| Popis: |
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0, I4.0) is the current move in the manufacturing industry to adopt and integrate digital technologies throughout entire company structures with the focus on data and interconnectivity. Although the benefits of these digital technologies are yet to be fully realised, large industrial manufacturing companies are investing heavily into the design and acquisition of digital infrastructure. Small/medium enterprises (SMEs) are set to benefit from this industrial revolution through increased productivity, competitiveness and integration along the supply chain. Barriers for SMEs to adopt the digital technology include the large financial investments in systems and new ‘smart’ equipment to replace non-connected legacy equipment as well as the skills gap of the workforce to develop, maintain and benefit from the technology. To help overcome these barriers, this study compares three solutions for connecting legacy manufacturing equipment to cloud platforms of varying cost, from hundreds to several thousands of pounds, and capability whilst analysing the equipment and skills required to implement the solutions. This paper shows a range of possible solutions available without large scale financial investment, whilst critically assessing the functionality, security, knowledge required and cost for manufacturers. The solutions are implemented and tested on manufacturing systems at the University of Manchester and wider industrial settings originally lacking in connectivity. |
