July 2019

www.smartmachinesandfactories.com July 2019 | 17 | | FEATURES | important is to examine the possibilities for individual systems, taking into account the return on investment in each case. Certainly, though, in many cases old brownfield installations can be made fit for a digital future with minimum effort. Companies will benefit from more transparency and flexibility of their production facilities, which is a prerequisite in order to remain competitive on a global scale. Time to market and the ability to produce individualised products cost-effectively will depend on the degree of digital automation. It is therefore a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’. Next level: artificial intelligence within manufacturing Companies that are implementing changes now for the digitalization of their production will also be in the best position to reap the benefits of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies, which are yet to mature, will build on the key elements of analysing smart data and big data to optimise production. Analysis of smart data and big data enables better production decisions to be made, and the techniques of deep learning and machine learning are emerging to automate the planning of production actions. This lays the foundations for the broader use of AI to achieve maximum flexibility in volatile markets. In this way individualised products can be produced for the same price as mass- produced products. Smart data, big data and the analysis of these in conjunction with AI will support users to realise market requirements. Time to market is vital, so machine changeovers for new products must be as fast as possible and those machines have to be able to produce perfect products right from the start of the production run. This will get products to customers quickly and optimises resource efficiency. * Hartmut Pütz is president Factory Automation EMEA at Mitsubishi Electric. ** Thomas Lantermann is senior solution consultant, Factory Automation EMEA, at Mitsubishi Electric. system. The sensor is simply connected via a Power-over-Ethernet cable. When and where to start Older systems, while reliable, will almost certainly be more vulnerable to failure simply by virtue of their age. Yet, the savings that can be made and the ROI that can be achieved by making repairs and reducing downtime in existing equipment can be better and realised faster than investing in new machines. Furthermore, if a brownfield automation system is directly linked to the production and value chain, it should also be digitally integrated. The measures which are easiest to implement should be looked at first. These include energy management and the recording of machine status data to provide an insight into overall system efficiency. At the same time, condition monitoring should be implemented as the basis for predictive maintenance to reduce downtime. The more data that can be collected, the more opportunities there are for system optimisation through real-time edge or cloud analysis. But what is Brownfield systems can be made fit for the digital future with minimum effort. (source: Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.)