Internet of things

In the future, smart IT systems will ensure that different machines are coordinated with one another and react to each other – which is related to as ‘Industry 4.0’ or ‘Smart Production’, based on the ‘Internet Of Things’ or cyber-physical systems. Neither idling, f.e. caused by the lack of required components, nor inventory costs, caused by overproduction at one step of the process, are supposed to occur; outages and failures are expected to be handled discreetly by the system. Strategy will not be managed manually at a control center, but will essentially be supported by the communication of machines. Auxiliary industries as well as distribution will be incorporated by the integral system. That comes with many advantages: production is going to be faster, cheaper and increasingly energy-efficient. Furthermore, it will be easier to meet individual customer requests. Individually fitted products are harder to manufacture than mass products, which is why the TU Wien is working on strategies for manufacturing personalized products in very small batch sizes efficiently. Continuous digital images of products and the production system are crucial.

Practical experimentation in the Pilot Factory

In order to be able to develop, test and improve such new strategies for the industry, one needs a realistic test environment – real machines, real production chains and also a real product.
In the Pilot Factory at TU Wien, the decision was made to use components from 3D printers, because these are relatively complex objects that can be produced in a large number of variants. The production is therefore sufficiently challenging to be scientifically interesting.

Ideas for the industry

The Pilot Factory is important for several reasons: Scientific know-how about optimal production techniques should be developed, which will then benefit the economy. At the same time, the Pilot Factory plays a decisive role in teaching at the TU Wien. There, the students can get to know the entire supply chain and help develop it – from construction to production and assembly to quality assurance and logistics. It should be possible there to develop new prototypes and new process technologies. Last but not least, the Pilot Factory should also be used for further training – specialists in production should get to know new ideas there, which they can then implement in their own companies.

RE-INDUSTRIALIZATION OF EUROPE?

It is indisputable that production technology is changing worldwide. It is inevitable that jobs will also be lost as a result of increasing automation. Nevertheless – or perhaps because of this – it is important for Europe to rely on modern production techniques. Improved production can ensure that outsourced production processes are brought back to Europe. Flexibility, adaptivity and the ability to quickly turn a product into production are often more important than low labor costs. Industry 4.0 can strengthen the European production sector and lead to re-industrialization.