The influence of Industry 4.0 on the manufacturing industry
1. History of Industry 4.0
Since 1800, countries around the world have been going through four different industrial revolutions.
It is the Industrial Revolution 1.0, the Industrial Revolution 2.0, the Industrial Revolution 3.0 and now the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Each revolution brings innovation and remarkable achievements.
1.1 Industrial Revolution 1.0
The first revolution, called the mechanical revolution, began at the end of the 18th century in England. Revolution 1.0 successfully utilized water and steam power to assist people in mass production. Products are made using machines and production equipment instead of using manual labor of humans and animals.
1.2 Industrial Revolution 2.0
After about a century, the second revolution began to develop. Assembly line systems, new energy sources such as hydroelectricity, oil and gas are also found by humans. In addition, more advanced means of communication such as telegraph and telephone have contributed to the creation of a mass production process with the possibility of automation.
1.3 Industrial Revolution 3.0
Before Industry 4.0 is the third revolution – starting in the mid-1970s of the twentieth century. The great development of computers and software has successfully introduced automation into the production technology process. Factories began to apply logic controllers (PLCs) to production machines to create process automation and collect and share data.
1.4 Industrial Revolution 4.0
The fourth industrial revolution started in 2010 and is still evolving. At this stage, manufacturers can quickly respond to customer needs thanks to the ability to mass customization easily. Smart assistive technology will collect and combine all business operational data to make more accurate decisions.
In the era of Industry 4.0, the exchange and connection between businesses and manufacturers is expanding. Industry exhibitions such as the VME international show create long-term cooperation and development opportunities for many manufacturing enterprises around the world.
2. The influence of Industry 4.0 in production
The role of Industry 4.0 is demonstrated through a number of benefits below.
2.1 Improve efficiency and reduce machine downtime
Factory production lines will reduce downtime thanks to a level of integration, enhanced machine monitoring, and automated decision-making capabilities.
2.2 Data automation
The production stages will be strictly controlled automatically to create many quality products with fewer errors, helping the system save time and costs.
2.3 Support in decision making
The development of Industry 4.0 will correctly forecast customer needs, equipment maintenance time, … helping businesses manage risks and make effective decisions.
2.4 Smart connectivity and integration
Factories are tightly connected together to optimize time and improve the efficiency of business processes and production lines.
2.5 Monitoring machine condition
Manufacturers can monitor and check the condition of production equipment through sensors. As a result, damaged parts are detected early and repaired promptly.
3. 09 production technology trends in Industry 4.0
Nowadays, the trends in manufacturing technology between Industry 4.0, especially industrial exhibitions are gradually being noticed. Here are the 9 most outstanding trends:
3.1 Trend 1: Internet of Things (IoT)
Today, only a handful of sensors or manufacturing machines use computing and networking. Field devices, sensors and automatic controllers are incorporated into the production operation system.
The Internet of Things has enabled manufacturing devices and unfinished products to be embedded in computers and connected via standards. As a result, field devices and automated controllers can communicate and interact with each other. In addition, the Internet of Things enables analysis, decision making, and instant feedback.
3.2 Trend 2: Big Data Analytics
Big data analytics saves energy and optimizes production and service quality. In Industry 4.0, collecting and evaluating large volumes of data from multiple sources of devices, production systems, and enterprise management will become the norm in decision support.
3.3 Trend 3: 3D Simulation
In the future, 3D simulations of machines, products and manufacturing processes will be more widely applied in industrial plants. This is a method of using real-time data in a virtual model to reflect the real world. As a result, manufacturers can easily test and optimize machine settings in the virtual world to improve quality when setting up real systems.
3.4 Trend 4: Automated Robots
Robots have long played an important role in helping manufacturers tackle many complex tasks. However, in the era of Industry 4.0, robots are increasingly being developed towards more flexible, automative and cooperative. In the future, robots will be widely available with mid-range prices and more useful functions than now.
3.5 Trend 5: System Integration
The problem that suppliers, businesses and their customers want today is to be closely linked and exchange information with each other regularly. Thanks to the ability to integrate technology systems in the 4.0 era, businesses and departments are more connected, develop data integration networks and create many tightly linked automatic value chains.
3.6 Trend 6: Cloud Computing
At the Industrial Revolution 4.0, the requirements for data sharing and storage are increasing. Therefore, businesses have chosen to use cloud computing to improve efficiency and increase response time. Monitoring systems, data control services, production system functions, etc. are all deployed on cloud computing.
3.7 Trend 7: Cybersecurity
With connectivity by means of communication protocol, the network security needs of enterprise and production systems are significantly increased. All information data in digital form and access management, identification of machine or human activities also need to be kept as confidentially as possible.
3.8 Trend 8: 3D printing technology
3D printing is an additive manufacturing method by creating prototypes and manufacturing individual parts. With Industry 4.0, 3D printing technology is widely applied to produce small batches of customized products with complex designs. This production system delivers high performance and optimizes inventory and transportation processes.
3.9 Trend 9: Virtual Reality System
The augmented reality system supports a variety of services, including sending repair instructions over the phone, selecting individual parts from stock,….. Despite in its infancy, businesses still promise in the future, to apply this system more widely to provide information and support decision-making.
4. Conclusion
To better understand the application from the aforementioned 9 trends, businesses can experience the reality by registering to visit the VME international industry exhibition – the leading exhibition event in Vietnam in the manufacturing field, industry and supporting industry brings together an enormous number of large manufacturing enterprises and brands from all over Asia.
Thereby, businesses will have the opportunity to expand connections with many manufacturers of different sizes, update cutting-edge technology trends in the field of production technology, thereby applying to develop applications for work and business activities of enterprises.
