Drawing on the concept of Industry 4.0 to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of China's equipment manufacturing industry
What is Industry 4.0 and what is intelligence? The German academic and industrial circles believe that the concept of "Industry 4.0" is the fourth industrial revolution led by intelligent manufacturing, or revolutionary production methods. This strategy aims to transform the manufacturing industry towards intelligence by fully utilizing the combination of information and communication technology and network virtual systems - cyber physical systems.
The concept of "Industry 4.0" was first proposed at the Hanover Industrial Fair in Germany in 2011. Nowadays, "Industry 4.0" is no longer limited to laboratories in Germany, but has truly entered industrial production, moving from concept to practice.
For China's traditional manufacturing industry, the transformation is actually from traditional factories, from 2.0 and 3.0 factories to 4.0 factories, and the entire production form is shifting from large-scale production to personalized customization. In fact, the entire production process is more flexible, personalized, and customized.
The primary foundation of Industry 4.0 is to first streamline the process, do a good job in lean production, cultivate technical personnel, and establish a complete process system. Only by achieving so-called automation can there be subsequent intelligence.
Indeed, technologies that do not integrate with the status quo are as illusory as foam and cannot stand the test. In the past two years, there have been frequent births of robot companies, and the total number of related manufacturing companies has skyrocketed from over 200 two years ago to nearly a thousand currently. We do not know whether these companies can meet the true technical requirements.
Industry 4.0 brings efficient production efficiency to the market, which can be randomly adjusted according to market demand. Industry 4.0 involves not only the traditional Internet, but also the developing Internet of Things and the Internet of Services. Industry 4.0 realizes the full connection of the Internet, and the virtual reality integration system must at least communicate with one or more clouds. Such systems generally have sensors and actuators, which can sense the surrounding environment to get information, execute commands according to the commands obtained, and have a perception interaction process with the environment.
As the country that first proposed this concept, Germany has the world's largest "Industry 4.0" network. Industry 4.0 is forming a pattern in Germany where the government is promoting, large enterprises are leading, and small and medium-sized enterprises are eager to try, profoundly changing the manufacturing ecosystem and the development of the German economy.
According to the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications, and New Media, the output value related to Industry 4.0 in Germany is growing rapidly, reaching 7 billion euros (1 euro is approximately 1.09 US dollars) in 2018. In the related industries, the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry is the leader, with a production value expected to increase by 23% this year, reaching 1.5 billion euros.
However, for Chinese entrepreneurs, they are better at seizing opportunities because there will be many business opportunities in the Industry 4.0 era.
Firstly, from the government's perspective, Industry 4.0 coincides with China's strategy of deep integration of industrialization and informatization. Germany's Industry 4.0 and China's national policies resonate greatly, which is a great opportunity for China and an important opportunity for the transformation and upgrading of its manufacturing industry.
Secondly, Industry 4.0 requires standardization and modularization of products and processes, which can promote the construction of modern weak point projects in China. This is good news for China's manufacturing industry and provides business opportunities for Chinese entrepreneurs.
While we see the opportunities brought by the Industry 4.0 era to China, we should also face up to the threats it poses to China. After the financial crisis, many Western countries realized the importance of the impact of the real economy on national strength. Many countries are re emphasizing the manufacturing industry and bringing it back to their own territory, which poses a threat to us.
New technologies are an impact on traditional manufacturing, and traditional manufacturing will also be challenged by new technologies in the future. Of course, what cannot be ignored is that ASEAN countries and India and Latin American countries with relatively low wages have posed a threat to China's low-end manufacturing. In the future, both products and production systems must be modular and have higher autonomy. We expect industrial 4.0 to bring a higher level of production efficiency.
(Source: News Center of China Equipment Manufacturing Industry Association)）
