Shaping the Industry 4.0 Data Space

The next stage of Industry 4.0: With the "Manufacturing-X" initiative, German "Plattform Industrie 4.0" is creating a sovereign data space across industries and companies—with the aim of enabling multilateral cooperation along supply chains and taking digital value creation processes to a new level.

As a company that contributed to Industry 4.0 from the very beginning, for example by working on the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI) Pepperl+Fuchs is now actively participating in the next evolutionary step as part of Manufacturing-X: Our expertise focuses on the intelligent use of various technologies and standards for end-to-end digital collaboration within a data ecosystem.

Technologies

Identification Technologies as the Foundation of the Data Space

Powerful sensor technology that reliably handles tasks along the production line, such as object and position detection, are used as a basis for automated control of production processes. However, reaching the next stage of development for a data ecosystem like Manufacturing-X is not just about ensuring physical production assets such as raw materials, semi-finished goods, and end products go through the manufacturing process without complications.

A consistent and standardized representation ("digital twin") of these objects in the virtual space forms the basis for a higher degree of transparency and supply chain resilience, as well as further digital value creation. To connect to these digital twins, all physical assets must be carry unique identifiers that can be applied directly to objects using various optically readable code symbologies (e.g., barcodes, Data Matrix codes, QR codes) or in the form of RFID tags.

Increased Data for the Process Industry

In addition, the vision of Manufacturing-X is to encompass the process industry—and meet the special conditions it requires. On the one hand, the dimensions of plants and the associated long cable paths represent a challenge for transferring larger amounts of data.

On the other hand, this industry has requirements in terms of electrical explosion protection that must be observed at all times. Balancing these conditions, however, is an area of great potential that could be tapped with the intelligent use of various infrastructure technologies and smart communication devices.

An Enabler of Information Exchange

With the introduction of the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) alongside supply chain regulations and the requirement for digital product passports, an efficient communication infrastructure is more important than ever. Creating this infrastructure in manufacturing companies is a task that Pepperl+Fuchs subsidiary Neoception has committed itself to fulfilling: The Neoception® Digital Twin Infrastructure offers an innovative solution for smooth and efficient communication across the entire supply chain.

It helps companies establish accurate and reliable reporting in accordance with the standards of the Industry 4.0 platform, through which they can meet current expectations as to responsible and sustainable practices. Neoception has long been a member of standardization organizations and has networked intensively with partners such as VDI/VDE, ECLASS, and IDTA—these actions form the basis of this technology.