A Brief Discussion on the Differences between Digital Factories, Intelligent Factories, and Intelligent Manufacturing

With the development of a new round of industrial revolution, the call for industrial transformation is increasingly high. Faced with the wave of innovation in information technology and industrial technology, Germans have proposed the Industry 4.0 strategy, Americans have introduced the advanced manufacturing industry return plan, and China has accelerated the deep integration of industrialization and industrialization, and released the Made in China 2025 strategy this year. The core of these strategies is to utilize emerging technologiesinformatizationTechnology is used to enhance the intelligent application level of industry, thereby improving its competitiveness in the global market. Prior to the release of these strategies, concepts such as digital factories, smart factories, and intelligent manufacturing were already well-known in the industry. But it cannot be ignored that many companies tend to confuse these concepts when mentioning them. Can digital factories, smart factories, and smart manufacturing be interchangeable with each other, and are there any differences between these concepts? This article will analyze and explore this issue.

1、 Digital Factory

The definition of a digital factory by the German Society of Engineers is: a digital factory (DF) is a comprehensive network consisting of digital models, methods, and tools, including simulation and 3D/virtual reality visualization, integrated together through continuous uninterrupted data management. The digital factory integrates product, process, and factory model databases to improve product quality and the quality and dynamic performance involved in the production process through advanced visualization, simulation, and document managementIn China, the most widely accepted definition of a digital factory is that it is a new production organization method that simulates, evaluates, and optimizes the entire production process in a computer virtual environment, and further extends it to the entire product lifecycle. It is a product of the combination of modern digital manufacturing technology and computer simulation technology, mainly serving as a bridge between product design and manufacturing. From the definition, it can be concluded that the essence of a digital factory is to achieve the integration of information.

2、 Smart factory

Smart factory is based on digital factories, using Internet of Things technology and monitoring technology to enhance information management services, improve production process controllability, reduce manual intervention on production lines, and plan and schedule reasonably. At the same time, integrating emerging technologies such as preliminary intelligent means and intelligent systems, we aim to build an efficient, energy-saving, green, environmentally friendly, and comfortable humanized factory.Smart factories have developed autonomous capabilities, including data collection, analysis, judgment, and planning; By using overall visualization technology for inference and prediction, and utilizing simulation and multimedia technology, the design and manufacturing process can be augmented and displayed in reality. The various components in the system can independently form the optimal system structure, which has the characteristics of coordination, reorganization, and expansion. The system has acquired self-learning and self maintenance capabilities. Therefore, smart factories achieve mutual coordination and cooperation between humans and machines, which is essentially human-machine interaction.

3、 Intelligent Manufacturing

智能工厂是在数字化工厂基础上的升级版，但是与智能制造还有很大差距。智能制造系统在制造过程中能进行智能活动，诸如分析、推理、判断、构思和决策等。通过人与智能机器的合作，去扩大、延伸和部分地取代技术专家在制造过程中的脑力劳动。它把制造自动化扩展到柔性化、智能化和高度集成化。智能制造系统不只是“人工智能系统，而是人机一体化智能系统，是混合智能。系统可独立承担分析、判断、决策等任务，突出人在制造系统中的核心地位，同时在智能机器配合下，更好发挥人的潜能。机器智能和人的智能真正地集成在一起，互相配合，相得益彰。本质是人机一体化。

国内很多企业都在炒作智能制造，但是绝大多数企业还处在部分使用应用软件的阶段，少数企业也只是实现了信息集成，也就是可以达到数字化工厂的水平；极少数企业，能够实现人机的有效交互，也就是达到智能工厂的水平。