Abstract : Intelligent manufacturing is an inevitable trend in the development of the manufacturing industry and a necessary direction for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Currently, human society is rapidly entering an era of intelligent manufacturing centered on robots. A new generation of robots and intelligent manufacturing technologies, with "human-machine integration," "artificial intelligence," and "smart manufacturing" at their core, may be quietly driving a new round of industrial revolution.
Keywords : manufacturing industry; intelligent manufacturing; industry
Robots have been around for over half a century and have demonstrated unique advantages in industrial, service, and specialized fields. However, overall, the level of intelligence in robots still needs further improvement, and their market applications need further exploration. Robotics and 3D printing technologies alone cannot drive a new industrial revolution, nor can other advanced manufacturing technologies unilaterally propel one.
From the perspective of internet development stages, I divide it into four stages. The first stage is the information internet, where the business model is primarily focused on providing information services. The second stage is the distribution internet, which not only provides information services but also acts as a channel. The third stage, which is the currently booming field, is the "service internet." The fourth stage is the era of the industrial internet. New manufacturing thinking has emerged against the backdrop of the industrial internet era, with the real economy beginning to incorporate internet elements and internet thinking.
In Germany, Siemens was among the first to put the concepts of the Industrial Revolution into practice. Toyota's lean thinking in Japan is also unique. Toyota's welding and painting processes are fully automated, placing the company at the forefront of manufacturing upgrades.
I. Industrial Evolution
Looking back at the origins of Industry 4.0 , it's not just the Germans; many people have been studying the evolution of production methods for a long time.
The evolution of industrial production methods has roughly gone through five stages: The earliest was manual production, a model still seen in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions; later came the Ford Production System, also known as mass production or large-scale production, which involved internal division of labor, producing parts first, and then mass-producing and assembling them; Japanese companies invented lean production, a streamlined production process from on-site management to sophisticated logistics and distribution; after lean production came mass customization; and further still, customer customization, where each order is a customized product. Industry 4.0 is essentially customer customization, using intelligent manufacturing systems and software to address customer customization needs. Germany has extensive experience in industrial manufacturing; in 2013, the German government proposed the "High Technology Strategy 2020," with Industry 4.0 and Manufacturing 4.0 as its core strategies.
At the 2013 Hannover Messe, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy launched a themed exhibition area on manufacturing thinking, primarily featuring Siemens. In addition, Germany has several industry alliances, including those for machinery and manufacturing, communications and new media, and electronics, which essentially encompass most of German industry. These industry alliances also conducted a special project—"Securing the Future of German Industry—Recommendations on Implementing the Industry 4.0 Strategy."
Why Germany? Firstly, Germany has a strong foundation; secondly, it aims to gain a leading position in the next generation of manufacturing. The German vision is to set the standard for Manufacturing 4.0 for the world. This entire manufacturing standard is embodied in software. The Germans are now focused on developing excellent software because smart products require software support.
Industry 1.0 was characterized by steam engines and mechanical production; Industry 2.0 by electric power and mass production; and Industry 3.0 by electronics, information technology, and automation. For example, German digital fax technology was inspired by Industry 3.0 , relying on electronics and information technology. What is the core of Industry 4.0, as proposed by the Germans? In terms of output, it's intelligence—outputting intelligent products in an intelligent way, and this intelligent way is through cyber-physical systems.
Industry 4.0 integrates resources and production factors on a platform based on the internet and information technology, achieving full integration of these factors. It is the culmination of intelligent manufacturing and a crucial driver of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We are building an Industry 4.0 service platform. With the active support and cooperation of our global member companies, the International Robotics and Intelligent Equipment Industry Alliance is strengthening its global structure. We encourage member companies to develop collectively and in clusters, moving away from the pitfalls of fragmented and isolated development. Faced with new opportunities, we must seize the moment, actively expand application markets, and serve the entire robotics and intelligent manufacturing industry.
My understanding of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet, or the "Third Industrial Revolution," is based on the Internet. And what is the foundation of the Internet? It's the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet first connected people, and the next step is to connect people and things. The most difficult part is connecting things to things. The IoT generates massive amounts of information, supported by cloud computing. The Internet, IoT, and cloud computing, on this foundation, will form an intelligent manufacturing system. The interconnectedness of information in society constitutes a vast intelligent manufacturing system. Enterprises themselves operate intelligent manufacturing systems, which must integrate with the entire value chain and production ecosystem. Through this intelligent manufacturing system, intelligent products can be produced. Intelligent products inherently include personalized elements.
For example, in Japan, construction machinery is all leased; nobody buys the machines, they all lease them from manufacturers. One Japanese construction machinery leasing company uses smart network monitoring to check whether the leased machines, like excavators, are being used. If they find a machine is not being used for an extended period, it means there's a risk of not being able to pay the rental fees, and they immediately contact the customer to terminate the lease contract. As long as the machine is running every day, they are at ease.
In Siemens' intelligent manufacturing process, workers sit at workbenches operating computers and control the entire processing, but the actual work is done by machines.
II. Examples of Intelligent Manufacturing
From the perspective of domestic manufacturing companies, I only know of one clothing brand – "Red Collar" – that is implementing intelligent manufacturing. It is a very old brand. Later, the original business model of the clothing industry was impacted, and the owner of Red Collar gradually abandoned the path of opening offline specialty stores.
He began researching a new model: pure personalized customization, which is currently largely untapped by domestic consumers. The company produces 1,500 suits a year, with all orders coming from the US and Europe. Small tailors in the US and Europe send their personalized data to Red Collar, and they respond quickly.
How fast is the response time? 7-day delivery. The whole process is simple. First, the customer is taken to measure their body. This step is not yet fully automated. 48 data points are measured, starting from the neck. This data system is the culmination of 10 years of research. Once the data is entered, a virtual pattern is displayed on the computer. Pattern details can be adjusted, such as whether the buttons are gold or black, what collar to choose, what lining, etc. These small details can all be adjusted. Then it enters the manufacturing stage. At this point, no human intervention is seen. Materials are retrieved from the warehouse, including fabrics and accessories for the garment. The cutting is automated, followed by assembly line processing. Assembly line processing is human, with some people responsible for sewing and others for attaching buttons, etc.
The core feature of this production system is that each garment represents a single order. Each worker scans an electronic tag at each stage of processing to check the requirements of the garment before moving on to the next one.
The entire production system is similar to a 3D printing model, with each garment being personalized. The pattern is created, and software controls the automatic cutting. While ZARA uses a small-batch production model, Red Collar goes a step further, creating one garment per order.
This is the only intelligent model I've seen in the domestic industrial sector so far. The next step for Red Collar is to improve its information collection system; currently, it's mostly tailors in small shops taking measurements. This is the Red Collar model in China.
III. Conclusion
Intelligent manufacturing systems output personalized and intelligent products with high efficiency, low consumption, and real-time response. Therefore, production and delivery times are guaranteed, which is the most important factor for customers. It is highly automated, so it may have a significant impact on future employment. It is an integration of robots; the entire production line is robotic. Of course, "robotics" is used in a broad sense, referring to highly intelligent operation, with information interconnected between robots.
There are four key components in an intelligent manufacturing system. The first is sensors, which are essential for any information system. The second is data storage, including both hardware and software. The third is microprocessors and chips. The fourth is software. Germans are committed to developing software to control intelligent products, aiming to gain a competitive edge. Software is a crucial element of future intelligent tools.
China's manufacturing industry must play a role in this round of industrial revolution and cannot be left behind.
About the author :
Dong Peng is a manager at AIP Group, a corporate strategy researcher, and a modern enterprise management expert.
