Articles Tagged with ''Industry 4.0''

Breaking new ground in production to be one step ahead—such is the ambition of numerous companies. In light of the additive manufacturing trend, this may be possible. Dr. Marcin Bauza, Dr. Claus Hermannstädter, and Dr. Robert Zarnetta explain how to support pioneering entrepreneurs in their efforts.

Industrial revolution’s “fourth wave” disrupting manufacturing industry with automation and big data.

You can’t escape the buzzwords. The Internet of Things. The Industrial Internet of Things. Edge Computing. Industry 4.0. Big. Data. Every practitioner has their own, slightly different definition of what these terms mean—a fuzzy cloud of vague meaning.

Most manufacturers are just now embarking on their exploration of Industry 4.0 and figuring out how to use automation, data exchange, cloud computing, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to create smart factories.

A friend of mine likes to quip that someday computers will make all our lives easier. He’s kidding (I think), but it seems to be a fact of modern life that every time we open our phones, tablets, or computers, or even check our watches, there are upgrades waiting to be installed for the apps we have, and new and improved apps on offer to replace those.

Most quality departments are still doing things the old fashioned way: measure, collect, compare, respond, fix, and repeat. This reactive, legacy approach is, of course, vital for any successful company, but in this data-driven age of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, it’s not enough.