The Industry 4.0 scenario
The term Industry 4.0 represents the current technological and industrial scenario also known as the fourth industrial revolution. This scenario is characterized by the use and application of sensors and connections, data and information, computational technologies and above all by the analysis of data, new materials, machines, components and automated systems, digitized and connected (Internet of Things and Machines) in order to improve process efficiency and/or product intelligence, thus increasing its added value on the market.
The Industry 4.0 context is characterized by the revolution of entire value chains and the growing integration of the company with upstream supply and subsupply networks, and downstream customers, intermediate and final. The Industry 4.0 context leads to a review of business models, market approaches and production processes to achieve efficiency and productivity results. In the Industry 4.0 context, it is possible to interconnect and cooperate all productive resources (physical assets and people, both inside and outside the factory), and to collect, analyse and understand their data and information.
The Industry 4.0 enabling technologies can be summarised in the following three areas:
1. Availability of digital and analytical data of Big Data
2. Robotics and advanced automation
3. Advanced connectivity
New technologies are already available and present in companies, but in a limited, sporadic and little integrated way; they are mainly concentrated on industrial process control for the mass production of components (numerical control machines). The integration with robotics is present only in certain environments, with applications limited to the repetition of the same action or task and to the remote control of the operating efficiency of the machines.
The 4.0 revolution and digitalization aim to create and manage real integrated and interconnected networks of machinery, plants and production facilities, optimising transformation processes, reducing errors and defects, improving time to market and ensuring flexibility, speed and precision.