Page 37 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

September-October 2020 | www.packagingnews.com.au | LINE INTEGRATION & AUTOMATION 37
towards Industry 4.0
efficiency is a priority. To manage motor maintenance, smart sensors can be placed on the equipment to convert it into a connected device that reports on vibration, tempera- ture and other characteristics that may signify unhealthy behaviour.
By enabling the predictive mainte- nance of hardware, manufacturers can plan maintenance according to the needs of the equipment, rather than fulfilling generic maintenance schedules. This approach can greatly extend equipment lifetime.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
One of the biggest hurdles when bringing older systems into Industry 4.0 is dealing with the singular char- acteristics of each legacy situation. Manufacturers often must work with dated, or no, documentation for older equipment and must be careful not
to create new issues. If the legacy system uses an older communication protocol, care must be taken to avoid overloading any bandwidth or processor.
Equipment obsolescence is another challenge. As a consequence of continuous advancements in tech- nology, obsolescence is impossible to eliminate completely and can lead to compatibility issues with new tech- nologies. This need not present immediate concerns for manufactur- ers that have a plan and strategy in place for how they wish to upgrade. But, in cases where equipment breaks down, manufacturers may feel they have no choice but to pur- chase a new, expensive alternative.
This solution would undo all efforts to migrate existing systems towards Industry 4.0, lead to exten- sive downtime and require the
Back to the future: the transition to IoT and Industry 4.0 can rely on past innovation
retraining of staff on how to use this new piece of equipment. Instead, manufacturers should prepare to continue using the obsolete equip- ment by building a relationship with a reliable parts supplier who can source and send obsolete equipment so that a facility can continue to enjoy the benefits of retrofitting.
While the thought of riding a penny-farthing might seem to belong in the past, its electrified reinven- tion with the cyclopic shows that older technologies needn’t be left behind. When planning an Industry 4.0 strategy, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that control systems need a complete upgrade. But, it is possi- ble to teach old equipment new tricks, and investing in technology that can convert older equipment into intelligent devices will help bring any plant up to speed. ■