For many, the future of manufacturing revolves around the concept of a smart factory — a place where everything is integrated and data supplies real-time intelligence about machinery performance and productivity, enabling responsive strategies for everything from bottlenecks to preventive maintenance. And humans are largely eliminated from the manufacturing process, save for data engineers and machinery technicians.

The fully optimized smart factory will completely eliminate human staff from the factory. AI and machine learning will interpret and apply data, while hands-on maintenance is done by robots or contractors. And every last bit of expense or waste will be eliminated from the supply chain, manufacturing and distribution network. It is poised to increase productivity and lower costs for manufacturers.

This remains a pipe dream today. However many factories are implementing Industry 4.0 and lights-out manufacturing techniques at a gradual pace. And many of the most recent innovations or trends in motion control technologies seeks to build on the Industry 4.0 dream.

1. More servo module options with easier installation

Increasingly, motion control applications served by pneumatic power are being usurped by servos, in part due to the decreased costs of power electronics and motor components. Additionally, closed-loop servos can provide more operations feedback to an interface or user. Other benefits include a quieter operation and less wear.

The installation of servo modules is easy, because the servomotor and drive on the servo system can be connected by using a single cable; there is no mess of cables or cable trays, and assembly time is less than comparable technologies. Serial communication has made it possible to send the encoder signals, which can use the same hybrid cable track as motor power and brake. Servo systems also increase the productivity and efficiency of the machine, so it is a win-win situation.

2. Advances in remote diagnostics

Automation is only possible through remote diagnostics that not only provide machine monitoring, but machine optimization or changes as well. This allows engineers to change operating practices of machines, so manufacturing can adapt to situations like power outage, machinery downtime or other interruptions.

Additionally, these systems need to be modular enough so that they can interface with new technologies that emerge on the internet of things (IoT) market, or better communicate with machines upstream or downstream in the manufacturing chain.

3. Divesting computing power

There are three main systems of an Industry 4.0 smart device: a mechanical or electronic physical component; networking components; and computing such as a control unit, processors and sensors.

These devices frequently interact with each other on cloud-based computing networks. These devices interact with each other via a local server or the cloud. More industries are shifting to the cloud due to the increased connection between the servo systems and Ethernet-based communications. It is also a considerable cost savings for many organizations, and stores important data in an easy-to-access, futurized format.

4. Personnel safety

It is not that safety was never an issue before, but advancements in remote diagnostics has definitively aided risk analysis metrics, which provides operators and employment insurers added clarity about safe operating parameters, and potential consequences when parameters are exceeded.

Additionally, controller-based and drive-based control technologies are more easily adapted to different solutions in the future, as regulations or policies change.

Yet safety also extends to the factory floor. Safety signals from failsafe protocols are triggered by devices such as light curtains, safety blocks and interlock switches, the Industrial Ethernet provides a rapid response should sensors determine a human has entered a dangerous area.

5. Digital first development

The design and testing of future machinery is most likely to occur in the digital space. In-field machinery can return diagnostic or performance information to manufacturers. Analyzers will run operation tests on digital twins. Refinements will be made in a digital simulation. Quality control might happen in virtual reality. All of it results in a less expensive development environment that has been informed by real-world use.

6. Software and engineering support

It can be difficult to integrate complex motion control sequences or robots into industrial automation needs. Either the machinery is laboriously programmed kinematically, or standardized software templates assist in the programming. However, templates can be limited in terms of customized components or technology modules.

Many suppliers are re-tuning programming software for more technology modules, or are more permissive about engineers programming kinematically if they are knowledgeable in IEC 1131 or PLCOpen.