Visit to Germany report in 2018
Publish Time：2020-08-26
Jiangsu International Science and Technology Cooperation Association visited Germany
 
                                  Trip report
 
 
 
   In April 2018, the Jiangsu Association for International Cooperation in Science and Technology organized some intelligent manufacturing enterprises and research institutions in Jiangsu to participate in the Hannover Industry Fair in Germany and visited the oldest and world-leading engine manufacturer Deutz Group and Fraunhofer The OWL Smart Factory affiliated to the Institute, the world-renowned pressure washer manufacturer Karcher Group, and Bosch Rexroth, a leader in the international hydraulic and automation market, also listened to expert lectures on the guiding ideology and strategic considerations of Industry 4.0.
 
 Jiangsu Yawei Machine Tool, Changjiang Electronics Technology (Suqian), Robtech Automation Technology (Suzhou), Wuxi Prospecting Machinery, Nanjing Tandao Information Technology, Ruiyang (Suzhou) Biotechnology, Jiangsu Huahang Weitai Robot, Yangzhou Hengjia Automation Equipment , Jiangsu Zhongyuan Engineering Management, Kunshan Shengtu Precision Machinery and other outstanding companies, including Jiangsu Science and Technology Development Strategy Research Institute, Zhejiang University Changzhou Institute of Industrial Technology, Zhejiang University Kunshan Innovation Center, Changzhou and Changshu Huigu Science and Technology Park A total of 21 members of the delegation, including the responsible person, successfully completed the mission under the leadership of the chairman Cao Sumin. All members are satisfied with the event arrangement, have a certain understanding of the development trend of intelligent manufacturing in the world today, are deeply impressed by the modern German industry and the "craftsmanship spirit", and are full of confidence in strengthening international cooperation and going global in the future. look forward to. Wonderful review of the delegation’s visit:
 
1. Visit Hannover Industry Fair 2018
 
 The Hannover Industry Fair was founded in 1947 and is held once a year. It has been successfully held for 71 sessions. This is not only the industrial exposition with the largest exhibition area in the world, but also recognized as one of the important platforms connecting global industrial design, processing and manufacturing, technology applications and international trade. Since its development, Hannover Messe has become the flagship exhibition in the field of global industrial trade, the "barometer" of world industrial trade and the vane of global industrial technology development. The 2018 Hannover Industry Fair includes five themes of industrial parts and subcontracting technology, integrated automation and power transmission exhibition, digital industry exhibition, energy exhibition and research and technology exhibition. Since most of the visiting group comes from smart manufacturing companies, our focus is on automation and transmission power, and digital industry. The main features are as follows:
 
(1) Industry 4.0 and digital field
 
1. Most companies (SAP, IPK, MES companies) develop and use the Digital Twin system to visualize the production process, with functions such as production process monitoring, quality control, and virtual simulation.
 
                          
 
2. Augmented reality (AR) technology has become a highlight of this Hannover Industry Fair. Some companies have begun to use AR technology to assist production, the most representative being SEW.
 
                          
 
3. Information system: The exhibition brought together many MES suppliers, many of which are big-name suppliers (MPDV, PSI). Although MES is not a very new technology, the number of suppliers also shows the demand for MES in today’s world industry ; SAP is the most impressive. With SAP as the platform, a number of downstream software vendors have been assembled to provide customers with a wealth of information system functions; Siemens demonstrated the world’s top cloud platform Mindsphere, with massive data transmission and rich functions. A development direction of the future industry.
 
                       
 
(2) Automation and complete system integration
 
1. Robotics
 
At this Hannover Industrial Exhibition, robots are still an important part of it. Among them, ABB, Yaskawa, KUKA and other companies have demonstrated robots with various performances. These robot companies are currently the top robot companies in the world, so what they show The main thing is performance. Many Chinese robotics companies participated in this exhibition, demonstrating the development of domestic robotics. However, the performance and customer acceptance are lower than those of top robotics companies. At present, domestic robots have only a price advantage in the international market.
 
                    
 
2. Complete system
 
For the development of domestic industry, robotics is an indispensable technology, but we cannot simply be guided by (automation, robotics) technology. In the industrial field, we need to be solution-oriented, which can better guide domestic industrial development. . In terms of complete solutions, the Fraunhofer Institute IPK Institute demonstrated the overall solution of modular workshop IT, which integrates different production technologies through modular workshop IT technology and quickly integrates them into an overall system. Siemens demonstrated some of its multi-robot collaboration solutions. SEM also showed smart storage technology-AR technology-light selection technology-smart logistics technology-human-machine collaboration technology. By integrating these technologies, they can be integrated into an intelligent workshop solution. This also provides an idea for the development of domestic industry: to be solution-oriented to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing industry, rather than simply to demonstrate the effect of automation technology integration.
 
