Everyone is talking about Industry 4.0 as a megatrend. The term “Industry 4.0” was first defined in 2011 by the Federal Government as the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 solutions interlink production with the latest information and communication technology. Cloud, sensors, data centers and software are tools with which a company works in order to remain competitive in the future.
Competitiveness increasingly means being flexible, quickly adapting to changing market requirements. To do this, it is necessary to be able to produce in small batch sizes, with a large variety of products and at prices of mass products. Products have to be manufactured individually, inexpensively and efficiently.
“Industry 4.0 is a revolution in production logic, but is being carried out step by step as an evolution. With relatively little investment, you can take advantage of cyber-physical production systems by covering existing factories with sensor networks, supplemented by decentralized control components and the new generation of cooperative, mobile robot teams. ”Says Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.mult. Wolfgang Wahlster (1)
"Numerous studies predict that the introduction of Industry 4.0 will make a significant contribution to the economic growth of Germany and its companies." (2) According to VDMA, 34% of companies in German mechanical and plant engineering already have advanced Industry 4.0 approaches. (3) According to experts, a stage will be reached in 2030 where all aspects of this revolution will be implemented.
Numerous projects are described on the "Industry 4.0" platform of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry for Research and Education, and grants are offered to SMEs.
(1) Wahlster, Wolfgang: Wir haben die Innovationsführerschaft
(2) Banthien, Henning: Industrie 4.0
(3) Mosch, Christian: Industrie 4.0 Readiness: Ergebnisse aus dem Online-Selbst-Check