Industry 4 and IIot are largely about connectivity of equipment and devices to improve the way we work. In this article, we look at transforming IIoT big data into a usable currency.
In manufacturing the…
Industry 4 Articles
Self driving robots collaborate in life sciences
Automation lends itself to the manufacture of mass produced disposable medical devices and the bulk processing of samples. The main reasons for this are speed and repeatability, and removing contamination risks in a clean…
The growth of data as a currency.
For many years business models in automation have been very similar. However, their foundation is based on assumptions that IIot will probably make invalid. Schneider Electric sees that with the digitisation of plants…
Omron vision for digitalised machine automation
Omron Automation has produced a positioning paper outlining its view of digitalised machine automation. It considers the core technologies needed to realize a smart digitalised manufacturing infrastructure.
The fourth industrial revolution will be a convergence…
Manufacturing Lighthouses Show the Way
Manufacturers have tried for years to develop a computer network standard for interconnecting devices from various manufacturers (remember MAP?). Now things are different: IoT is providing the underlying platform. Markedly, equipment and device makers…
Manufacturing Automation is the key
According to Government statistics, UK manufacturing accounts for 11% of GDP. This makes the UK number 11 in world rankings. However, a new study for the Manufacturing Technologies Association…
Towards Utopian Factories
If you are in manufacturing, you know change is heading your way: or at least the possibility of change. Perhaps visions of factories populated by autonomous vehicles delivering parts and sub-assemblies across the shop…
IIoT controller hardware offers profit from Industry 4.0
For manufacturers investing in IIoT or Industry 4.0, the challenge is to improve automation in a way that improves the bottom line. Most of the control strategies employed today evolved in response to a…
What is EcoStruxure from Schneider Electric?
Commercial, political and environmental pressures are driving organisations to make more with less. This means they need to increase productivity with fewer resources, and using less energy. Thus, connectivity offered by the Internet of…
CC-Link IE | enabling Industry 4.0 open gigabit ethernet
UK manufacturing is recognising that low productivity is a problem. The time has gone when producers were prepared to accept new products based on low introduction costs, but higher unit costs.
The growing recognition of…
Industry 4 -automated heaven or an engineers’ hell?
Whether Industry 4 represents automated heaven or an engineers’ hell rather depends on your viewpoint. From a management perspective, the challenge for manufacturers is knowing how best to improve productivity. This is important for…
What does IIoT mean for Automation?
To begin with, it is hardly surprising that engineers are confused about what IIoT means for the automation of their industry. A recent study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers showed only 8% of…