 
 
(3) Warehouse logistics system
 
Warehousing logistics technology is still dominated by shelves, stackers and transportation equipment, but there are also many new technologies appearing at this Hannover Expo.
 
1. Storage and shelf technology
 
Most companies use traditional shelf technology to demonstrate the basic characteristics of their shelves such as mechanical performance, scalability, and customization. Some companies have also given novel solutions for storage transformation: for example, letting the shelves move on the track, which can effectively solve the problem of traditional fixed storage occupying a large area. Due to the impact deformation of metal shelves during use, some companies have provided special shelf repair technology for these needs. A highlight of this year's warehousing is that as many as three or more companies have adopted a new material with high toughness and elasticity to protect their shelves, so that the shelves or work fences will not deform when impacted.
 
2. Smart logistics technology
 
Many companies have demonstrated intelligent logistics technology for unique products, which can quickly complete the transportation of materials on the production line. And some companies build smart logistics platforms from the perspective of supply chain logistics, and realize smart supply chain logistics through cloud technology.
 
                              
 
Looking at the entire Hannover labor union, we can see that there is still a big gap between my country's industry and world-class companies. The latter is mainly for integration, and apart from Huawei and Haier's display of integration technology, most of us only display discrete components.
 
2. Listen to lectures from experts
 
Mr. Wolfgang Dorst is the former head of the Industry 4.0 Department of the German Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media Association (Bitkom in German). Bitkom was founded in 1999 and represents more than 2,300 digital industry companies and most of the global companies in the industry. Bitkom is an important promoter of the German Industry 4.0 strategy. At the Hannover Industry Fair in 2013, it joined hands with the German Machinery Manufacturing Federation (Vdma) and the German Electrical and Electronic Industries Federation (Zvei) to jointly establish an Industry 4.0 platform.
 
   Mr. Dorst spent a whole day explaining to us the introduction, guiding ideas and strategic considerations of German Industry 4.0. He believes that Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution based on the Industrial Internet, which includes the organization and control of the entire value chain including the entire life cycle of products and production systems. This cycle is aimed at increasingly personalized customer requirements, covering ideas, orders, development, production, supply, waste recycling and related services. It is based on the ability to connect all participating units in the value chain and the ability to derive the best value creation from data at any time to achieve real-time control of relevant information. From the connection of people, objects, and systems, he talked about how to incorporate customers, suppliers and other partners into the value creation chain and realize the individualization of production. Mr. Dorst also talked about the two major technological trends of Industry 4.0, and the four major convergences, four important angles to be grasped, the importance of formulating Industry 4.0 international standards, and how companies can formulate industry 4.0 strategies that suit their own actual conditions. . Before the end of the course, Mr. Dorst also had a positive interaction with everyone.
 
3. Visiting benchmarking companies
 
1. Deutz is the world's leading engine manufacturer with the longest history so far. As a full range of engines, Deutz provides water-cooled and air-cooled engines with power ranging from 25kw to 520kw, which can be widely used in construction machinery, generator sets, agricultural machinery, commercial vehicles, railway locomotives and ships, and military vehicles. Various professional supporting applications.
 
   Deutz has a history of more than 150 years. The first engine invented by the founder, Mr. Otto, was a gas engine that burns coal gas. As the founder of the world engine industry, Deutz inherits a rigorous and scientific manufacturing tradition and insists on the most revolutionary technological breakthrough. From the invention of the four-stroke engine to the birth of the water-cooled diesel engine, many pioneering power products have made Deutz won the respect and reputation worldwide. Deutz is a strategic partner of world-renowned brands such as Volvo, Renault, Atlas, and Saimai, and also supplies batches to mainstream construction machinery manufacturers such as XCMG, Sany Heavy Industry, and Zoomlion. There are about 500 people in the companies we visited, and the annual production of various engines is about 300,000. In the workshop, we saw that in accordance with the requirements of customization, the VGA car transported various parts to the designated location in an orderly manner. For example, in the process of distributing seal rings, due to frequent errors, the original manipulator has been replaced by human operation. In the words of the business interpreters, their business has reached Industry 3.8. They established their own logistics and also developed their own GPS system.
 
