In the words of the Greek philosopher, Aristotle: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Although this conclusion was made long before Industry 4.0 and the Smart Factory even came to be, it hits the nail on the head when it comes to machine manufacturing.

At the highest level of “hard customisation” driven by the goals of Industry 4.0, customer-specific interfaces are developed to meet individual customer requirements, with the aim of meeting even the most “unusual” customer wishes in mechanical and plant engineering.

The Industrial Ethernet Book reached out to CLPA for a general update on CC-Link technology, technical priorities and areas of concentration for new applications. This special report provides insight into the direction of CC Link, application successes and its focus on time-sensitive networking solutions.

Toyota’s engine and power transmission manufacturing plant in Wałbrzych, Poland, looked to increase the availability of its production lines and improve the transparency of data. It faced the challenge of network performance, and also of integrating multiple devices from a range of different vendors.

The Italian farm Roana has invested in a biomass plant that utilises livestock manure and other organic waste to generate energy. To optimise its automation infrastructure, the farm required an advanced control network to monitor the anaerobic digestion process and maximise productivity.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) generates a tremendous amount of data that also needs to be stored. Consequently, more and more data centers are needed to fulfill this growing demand for data storage management, increasing energy consumption in the process.

As the pioneer in 3D laser processing technology, Trumpf offers complete machines and systems with optimally coordinated components in addition to beam sources and beam components. New solutions relied on Industrial PC technology and EtherCAT components to drive new levels of performance.

Plants with an aging DCS will require an upgrade to a modern automation system at some point. Selecting the right upgrade strategies and the right project management team are critical to success. A third-party service provider can often assist in project management and the development of the upgrade strategies.

This article shares a high-level view into PRP, PTP, and how one safeguards the other. The complex nature of today’s industrial networks relies on a deep understanding of protocols’ specifications and network design best practices.

Learn how ERP turns overweight, inefficient manufacturing into a lean, fit and supercharged manufacturing machine. Manufacturing is a complex process, no matter what products you make or what processes you use. ERP simplifies manufacturing by providing real-time data visibility at every step of the production process.