Welcome to INDUSTRY 4.0 subpage.
Here you can find short overview of Industry 4.0 consept.
In the page you can find text and pictures and also brief video lecture by a specialist in his field.
After studying materials in the page and watching video lecture, you can understand concept of Industry 4.0 and how it is grately related with 3D printing technologies!
You can also find little self-check question it the end of the page
Industry 4.0 – digital technologies that includes 3D printing
Industry 4.0 is called the "smart manufacturing' process", in which computer systems monitor the physical processes of a factory and make different decisions.
Industry 4.0 has made more changes in the business/manufacturing progress than some new machines- We will use known machines, which are modified and by that we mean we will give machines little bit of intuition. With the help of artificial intelligence and virtual reality machines can do mindless and repetitive jobs without human intervention, allowing humans to focus more on their core competencies.
As a joke, we can say that there are 2 living creatures who are working in the factory of the future - a dog who guards the factory and a person who feeds the dog 😊
The essential components or framework of Industry 4.0 involves:
Big data, Model Simulation
Cloud Technology
Augmented Reality/VR
3D Printers / Additive Manufacturing,
Industrial Internet of Things (IoT),
Artificial Intelligence
Autonomous Robots and Cyber security.
From the company's point of view, Industry 4.0 has three equally important aspects:
Digitization - cloud services, data collection, analysis and more efficient production management through IT developments; creation of digital twins from technological devices
Smart machines - equipping technological equipment (machine tools, robots, warehouse systems) with smart sensors and actuators that enable fast data exchange and real-time control, as well as cooperation with people (collaborative robots, self-driving vehicles)
New business models - in order for a company to be stably successful, it should have sales channels in about 30 countries; it is costly to open regular sales offices, but it is possible to expand the market through e-shops and e-services. Digitization starts with running a business - to make a conscious contribution to e-business, which in turn relies on real-time production and sales data
The most important mistakes companies make:
Digitization... is limited to software development, such as the introduction of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, but no real-time exchange of information or business models with production equipment
Investing.... in single production equipment items, assuming, for example, that one robot replaces the work of five people, but leaving the technological process and business model unchanged. The result is a device that is not used when the product portfolio or market demand changes
Digitalisation... is envisaged at management level, but there are no plans to capture new markets and provide cross-border e-services in the long run
Industry 4.0 has become synonymous with the digitalisation of industry.
Historically, industrial revolutions are distinguished as follows:
Industry 1.0 - introduction of steam engines, creation of manufactories
Industry 2.0 - introduction of electrical machines, creation of mass production
Industry 3.0 - introduction of numerical Control (NC), introduction of programmable logic controllers (PLC), development of robotics and flexible manufacturing
Industry 4.0 - Deployment of cloud services, emergence of cloud-based communication and big data collection machine to machine (M2M), development of cyber-physical systems (CPS)
4null.gifImage source: https://bit.ly/3EYX6WT
Industrial revolution timeline:
When understanding the timeline, try to think about what geopolitical events and inventions might have changed all of this!
Image source: https://bit.ly/3HliVAc
In industry, the "4th Industrial Revolution" enables smarter use and management of production resources, thereby improving business potential and productivity. Europe has been at the forefront of manufacturing in the world, and the emphasis on smart manufacturing makes it possible to consolidate this position - low-cost products developed in Europe can be copied quickly in Asian low-wage countries, but not so easily on smart devices and cloud services.
In scientific terms, the implementation of Industry 4.0 also means that it is not necessary to duplicate laboratories with expensive equipment, but by using and developing digital tools, devices costing millions can also be used remotely as digital twins.
In education, Industry 4.0 means a growing demand for engineering and IT skills, as well as knowledge of e-business and new business models. The share of higher paid specialists in employment is increasing with the growth of productivity and the demand for them is growing.
The topics of the next industrial revolution, e Industry 5.0, are already being discussed in academia. This is expected to be related to changing human roles - technological developments allow people to integrate the product creation and production process, monitor and adapt production to individual parameters, and produce personalized products and services according to each customer's personal needs and parameters.
