If you still think of the Industrial Revolution as the beginning of the 19th century: time for an update. We are in the middle of it. The latest industrial automation is unleashing a fascinating revolution. With clear opportunities for the industry.
The keyword in this movement is SIM: Smart Industrial Machinery. “SIM means that you don’t just see the machine as a device that performs production actions, but that you can also collect data about the functioning of the machine. Based on that, you can learn how to use the machine and the entire production system better”. Theo de Vries and Mark Lendering are department heads and junior software engineers of the Software & Control department of VIRO. Theo de Vries also works one day a week as a senior lecturer at the Robotics and Mechantronics group at the University of Twente. They give us a glimpse into the future of industrial production.
Customer-oriented thinking
Theo de Vries identifies a number of important trends: “The cycles in which products are made are becoming shorter and shorter. If you want to be able to offer good solutions as a machine builder, it is important to think flexibly and modularly. You have to add extra software and be able to adapt the mechanical design to the customer's wishes. The second trend is that customers ask their machine builders to think along with them in the chain. The customer wants to deliver a product; the machine is nothing more than a means to achieve that goal. Machine builders are expected to think along with them in the entire product life cycle. We can help with that. For example, if certain production errors occur repeatedly; at which step in the production does it go wrong? The production network can collect, bring together and analyse data. This can be used to explain why certain things are not going well and what improvements can be made.”
Optimizing processes
A good example is Spotify: “Spotify keeps track of your music choices. Then you get suggestions: you will probably like this too. Based on data analysis, Spotify invites you to take an action other than the one you are familiar with. The entire service is built around the music experience. That is also the direction that mechanical engineering can go. Strictly speaking, the customer does not want a machine; he wants to produce. Mechanical engineering will move towards supplying production facilities.” So it goes beyond collecting production data. There is also proactivity in it. “As soon as it is about SIM, you also hear about The Internet of Things. That is typically about getting information. That is too passive. When we add automation, we also include the optimization process. How can you intervene in the production process? The customer also has to look at that and think about it.”
Attention to safety
The Internet of Things is one of the many trends that come together in Smart Industry. “Adding communication facilities to machines is central. In all projects you see that openness is increasing. People want to be able to access everything from anywhere. In the past, the automation of a production plant was completely separate. A bit of customization, with its own network systems. Smart Industry tries to break that open. In itself a positive goal, but that has to be done in a safe way. Because what happens? In fact, you open up your production equipment to the world. You can do a lot of useful things with that, but it also makes you vulnerable. Just think of hackers, the world has had enough examples of that recently. In addition, you are also dependent on the quality of your network. As soon as that goes down, your production facility no longer works. If you, like us with VIRO, are specialized in Smart Industrial Machinery, you also have to know the ways to solve these kinds of issues.”
Robot vs. Human
Another trend that is closely related to SIM is robotization. Efficiency is of course great. But aren't robots a threat to the working man? “Robots win the battle with humans when it comes to manual production activities. In return, I hope and expect that other work will emerge. In what way can you add value as a human being? Young people in particular need to think carefully about their skills in order to remain attractive as employees in the future. If the costs of human labor are no longer a factor, it is quite possible that robotization will bring production back to the Netherlands. That could be an opportunity. The arrival of robots brings with it a lot of demand for development activities. For VIRO, that is a favorable trend. We could also help to bring production back to the Netherlands or Europe.”
System architecture
Machines in a production environment are examples of systems in which the performance of the whole is not determined by a single technical discipline, but rather by the synergistic combination of multiple disciplines: information and communication technology, but also mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and process technology. VIRO has traditionally built up a great deal of expertise in mechanical engineering, but in the past 20 years it has grown into a multidisciplinary service provider that is excellently equipped to support the machine builder in all disciplines involved. Not only by deploying disciplinary experts, but also by adding a system architect to the project teams who is able to create this synergy. Such a system architect is, for example, able to identify to what extent the mechanical construction fits well with the measurement and control technology solution that is proposed; or where there are opportunities to achieve better performance of the total machine and at the same time to be able to save on the realisation of the electrical installation by choosing smart solutions for the cabling. The role of the system architect is therefore to optimally align the disciplinary subsystems with each other and to define and monitor the associated interfaces. He or she thus has a decisive influence on the final total system.
Interested or curious about what VIRO can do for you? Please contact:
Theo de Vries (+31 6 292 491 79, t.devries@viro.nl)
Head of Department Software & Control
Hengelo branch
Associate professor in Intelligent Control & Mechatronics
Robotics and Mechatronics
University of Twente
Edwin Brunenberg (+31 6 535 841 23, e.brunenberg@viro.nl)
Head of Department Industrial Projects
Establishment Echt
They will be happy to assist you.
Nederlands