The Digitalization of Manufacturing: A Case Study

Abstract

The digitalization of manufacturing, also known as Industry 4.0, is the fourth industrial revolution that is being substantiated by connecting cyber-physical systems to databases stored via cloud computing, enabling data acquisition in real time by management programs of the productive system. This research presents a case study of the digitalization of a manufacturing didactic cell located at IFSP-Federal Institute of São Paulo, Brazil. This study has two contributions. The first contribution categorizes the digitalization technologies of manufacturing into two parts: (i) human-machine interface and (ii) connectivity. The human-machine interface included the implementation of a new programmable logic controller that can enable data acquisition through a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The connectivity enables information storage that is intrinsic to the production process in cloud computing. The manufacturing cell resulted in greater connectivity and a significant improvement in the storage of information in the production process that provided remote access through electronic devices connected to the internet. This research modernized a manufacturing didactic cell that previously followed the ISA-95 model (Industry 3.0) to the technologies and trends of Industry 4.0.