Industry 4.0 developments in the world
According to the production index of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all industries are ranked. In several countries - compared to 2015, the production has increased despite the corona period.
NB! The OECD does not include in its statistics China, where the methods of collecting and analysing data on enterprises do not meet internationally recognized standards.
OECD Production Index (MEI) Results for the 2021. Results over 100 are showing the positive progress compared to reference year 2015.
Look closely Polish, Hungarian, Estonian and Turkish positions!
The ManuFuture Technology Platform Vision 2030 (https://bit.ly/3AECy3uha) been set up in the European Union to plan industrial development and foresee steps to maintain European leadership in manufacturing.
Estonia also played a role in developing this vision, whereas the 2017 EU annual conference Manufuture2017 http://manufuture2017.eu/ took place at Tallinn University of Technology.
Industry 4.0 programs in Europe also prompted the People's Republic of China to create its own strategy "Made in China 2025", which envisages China becoming the world's leading industrial country by 2049 through the development of new technologies.
In the USA, a network of 14 leading research institutes "Manufacturing USA" has been established https://www.manufacturingusa.com/ , which focuses on industrial innovation and the development of cooperation on digital manufacturing, additive manufacturing, robotics, cyber security, composites, etc.
Industry 4.0 most common focus areas are:
• preparation, manufacturing and quality control of complex prototypes, incl. by additive manufacturing
• development of digital twins, application of VR & AR technologies
• industrial robotics
• self-driving vehicles in production logistics
• preventive maintenance and optimization of smart production
• secure and sustainable energy supply for smart production (smartgrid)
Industry 4.0 and 3D printers
3D printers are a probably biggest and most widely spread part of Industry 4.0.
While 3D printers are available in the 80s, commercially succsesful 3D printers has been possible in the last decade.
3D printing technology today is at a stage where companies are starting to use them for prototyping and rapid toolmaking purposes. Big corporates are making significant investments in 3D printing knowledge and capabilities so that they can advise and join their clients in the Industry 4.0 wave and revolutionize supply chains, product portfolios, and business models in the process.
If we keep 3D printing in focus and look that in perspective of Industry 4.0 we can find many developments and improvements in that field.
Printing speed: 3D printers are not yet so good for mass production. Cheap and entry level printers are too slow for real-life printing needs. To digitally transform the manufacturing industry, parts need to be printed in minutes, not hours. As 3D printing technology improves, the speed of the printers has improved too.
Quality: the earlier 3D printers were not extremely accurate, especially when it came to printing complex designs. But like always with computers and new tehnologies - printer that costs 3000EUR today will cost 300EUR in 3 years- everything is evolving so fast!
Environmental impact: In todays "green transition" we need to think about environment a lot! Traditional manufacturing wastes a lot of material. In most cases it makes carbon footprint very large! 3D printing reduces waste, and environmentally conscious manufacturers can use earth friendly, biodegradable material for printing. In latest addition, future 3D printers should make a single copy if it is neccessary. This reduces unsold inventory.
Choice of Printing Material: This is one of the biggest game changers that work in favour of 3D printers. Today's 3D printers can print almost everything - even from metal to food and concrete. As the choice of material increases further, industries will find it easier to manufacture almost anything the customers desire.
Software and 3D printing: One of the key components of Industry 4.0 is big data. As new software becomes available that is capable of processing this big data it will only increase the importance of 3D printers in the manufacturing future, as this data can be directly fed to them while prototyping.
Price: Last but not least- manufacturing industry will embrace digital transformation only if the price is right. One of the biggest obstacles for mass scale digitalization was the high cost of 3D printers. But as the technical parts and programs are evolving and there is competition between different 3D printing solution providers - the cost of 3D printers will keep on dropping. As the prices drop, more and more consumers will start buying 3D printers, benefitting everyone in the process.
You can find topics described above in the short video lesson presented by PhD Taono Otto.
Also you can find a PowerPoint presentation for teachesr below!