Open IIoT, an open-source knowledge group to educate customers on Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has hosted a demonstration day to discuss how companies can practically implement Industry 4.0.
The Victorian event was the first in a series of panel discussions, with others to be held in Sydney on 15 October and in Brisbane on 7 November. According to panellist Jim Wallace, it addressed pressing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) questions and provided practical solutions to common problems.
“We had a large number of guests, and the session was engaging and informative. There are still so many questions around the topic of IIoT implementation, and a session such as this one forces us to explore, be inquisitive, and openly address common issues and concerns,” he said.
Delegates saw a walkthrough of the Open IIoT demonstration model, which combined technologies from Nord Drivesystems, SMC Corporation, Universal Robots, Beckhoff, Balluff, and ZI-Argus.
“It offers a real-life demonstration of various IIoT technologies working together and how these can best be integrated.
“It’s the ideal opportunity to learn more about adding smarts to your machine for improved measurability. These measurables help with forward planning, and are easy-to-use and customisable,” said Wallace.
According to Wallace, the panel’s combined knowledge and expertise on Industry 4.0 lets it provide information to make better purchasing decisions, and help customers get started with the technology.
“By combining forces, Open IIoT has access to a wealth information and resources. These can be used to benefit and arm customers with the competitive advantage needed to succeed.
“It might seem repetitive but there is still so little sharing taking place out there. It’s up to us to create platforms such as this in which like-minded people can interact and ask questions,” he said.
Wallace added that one key takeaway is to start small – rather than being daunted by the size of a project, break it up into achievable goals and take lessons from the first application for the full rollout.
“We have spoken extensively about how to implement IIoT technologies but so often, we forget why we would want to do this.
“With so many applications out there, there are an array of benefits. Based on experience, predictive maintenance, smart energy consumption, quality, easy access to data for decision making and remote maintenance options are some of the key reasons to implement IIoT technologies in your plant,” he said.
For more information, visit https://openiiot.com.au/events/#top.
