In this mode factrory, SMEs can innovatively design and test their own Industry 4.0 solutions and thus score points in international competition. Industrial pumps, special vehicles or energy management systems – many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany manufacture equipment and machinery of the highest quality.

With their special solutions, they are often among the market leaders, both in Germany and internationally. But they are increasingly faced with the challenge of having to respond to customer wishes even more quickly and flexibly: for example, customers are asking for custom-made products and quantities ranging from one to many thousands. Therefore, more and more companies are dovetailing their production processes with state-of-the-art information and communication technology. While many large companies are already using fully automated transport and production systems (Industry 4.0), most SMEs will initially find it difficult to finance the complete automation of their production processes. On top of that, there are currently very few suitable Industry 4.0 solutions for their cost structures.

Research for SMEs

A team of researchers led by the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Dresden has taken on this challenge. As part of the Industrial Internet of Things Test Bed (IIoT Test Bed) project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the team has developed a model factory for intelligent factory control. The research partners have set up a production-related test environment for SMEs that realistically recreates partially automated manufacturing processes. They can thus make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to enter the world of digitised production.

The model factory has a production line with robot stations, workstations with virtual reality, manual workstations and autonomous transport vehicles. This test environment is equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology and enables the user to record process and consumption data in real time. For example, environmental parameters such as air pressure, temperatures, acoustics and energy consumption during the production process can be measured.

Developing innovations and testing them in the model factory

When data no longer need to be entered manually, this saves a lot of time and effort. Using contactless data transmission, for example RFID technologies, researchers and representatives of SMEs can seamlessly track the production journey of the goods and their quality in the test factory – beginning with goods receipt through to dispatch. Thus, innovations such as new production processes, control concepts and innovative products can be tested in a partially self-regulating factory. Examples of the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions in practice will be presented by the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden for instance as part of information events. Furthermore, the university offers workshops for companies in which they can optimise – together with scientific teams – the degree of digitisation for their products in the test environment. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the research project with about 1.5 million euros within the framework of the FH-Invest funding line as part of the Research at Universities of Applied Sciences programme.