For the first time, the partner consortium of the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 production plant is presenting a solution in which the data management of the production modules can be handled centrally rather than in the various infrastructure boxes. This is made possible by the use of edge devices. This application can be seen at the Hannover Messe from April 23 to 27 at the joint stand of SmartFactory-KL and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Hall 8, Stand D18.

In the past, two modules of the SmartFactory-KL production plant were each supplied with all the necessary media - electrical energy, compressed air, Industrial Ethernet - by an infrastructure box. This year, the partner consortium will be showing for the first time how a central box can take over the supply of a complete production line with up to four modules.

An additional simplification has been achieved in data measurement: Whereas in the past, data measurement and evaluation took place within the infrastructure boxes, this year a decentralized approach will be demonstrated. For this purpose, edge devices were retrofitted to or in the individual modules as required, with the help of which the data management of the connected production modules can be handled as a whole. The edge device provides data for various services such as edge computing or data transfer to the cloud. The edge devices can also provide and use the administration shells of the installed components within the production modules. This brings the "intelligence" of the infrastructure closer to the production modules themselves.

Another use case: contactless charging of the flexible transport system
In 2018, the flexible transport system (FTS) of the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 system will take on additional, energy-intensive functions, such as optical quality assurance during product transport using 5G communication. To speed up the loading process and simplify logistics, the AGV is charged contactlessly when it reaches the docking station. This means that the transfer of the workpiece carrier between the production line and the transport system is used for a recurring charging process and the permanent availability of the AGV is ensured.

Background: Development of the infrastructure boxes in the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 demonstrator
Just as a modern Industry 4.0 production system can be easily and quickly adapted to new production requirements, this should also apply to the infrastructure. The SmartFactory-KL partner consortium set the course for this right from the start: Even in the first generation of the SmartFactory-KL production system in 2014, all supply media - electrical power, compressed air, Industrial Ethernet - were connected via a single HDC connector, also known as an "all-in-one plug-in". This made the use of infrastructure boxes doubly scalable: on the one hand in terms of the production modules supplied and on the other in terms of the media provided.

Development of a diagnostics and communication-capable infrastructure
In the next development step, further functions were offered. These included, for example, energy measurement and provision via OPC UA, switching the power supply to all inputs and outputs on and off using a main switch and firewall functions for data communication.

The SmartFactory-KL partner consortium also demonstrated additional added value with an infrastructure box. This was capable of diagnostics and communication. The consumption data of the connected modules was measured on the system using flow sensors, current meters and network load. The infrastructure box also checked the supply performance in various ways: Based on the information from the network devices used, the topology of the connected infrastructure boxes was determined. If supply anomalies occurred, the fault tree was derived from this. In addition, the pneumatic valves and contactors for switching the supply media on and off were monitored.

Both the diagnostics and communication-capable infrastructure boxes and the new expansion stage of the pure distribution infrastructure boxes in conjunction with the newly installed edge devices can be seen at the Hannover Messe 2018.

The partners of the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 demonstrator are: Belden/Hirschmann, Bosch Rexroth, B&R Automation, EPLAN Software & Service, Festo, HARTING, Huawei, IBM, KIST Europe, LAPP KABEL, METTLER TOLEDO, MiniTec, PHOENIX CONTACT, Pilz, proALPHA, SAP, Siemens, TÜV SÜD, Weidmüller.