Industry 4.0: Real-life Impact

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Content

The Road to Productivity Gains

Industry 4.0 changes the rules of the game for manufacturing. Connecting real machines with information technologies and the Internet increases productivity.

Companies that use new technologies for Industry 4.0 are more competitive because they produce at lower costs and meet customer needs with more flexibility. One thing is certain: Industry 4.0 is coming. Companies that are prepared to implement Industry 4.0 now will actively shape and lead the change.



Benefits Overview

Realizing Industry 4.0 concepts at our plants, Bosch Rexroth has collected extensive experience implementing Industry 4.0 technology in real production environments. With connected automation solutions from Bosch Rexroth, manufacturers will be able to quickly implement customized Industry 4.0 concepts economically – whether building up new lines or upgrading existing facilities and manufacturing systems.

 
 

Quality

Optimize results through:

  • Staff support
  • Transparent processes
  • Data mining and analytic methods

Flexibility

Quick reaction to:

  • Market
  • Customer requests
  • Internal disturbances

 

Profitability

  • Reduce total costs:
    Failure costs, logistics costs, maintenance costs
  • Increase output:
    Planned operating time, cycle time, overall equipment effectiveness

 


Starting From Scratch - The Greenfield Approach

Building up new lines is always a challenge – technically and organizationally. But it’s worth it. In the industry 4.0 environment, all useful information is available, at any time, in any location, making it possible to economically produce individualized products and small batches. Technology supports people better than ever before. Companies that implement Industry 4.0 produce faster, with more flexibility, greater efficiency of material and reduced complexity and downtime.

 

Prepare your facility for Industry 4.0 now. In this checklist, you will find the basic requirements necessary to become Industry 4.0-enabled.

Download checklist

 
 

Homburg Plant, Germany

See a practical application of Industry 4.0 at the new build-up production line at Bosch Rexroth’s plant in Homburg, Germany. Without any modification of the machine, we assemble more than 200 different hydraulic valves on one multi-product line. The result: flexible and economically efficient assembling that yields 10 percent more output and a reduction of stock by 30 percent.

 
 
 
 

Upgrade existing facilities – The brownfield approach

Existing machines and production platforms can be cost-effectively upgraded to Industry 4.0 performance with the right technology and support. Modern machines generally have PLC or NC controls that are internally connected through fieldbuses. The modernization of the control hardware and communication interfaces is often sufficient for the machines to be able to exchange data with other machines and IT using open standards.

If you are working with older machines that may not meet these requirements, you should make sure that newly installed components can be connected when undertaking modernization measures.

 
 
 

Lohr Plant, Germany

It’s a solution we accomplished at our Lohr, Germany, production facility. The challenge: manage 200,000 different product variations while producing small batch sizes. We upgraded the facility to become a fully connected shop floor with high transparency and zero setup time in a paperless production environment.

Bosch Rexroth plant in Lohr: Industry 4.0 in practice