This brief reference guide is composed in response to insights on Industry 4.0 from Robert Szadkowski, VP of Aftermarket Sales at SECO/WARWICK. The list contains pertinent terminology to consider when speaking about Industry 4.0.
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- Additive Manufacturing – “a disruptive technology trend that is continuing to influence the future of the manufacturing industry and will continue to provide additional opportunities for heat treaters going forward.” (“Heat Treating, Additive Manufacturing, and Serialization” by Ron Beltz, Bluestreak)
- Augmented Reality – Digital enhancement of a real-world environment. For example, phone apps which can portray a digital overlay on a video feed, like Snapchat lenses. This can be used for the following (examples provided by Robert Szadkowski)
- OEM internal training of new employees
- remote training of the client’s employees
- remote reviews
- first line of support, direct from OEM for the customer
- second line of support, OEM internal service support
- “step by step” maintenance instructions
- access to documentation directly on site
- access to technical data directly at the device
- access to technological data of the device operation bypassing the control cabinet
- access to the knowledge base
- possibility of multi-person interaction (furnace user, furnace OEM, manufacturer of the affected component)
- Autonomous Robots – Machines which have “decision-making” computers and can carry out precise actions from that computation (“What are Autonomous Robots?”)
- Big Data and Analytics / Big Data Analytics – The use of analytical software to comb through huge data sets in order to find trends and other useful insights that will enable a user to better understand a process in their control (“Datamation: Big Data Analytics”)
- The Cloud – a network of servers where a user can store information — versus their hard drive — and access it via the internet (“What is Cloud Computing”)
- Cybersecurity – Security of privacy and security of devices; “digital viruses threaten not only computers and phones, but together with industry cybernetics, all devices, including industrial furnaces, e.g. PLC, HMI, SCADA and even single intelligent sensors.” (Robert Szadkowski, SECO/WARWICK.
- Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) – The physical networking of objects via internet-supported software is what is commonly known as the internet of things (IoT). Similarly, the “industrial internet of things” (IIoT) refers to these systems supporting industrial purposes, like synthesizing information from furnace sensors on a central app.
- Simulation – The technological imitation of a real-world process for the sake of education, experimentation, training, etc. (“Computer Simulation”)
- System Integration – Bringing user systems into a cohesive hardware, software, and communications package (“Gartner Glossary: System Simulation”)
