Industry 4.0 is revolutionising many aspects of the world we live in today. One of the key elements of Industry 4.0 is the integration of factory equipment, systems and processes for increased production efficiency. The adoption of universal communication standard protocols ensures easier integration and a solution to ‘islands of automation’.
Multiple automated manufacturing processes often evolve in silos, but the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) demands that these systems communicate together and with plant-wide control systems. Standard protocols provide the patterns for the bridges that connect all parts of the factory together and collectively to the internet – from devices and production lines, to the integration of printers into Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) machines.
Standard protocols offer further benefits to manufacturers beyond ease of integration. They present a consistent and secure approach to collecting and passing data through the various systems for recording overall operational effectiveness (OEE).
Weihenstephan Standards (WS) is a communication standard that’s being adopted by many manufacturers in the food and beverage industry, and QuickDesign WS enables Domino printers to connect with other equipment and systems in a production environment using WS.
Connecting printers to production systems such as MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) drives efficiency gains by automating coding tasks. A major cause of unplanned production downtime and scrappage is operators entering incorrect information on printers. QuickDesign integrates Domino printers with MES and ERP to reduce human intervention and, therefore, also coding errors.
Domino are unique in their position to help customers to achieve the ultimate goal of any production environment: maximum efficiency. We can do this by steadily introducing Industry 4.0 concepts and innovations to our products, bringing many benefits to the factory floor. With these positive changes, the potential for production lines to be more efficient, seamless in their operability, and eliminate recalls from operator errors is endless.
To find out more about Industry 4.0 within manufacturing and production environments, download our whitepaper!