Smart Factory Nominated for the Saxon Innovation Award
Digitalization and direct channels of information and communication—online and in real time—are transforming industrial production. The terms “Industry 4.0” and “Smart Factory” encompass the resulting novel, dynamic collaboration between people and technology within and between factories in a myriad of ways.
The potential for businesses is therefore just as great as the steadily growing range of individual and customized solutions available on the market. An important challenge for the factory planner HÖRMANN Rawema therefore lies in the logical selection of digital functionalities and the corresponding harmonization of data flows.
With its Smart Factory, HÖRMANN Rawema made it into the top ten nominees for the 2019 Saxony Innovation Award.
To distinguish between general and broad visions, the company developed a smart factory demonstrator that allows current Industry 4.0 tools to be tested under industrial conditions and validated for their effectiveness and applicability.
To keep investment costs moderate and ensure the demonstrator’s intended portability, a model production system was configured in line with a high-tech, low-cost strategy. This system combines LEGO-like building blocks (e.g., conveyor belts, handling systems) and industrial components (e.g., laser stations, vibration/temperature sensors) via SIMATIC S7. Communication and database connectivity are handled via an OPC UA application. All transport and handling tasks are fully automated. Further expansion phases are in the planning stages.
