mobile, rapid application development, and the Internet of Things. When combined, these technologies bring together the physical and digital worlds, enabling manufacturers to gain deep, real-time insight into their operations – and subsequently to increase efficiencies and flexibility, lower costs, and improve product quality.

Known collectively as Industrie 4.0, the concept is now worldwide in scope. It is also the blueprint for Made in China 2025 and heavily influences Smart Manufacturing initiatives in the United States. While it is most often associated with manufacturing, adjacent market segments, including utilities, smart cities, oil and gas, and healthcare, have begun to embrace Industrie 4.0 principles and technologies.

“PTC continues to focus on initiatives that can enable manufacturers to realize the potential of Industrie 4.0 and smart manufacturing,” said Kathleen Mitford, executive vice president, segments, PTC.

“Our upcoming release of connected operations applications combined with the acatech Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index and our strategic collaborations with industry leaders such as McKinsey & Company will enable our customers to realize value from their Industrie 4.0 initiatives.”

The PTC IoT Transformation Advisory Practice also offers workshops and value acceleration services to further support companies with their Industrie 4.0 strategy.

“LNS Research has long advocated that Industrie 4.0 requires the deployment of next-gen manufacturing apps that are lightweight, flexible, modular, and run on top of IIoT Platforms. Since the launch of ThingWorx, PTC has established itself as a leading provider that shares this vision with a successful track record of helping manufacturers around the world,” said Mathew Littlefield, founder and president, LNS Research. “These new initiatives – the collaboration with McKinsey, the research with acatech, and the upcoming release of connected operations offerings, will further enhance the company’s position, as well as accelerate Industrie 4.0 adoption.”

The timing of any product or application release, including any features or functionality, is subject to change at PTC’s discretion.

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Electric Imp, the leading provider of a powerful Internet of Things (IoT) platform that securely connects devices to advanced cloud computing resources, today announces availability of its Connected Manufacturing solution suite.

Connected Manufacturing leverages a single, secure platform to speed time to market, cut labor and materials costs, and eliminate security threats for companies to ramp up manufacturing to deploy millions of IoT devices. Electric Imp’s Connected Manufacturing innovations will be showcased at IoT World (booth number 515).

A core component of Electric Imp’s Connected Manufacturing suite is the new impFactory, an appliance purpose-built to securely configure, track and activate IoT-connected devices during mass production. The impFactory ships with embedded BlinkUp, a patented technology enabling secure provisioning. impFactory collects and feeds valuable production data directly to business systems for real-time analytics and includes multiple interfaces to attach printers, scanners and other machines used during device testing on the factory floor.

Along with impFactory, Connected Manufacturing also includes enhancements to impOS, impSecure, and impCloud. Together, the products create workflow automation and data insights that span the entire lifecycle of IoT-connected devices – from lab prototype to factory production to installing and maintaining devices anywhere in the world.

“Anyone who has ever built millions of connected devices knows that visibility, flexibility and secure control of the manufacturing process can make or break a product”, said Hugo Fiennes, co-founder and CEO of Electric Imp.

“Unless you are willing to have your engineers live at the factory, wherever in the world it is, you are limited in what you control. We designed our Connected Manufacturing suite to deal with the real-world, real-time and potentially, really ugly parts of bringing a secure IoT product to market.”

Connected Manufacturing early-release users include Pitney Bowes, a recently announced Electric Imp customer, and Petasense.

Pitney Bowes
“It takes just seconds for us to activate our connected devices using Connected Manufacturing from Electric Imp,” said Rick Ryan, Strategic Technology and Innovation Center Research Fellow at Pitney Bowes. “The ability to establish trust between a device and the recently announced Pitney Bowes Commerce Cloud is critical as we deploy new customer services while retaining the security levels required by our highly-regulated business. By utilizing impFactory and leveraging the Electric Imp devices and cloud services, we anticipate a cut in connectivity costs as we develop our digital relationship with our customers.”

Petasense
“We estimate we will cut more than 50 percent of the time needed to provision by using impFactory and the Electric Imp platform,” said Abhinav Khushraj, founder and CEO for PetaSense, which leverages Electric Imp to provide vibration sensing technology for predictive maintenance. “Other methods simply won’t scale – particularly when you are manufacturing thousands of devices at a time. The impFactory is easy to use, can move around the factory floor and can even be triggered using a footswitch, freeing the operator’s hands for other work.”

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