At the Hannover Messe trade fair, Bosch is showing that the connected factory is finally a reality. Machinery, sensors and software are combined to form a digitally connected factory at the company’s booth. The result is a wide range of benefits across the value chain: greater productivity, quality control in real time, and lower energy needs.
“We provide coordinated components and concepts for Industry 4.0 from the same source, thereby enhancing transparency and efficiency in manufacturing. As a result, we create competitive advantages for our customers,” said Bosch board of management member Dr. Werner Struth, whose responsibilities include manufacturing coordination at Bosch’s approximately 250 plants worldwide. The company has successfully implemented more than 100 projects for Industry 4.0. “We are a leading user of Industry 4.0, which means we are intimately familiar with the needs in this field. Our experience also benefits our customers, for whom we are a leading supplier,” Struth said. While hardware and software expertise plus experience are indispensable, they are not enough on their own. “We need open standards. Too many proprietary systems impede the progress of Industry 4.0 moving forward,” Struth added.
Making the case for the swift conclusion of TTIP
In light of the above, Struth made the case for swiftly concluding the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement. “Together with the United States, Europe can actively shape the structures of global commerce. If we miss this opportunity, the weight the EU wields with regard to trade policy could decrease. Industry 4.0 benefits from free trade,” Struth said. TTIP is also a key issue for U.S. President Barack Obama, who opened the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology on April 24. “We need a comprehensive agreement. This is Europe’s opportunity to create an essential frame- work for the digital economy and for the protection of intellectual property. Other- wise, regions elsewhere could wield greter influence in shaping global commerce through different agreements,” Struth added.
Bosch active for 110 years in the U.S.
Bosch has operated in the U.S., the trade fair’s partner country, since 1906, and it employs around 17,600 associates there. “In 2015, we invested 340 million euros in the U.S., and we are planning to invest a similar amount in 2016,” Struth said. Bosch is driving connectivity in manufacturing forward in the U.S. as well. The associates at the plant in Anderson, South Carolina, for example, were the first at Bosch to use smartwatches to monitor production.
Quality control: goal of zero defects is getting closer thanks to connectivity
With an exhibition titled “Industry 4.0 live at Bosch,” Bosch is demonstrating how manufacturing can be connected along the value stream and across company boundaries from April 25−29 in Hannover. One example is the continuous quality control of safety-critical screw connections, such as those in the automotive industry. The connected Nexo cordless nutrunner from Bosch records the torque during the screw-tightening process, among other things, and transmits this data to the Process Quality Manager software. The software recognizes in real time whether the screw-tightening process was carried out correctly. Deviations are immediately apparent, and the appropriate experts are notified directly. The data generated by the cordless nutrunner can be shown on the ActiveCockpit, which is an oversized display in the production hall. Thanks to the clear charts and diagrams, associates are informed in real time of the current production progress.
Sensors improve logistics through information in real time
Information provided in real time also helps to improve logistics. The sensor solution known as “TraQ” (for “track quality”) monitors supply chains. To this end, sensors in the packaging or on the product itself record quality-relevant information during transport − such as temperature, vibration, light, and humidity levels − and send it to the Bosch IoT Cloud. A Bosch software application in the cloud compares the readings from the sensors with permitted levels. If there is a deviation from one of these, customers, suppliers, and service providers are notified and alerted in real time. This benefits the transport of sensitive goods, such as semiconductors and delicate laser technology. The connected transport box detects vibrations that are too strong and reports them to the owners and insurance companies. As a result, it is possible to directly determine the point at which the damage occurred and what caused it. If the delivery of machine parts is delayed, the customer can still make other arrangements. The benefit: timely notification minimizes costly downstream consequences, such as production stop- pages, in case of damage to goods.
Data analysis boosts competitiveness
Data from connected manufacturing harbors valuable information. Used correctly, it can optimize production processes and ensure greater competitiveness. Bosch’s Manufacturing Analytics Tools & Services software provides support in this matter. It analyzes the data defined by the customer using algorithms specially designed for production. The intelligently analyzed and prepared information helps with predictive machinery maintenance, among other things. Predictive maintenance prevents unplanned manufacturing downtime.
Intelligently connected workstation ensures faster familiarization
Bosch also boosts productivity in industrial manufacturing with its APAS family. The production assistants are easy to program and can be used flexibly. The new APAS workstation is now joining the family as its latest member. The intelligently connected workstation combines a work surface, a collaborative robotic arm, and a monitor that displays work instructions. Thanks to sensitive sensor skin, the robotic arm immediately stops whenever someone gets too close. People and machines can therefore work together without a protective barrier. As a result, the system creates new possibilities for teamwork between machines and associates. The employers’ liability insurance association has certified the APAS as safe for direct collaboration with people.
Bosch’s two-pronged strategy: leading user and leading supplier
Through its solutions presented in Hannover, Bosch is demonstrating its two- pronged strategy for Industry 4.0. The first part of the strategy is to be a leading user of connected technology. The second part is to offer customers many different solutions in this field. “Our dual role as a leading supplier and leading user gives us an edge over the competition. We apply our experience to the products and services for customers. Throughout it all, our focus is on people. A wide variety of data analysis tools, algorithms, and software support people better than ever before,” Struth said. This is how Industry 4.0 is helping to ensure that companies are able to compete effectively.
Struth: “The digital economy needs open standards”
Struth issued a word of warning against a large number of siloed solutions that undermine the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0: “Only a truly global approach that knows no company or national borders will allow connected industry to develop to its full potential unimpeded by various sets of technical regulations. That is why we are a proponent of open standards, as it is the only way to allow equipment and software made by different manufacturers to easily connect to each other across companies and countries. Standardization is essential to a smoothly functioning digital economy, both nationally and internationally.” To date, the lack of a common language has, in many cases, hindered the smooth international coordination of manufacturing, logistics, and building and energy management.
Struth therefore welcomed the recently agreed partnership between the German Industry 4.0 platform and the international Industrial Internet Consortium. Both organizations coordinate their reference architecture (RAMI4.0 in the case of the Industry 4.0 platform, IIRA in the case of the IIC) with each other − and thus their technical bases. As a global company, Bosch is a member of both organizations. This combination of the two approaches allows the exchange of data between central areas of connected industry, including in practice. In Bosch’s Homburg plant, a number of connectivity solutions are now combined to manage and optimize manufacturing so that it avoids consuming electricity at particularly expensive peak times. This reduces manufacturing costs and increases competitive- ness, while protecting the environment at the same time.
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