2. Karcher Group is a family-owned, internationally renowned high-pressure cleaner manufacturer founded by Mr. Karcher in 1935. The group has 10 production companies around the world, these companies complete the production of different types of products every day, and organic coordination and concentration with each other. The logistics center located in Oppersunheim, Germany, transports tens of thousands of cleaning products to all parts of the world every day through sea, land and air transportation. The company's operating income last year was 2.5 billion euros and there were 12,000 employees in total, of which about 1,000 were R&D personnel. Their development time for each new product is not less than 5 years, and they have developed different products for different regions. For example, the United States uses oil for machines, Europe uses electricity, and Japan makes small volumes. In order to further adapt to Industry 4.0 and market customization needs, they also acquired a digital consulting company with more than 30 people. This is a typical German "hidden champion" company.
 
3. The OWL Smart Factory is a smart factory jointly built by the Fraunhofer Institute of Optoelectronic System Technology and Image Processing Institute and the OWL University of Applied Sciences, and it is used as a cutting-edge laboratory for German information and communication technology automation. The goal of OWL Smart Factory is to cover the contents of Industry 4.0 and digitalization, including topics such as factory workshops composed of future Industry 4.0 production equipment, network security and big data analysis. Mr. Pietro Rodrigez, the person in charge of technology transfer at the Fraunhofer Institute, showed us the steps of displaying assembly through projection at a certain station; guiding assembly through big data and visualization, and omitting inspection procedures; through optimization and Deep learning to complete motion trajectory control, etc.
 
                                    
 
4. Bosch Rexroth is a world-renowned company that produces hydraulic and pneumatic products and control technology. It has operations in more than 80 countries around the world, has more than 37,000 employees, and had sales of 6.5 billion euros in 2012. The one we visited was the factory that produces servo motors in Rolle. In the workshop, we saw that in order to adapt to customized production, there is a display screen at the beginning of each assembly line, with three-dimensional animation indicating the assembly method of the specified product, and real-time control and testing. According to different products, the operator can even be told how many turns the nut can be twisted.
 
                        
 
       Through participating in this German Industry 4.0 tour, our main experience is:
 
1. Industry 4.0 was independently initiated by German companies and was later recognized as a national strategy by the government. Enterprises are generally relatively low-key and can upgrade their technology according to local conditions. Instead of blindly implementing "machine substitution", in some places, people are still replacing machines. Everything starts from actual results, from improving production efficiency, improving product quality, and reducing production costs.
 
2. Internet of things, cloud computing, and big data applications are becoming more and more popular. At the Hannover Industry Fair, in addition to the Integrated Automation and Power Transmission Exhibition and the Digital Factory Exhibition, other exhibitions such as energy exhibitions, industrial parts and subcontracting exhibitions are also related to them. It is the parts and components, some of them become intelligent due to the embedded chips, and most of them are manufactured through intelligence. The trend towards the interconnection of everything in the industrial sector continues unabated.
 
3. The German government's promotion of Industry 4.0 is mainly through the creation of a fair and just legal environment, with little financial support.
 
4. The "hidden champion" is generally regarded as an important support for the long-term competitiveness of German manufacturing. From the perspective of understanding, there are still a considerable number of German small and medium-sized enterprises that still have doubts or wait-and-see attitudes about Industry 4.0, that is, digital transformation, especially about the high investment in the early stage and the uncertain economic return in the future. To this end, the German government strongly supports the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the promotion of Industry 4.0 and provide them with public services. Its methods mainly include: ensuring the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises; providing information, testing, capital and other services for small and medium-sized enterprises; and using application examples to resolve the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises.
 
5. There is still a certain gap between Jiangsu's manufacturing innovation and the world's leading level. Judging from this Hannover Industry Fair, among the more than 5,000 exhibitors, many Jiangsu companies have been seen. However, most of Jiangsu enterprises are concentrated in low value-added fields such as machinery manufacturing and casting. The booths are also on the edge of each exhibition hall, and almost no one cares about them. Some well-known companies from other provinces, such as Huawei, Haier, and BYD, compete with the world's leading companies in some key exhibition halls. Our province should further strengthen the technology research and development and system construction for the future manufacturing industry, and accelerate the pace of technological innovation in many aspects such as industrial network communication, sensor system, industrial computing, and control system with the development direction of intelligence, networking and service. .
 
6. Most of the companies that meet the requirements of German Industry 4.0 are formed by making little improvements on the old factory production lines, instead of building a new factory in full compliance with the requirements of Industry 4.0 out of thin air, because the cost of the new factory is very high. For example, it took Bosch Rexroth 5 years to increase the proportion of the company's "Industry 4.0 production line" to about 25% of the company's total production lines, and this proportion will gradually increase to about 40% in the next three years. Therefore, the company's continuous technological upgrading and production