Göran Näslund: Industry 4.0 trend of automation in South East Asia

Today, equipment manufacturers are facing another form of advancement—the rise of new digital industrial technology, referred to as Industry 4.0. But how do industry experts view the development of Industry 4.0, how do they see the adoption in South East Asia altering the competitive landscape and what range of solutions can they provide the industrial market in the region.

Göran Näslund, Head of Digital Machining, Sandvik Coromant shared with International Metalworking News for Asia its view of Industry 4.0 in South East Asia.

Göran Näslund, Head of Digital Machining, Sandvik Coromant
We see the adoption of Industry 4.0 in South East Asia altering the competitive landscape as the trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies via cyber-physical systems, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud computing sets the fundamental for ‘smart factory’ implementation.

For manufacturers, the ability to allow the key elements of the production process to communicate with each other will provide significant competitive advantage and growth potential. This is because digital connectivity solutions will help companies to improve every aspect of the end-to-end production process – from design and production planning through machining to post-process analysis and intelligence. Enhanced connectivity and interoperability will open up new opportunities to improve productivity, profitability and security through better planning and decision-making, more optimised processes, lower levels of waste, increases in efficiency and the rapid identification and resolution of production issues.

With machines, software solutions and cutting tools interconnecting in such a way that they can collect and communicate data from and between every different step of the value chain,  the so-called ‘dark data’ – data that would previously have been either unavailable or, at best, difficult to obtain - can now be analysed. And in line with the old saying that ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it,’ this will allow companies to identify how their production processes can be made less wasteful and more efficient.
By making it much easier to configure and modify key parameters from the machine control or even by using browser interfaces, smartphones and tablets; the time it takes to set up a process for a new machining job would be significantly reduced. And once up and running, the same remote configuration capability could be used to further improve the process until the optimum set-up is achieved. Ultimately, combining digital solutions with data collected from other areas of the machine opens up the potential to build systems that can ‘self-optimise’ with little or no programming or operator intervention.

Manufacturing “skills gap” (the lack of availability of technically competent individuals) will also be addressed. Digital solutions that are emerging in support of Industry 4.0 allow a greater ability to monitor and record every aspect of the production process. The remote monitoring and control capabilities that IIoT facilitates will also augment the skills within a manufacturing organisation. For example, a scenario where connected solutions might allow key tool parameters to be set via a modern touch screen. This would probably make manufacturing more attractive to the young generation entering the workforce in the next coming years.

Sandvik Coromant’s position in the industry 4.0 process
Strengthening our offer in Industry 4.0 areas like digital transformation, intelligent machining, digital product and application recommendations and tool data in ISO format, just to mention a few, Sandvik Coromant is actively influencing the ongoing industrial revolution. We continue to develop our Industry 4.0 position with modern advancements such as data exchange and manufacturing automation.

Recently acquiring Prometec GmbH, a sophisticated process monitoring company, and opening the Additive Manufacturing Center positions Sandvik Coromant as an industry front-runner in new manufacturing technologies.

Range of solutions
We have recently unveiled CoroPlus™ - a suite of Industry Internet of Things (IIOT) solutions aimed at helping manufacturers prepare for Industry 4.0. The concept is designed specifically to improve the control of productivity and costs through a combination of connected machining and access to manufacturing data and expert knowledge.

The concept of CoroPlus (a new platform of connected tools and software; essentially comprising technologies that can send and/or receive data) makes it possible to reduce data waste and improve manufacturing processes, from pre- to post-machining, through the use of connected technology and machining knowledge from Sandvik Coromant.

With CoroPlus, we are partnering with machining tool builders, cloud suppliers and network companies. In this way we can help users to capitalise on new technology developments. Our role is to increase productivity and flexibility through value-creating technological advancements in digital machining. Our customers can expect more offers from CoroPlus, which spans from connected cutting tools to software solutions and IoT devices next year and beyond.