So what does Industry 4.0 mean for the UK plastics sector?

Adoption of integrated machinery, robotics, automation and controls is being mooted as the key to the significantly improved productivity in the plastics manufacturing industry. To what extent it has caught onto the call for closer collaboration between the various machinery, ancillaries and software components as buzzwords like ‘Industry 4.0’ and the ‘smart factory’ instigate strategic conversations across the injection moulding supply chain, remains to be seen. Some believe that this vision could be realised in less than a decade. Graeme Herlihy, managing director of Engel UK, is convinced the trend toward digital technologies and automation is gathering speed. “More and more Industry 4.0 technologies are used in both machines and robots,” he says. “One main focus is on intelligent systems collecting data from the production process in order to improve the process and the quality of the parts produced.” He cites the integration of load cells or camera systems in the automation systems and the machine control as examples of this move. Another focus lies on the ‘intelligent assistant’ systems, which support the operator to improve reproducibility, such as the IQ vibration control system developed by Engel for its viper robot range that not only detects their own oscillations, but can also react to vibrations caused by external influences. “Actively compensating for oscillations during the running process increases positioning speed and reduces cycle time,” says Herlihy. Barry Hill, managing director of Wittmann Battenfeld UK, sees the growing and easy interface of vision systems as one of the prime advances in the robotics, automation and controls sector. He says: “This connects with the development of Industry 4.0, with the advances in camera technology generally and also connects with developments in our own designs to make all graphics and visual programming as simple as possible.” Hill adds this means moulded parts no longer need to be very precisely located in order for a robot to pick them up. “The vision system detects the position of parts and sends the coordinates to the robot. This is the case – even when the parts are moving on a conveyor. This has huge implications for the design of manufacturing processes and the freeing up of cost and labour,” he says. Jeff Norwill, chief executive of Kuka Robotics UK, believes “in view of Industry 4.0 as manufacturing technologies evolve, more and more business owners will develop an increased reliance on automated solutions to remain competitive”. However, Nigel Flowers, managing director of Sumitomo Demag, believes there currently seems to be a lack of clarity among the plastics moulding community about what Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing actually means and where it is heading. “It is a bit of an unknown technology with no clear end game, and this is holding manufacturers back in terms of defining Industry 4.0 strategies. The challenge when we talk about ‘Internet of Things’ and Industry 4.0 is that these development concepts cover a multitude of technologies.” Automation trends Meanwhile, there appear to be two clear automation trends among plastics processing companies, according to machinery manufacturer Arburg. It says on the one hand system complexity is increasing, while on the other customers are seeking flexible solutions, owing to ever faster product changes, increasing version diversity and, consequently, ever-smaller unit volumes per order, down to one-off parts. Sumitomo Demag UK concurs with Arburg that some sectors are experiencing greater levels of customisation, which is resulting in shorter batch runs. Flowers says: “Overall, moulders are demanding greater production flexibility, increased profitability, reduced waste and optimal energy use.” He sees three key elements underpinning his ‘Smart Factory’ Industry 4.0 vision: smart machines equipped with an intelligent and future proof user interface, fully synchronised to external enterprise resource planning software stems, robots and the supply chain; smart service, integrating quality assurance and featuring remote diagnostics and maintenance to increase machine availability; and smart production, with fully connected systems and a host of manufacturing execution system tracking real time production information. “Cost reduction is the biggest pull for most injection moulders,” says Flowers. “A connected factory can significantly reduce the costs of work-in-progress, inventory and scheduling, with quality control data being shared in real time across the organisation. In terms of pull, the introduction of cheaper and smarter ‘Internet of Things’ sensors allows the direct collection of data from production equipment.” Flowers also sees the integration of robotics continuing to play a big role in injection moulding, creating greater value as well as improving workforce safety. He says: “In terms of automation there is a clear link between automation and new machines and the first half of 2016 was strong for new machines and has slowed – automation has shown a similar tendency. Across the board there is an increase in customer looking to invest in automation – to improve output and reduce costs.” “The order income of the total Euromap market was at 2,850 injection moulding machines in the third quarter of 2016 and was therefore slightly below the previous quarter’s level. Compared to 2016 the order income of the Euromap market will stay stable with approximately 12,000 machines. Whereas the total volume in the mid-size segment is rather the same as last year’s the machines with a clamping force below 100 tonnes are declining by 10%. This is contrary to the development of the other sizes where we see a rise by 11% of machines with clamping forces ranging between 401t and 1,000t and an increase of big machines by even 14% in the same time period.”