"Industry 4.0" is a general term referring to the fourth generation of industrial revolution, usually referred to as "informatization of manufacturing" - it can also be understood as a combination of traditional automation and information technology.

The basic concept of "Industry 4.0" is a modular cyber-physical system that can communicate with each other in real time while cooperating with operators, making automatic judgments and adjusting the production process as needed.

In order to design ideal new products, machinery manufacturers need to consider the following points when selecting relevant operation control equipment:

Logical control can no longer meet the needs

A few years ago, the industry still widely used programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to control machinery and equipment. PLCs can not only process discrete input signals and discrete output signals, but also execute sequential programs. Usually, PLCs are connected to a separate operation controller, which adjusts and cooperates with servo drives through the fieldbus. However, this approach is now obviously unable to meet the needs of the industry. Digital manufacturing requires mechanical controllers that can perform multiple complex tasks in parallel.
Therefore, this demand has promoted the development of programmable automation controllers (PACs). The modern PAC platform is an enabling technology that allows customers to manufacture production equipment required for "Industry 4.0". This single hardware platform includes logic and process control, motion control, visualization, high-level programming languages ​​and software development tools across different disciplines to solve interface problems and facilitate the understanding of modular design principles.

Note: When selecting a next-generation control platform, please confirm that the selected platform complies with relevant industry standards (such as IEC61131-3 and PLCopen) to reduce risks.

Connectivity is the key

To achieve greater flexibility and maximize the overall effectiveness of equipment, production processes need to automatically adjust to changes in demand. To achieve this, not only must smart devices be installed that can talk to each other in real time, but a controller platform is also needed as a central hub to enable seamless two-way communication from the enterprise network to each actuator.

To avoid potential bottlenecks, smart field devices should be selected that support industrial Ethernet protocols to communicate with the control system. Programmable control systems with integrated network publishing capabilities help publish data anytime, anywhere and facilitate remote maintenance when needed.

Impact on electrical control panel design

Since self-adjusting manufacturing processes require precise position control, the use of servo drives is increasing as people tend to choose small batch sizes and large-scale on-demand production. However, increasing the number of servo drives requires a larger electrical control cabinet, which can add to installation issues.

The current solution is to use a servo drive system with a central power supply module to reduce the number of external components. Modern multi-axis systems have also evolved with stacked dual-axis and triple-axis modules, which greatly reduces the size of the control panel. In addition, because single-cable servo motors incorporate position feedback signals into the motor's power line, cable costs are reduced by half compared to previous generations.

Before developing the next generation of machinery, learn how Parker's new EtherCAT-based PAC controllers and PSD servo drives can help customers improve machine performance while reducing development time, installation and operating costs.

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