Smart sensors, the key to deploying industry 4.0
As we’ll explain further on, smart sensors play a key role in building a successful, digitally based competitive strategy.
They are also the foundation stones for smart factories. And they’re the first step towards deploying industry 4.0.
Because industry 4.0 feeds on data. And smart sensors are its pri mary data source.
So, what’s a smart sensor?
Basically it’s a sensor fitted with a microprocessor that can process the data it acquires, standardise them to make them understandable and transmit them via the Internet. They’re also known as IO-Link sensors.
An IO-Link goes way beyond the capacities of analogue or digital sensors, because they each have their own unique output signal that depends on the manufacturer and the mode of transmission. Also, analogue and digital sensors only transmit to the environment they’re installed in. So, interconnecting them is a difficult process and their influence on the value chain is limited.
Instead, the smart sensor extracts the unique data, interprets it and integrates it into the IT system, and by doing so enables it to be consulted by any authorised operator and then give service throughout the value chain.
Why are smart sensors so important?
“Knowledge is power”. This quote is often attributed to the late 16th c. philosopher Francis Bacon and his disciple Thomas Hobbes, but there is solid evidence to show that it first appeared in ancient Greek proverbs. The more you know, the greater the capacity to make decisions and take action.
Smart sensors give us a lot of important and understandable information about the entire manufacturing cycle. They inject this knowledge into interconnected IT systems and in so doing democratise access to information. And thanks to concepts such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Big Data, Machine Learning and Business Intelligence, they can contribute to speeding up the smart automation of any production process.
The data provided by IO-Links and the analysis of this information empower you in decision making and optimisation processes. And that means a more competitive factory.
IO-Link sensors: cheaper and more flexible
You may well be thinking… “But, how much do I have to invest to replace analogue or digital sensors with smart ones?” The first bit of good news is that it’s less expensive than you think. For several reasons.
Flexibility. IO-Link sensors can coexist with other types of sensors, so you don’t have to replace the entire sensor system to benefit from the advantages that smart sensors offer. What’s more, every IO-Link concentrator (the device that gathers and sends the data) can connect to up to 64 discrete sensors, convert legacy signals like 0-10 V, 4-20 mA, NPN, PNP and many more to IO-link, and dump the standardised information onto the network via a device called an IO-Link Master.
Cost reductions. IO-Link sensors don’t require shielded cables or analogue input cards. What’s more, digital-analogue and analogue-digital conversions are avoided, thus providing higher quality measurements that are also more robust and immune to noise. When you shift to IO-Link, you can reduce analogue costs by 15-25% thanks to reduced cabling needs in the installation, and the option of remote configuration and monitoring, which is also good in cost reduction terms for installation and maintenance.
Smart sensors offer some other advantages:
Greater data availability
IO-Link sensors don’t just send one datum, they send process, service and diagnostic data that facilitate ongoing automatic monitoring and status diagnostics.
Advanced diagnostics and self-diagnostics
Directly pushing data into the IT system enables maintenance tasks based on real time information to be set up. The sensor also sends self-diagnostic data that contain reports about issues like a dirty lens or an overheating sensor. This enables warnings to be configured to alert personnel before a sensor stops working.
IO-Link & IIoT
The acquisition of highly valuable data, combined with immediate transmission and interoperability make an IO-Link a vital tool for implementing IIoT-based strategies, and provide a solid route towards industry 4.0.
Smart sensors and IIoT
If you bring together the capacities of smart sensors and the power of modern hyperconnectivity, the result is an enormous flow of rich, instantly accessible information (in 2-5 milliseconds).
In a production setting, that means fewer incidents, increased productivity, cost reductions and a competitive edge that will make any project a success.
If you also link smart sensors to IIoT platforms that amplify connectivity between different software products and eliminate communication barriers, you can build strategies geared towards achieving maximum efficiency. These platforms are commonly known as middleware.
Smart sensors in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Every industrial revolution has been marked by technical or technological advances that boosted productivity and efficiency. The smart sensor is the great disruptor that is sparking off the fourth industrial revolution:
- First Industrial Revolution. The steam engine (which was first used to extract water from flooded mines) provided the necessary force to make machines work and led to the design of specific machines for concrete industrial uses, such as the first power loom.
- Second Industrial Revolution. Electrical motors opened the way to mass production and assembly lines.
- Third Industrial Revolution. Information technology (machine programming and data processing) and robotics (automated production) further boosted mass production.
- Fourth Industrial Revolution. All the previous technological advances have converged and brought about a merger of production levels and information technologies. A newfound wealth of information has made industry evolve within a hyperconnected context. Industry 4.0 was born and factories are getting smart. Smart sensors are the primal force that drive systems to gather high quality data, and so are the kick off point for this fourth industrial revolution.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution according to Klaus Schwab
Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World Economic Forum, was the first man to propose the concept in 2016, in his book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution creates a world in which virtual and physical systems of manufacturing cooperate with each other in a flexible way at the global level”, he explains. And he goes on to say: “It is the fusion of technologies and their interaction across the physical, digital and biological domains that make the Fourth Industrial Revolution fundamentally different from previous revolutions”.
And if the previous revolutions already impacted on the economic, political, social and many other domains, the Fourth won’t be any different in this regard. That’s why it’s a smart idea to embrace this new revolution. But, how? Evolving towards a smart factory.
From the 3.0 Factory to a Smart factory
Let’s set the scene, your factory’s still a 3.0. OK, it’s all very computerised. But every stage of the production pyramid functions independently with its own software. You’ve got analogue and digital sensors to gather data; PLC’s to make the machinery work; the MES to control what’s happening in the factory; and an ERP for business management… but every piece of software “speaks” a different language and they don’t communicate with each other. This creates problems in coordinating work equipment and teams, and decision-making processes are slowed down. The outcome is low OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).
But the information technologies in a Smart Factory are in command. To start with, you have a multitude of highly accessible standardised data thanks to smart sensors. And… you have middleware.
Middleware: A software to rule them all
Middleware is a software tier that’s right there in all the processes, that receives data from all levels (not just from sensors) and that democratises the information. In other words, it makes data accessible and understandable to any department or professional who needs it. An end-to-end solution. A platform that connects everything via the IIoT. A software to rule them all.
And that’s exactly what Thingworx is: the PTC IT solution that connects OT (Operations Tech) and IT (Information Tech) and opens up a world of possibilities to improve your company’s competitiveness.
Based on the Unified Namespace (UNS) concept, coined by Walker Reynolds, CEO of 4.0 Solutions, it enables real time processing and traffic of contextualised, standardised and aggregated information from a range of sources. And it takes centre stage in the Industry 4.0 scenario.
Industry 4.0 is already here
Tesla, Intel, General Electric and many other cutting-edge companies already fell in love with Big Data some years ago and based their production methods on the Smart Factory concept. And they’ve reached OEE levels of up to 90. Not even NASA can beat that.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is taking giant steps
More data. More knowledge. More efficiency. More productivity. Total connection. Boosted flexibility and cooperation.
It’s evolving so fast that we don’t even know how far it’ll take us.
But we do know how it started: making a simple sensor smart and connecting it to everything.
Smart sensors: more flexible, cheaper and plug & play
