44 | AutoPartsAsia | OCTOBER 2017solutions and targeting the industry
4.0 for segments focussing on
automotive, agriculture, farming and
healthcare.Technology firm Siemens which
works closely with the automotive
industry opened its first digital
factory in Mumbai in 2016. The
factory is the third globally, after one
each in Germany and China, as the
industrial conglomerate pitches smart
facilities to small and medium scale
enterprises in the country.The German company hopes to use
this digital factory as a showcase
to sell a range of plant automation
equipment and software to Indian
manufacturing units, including
those in the automotive sector. The
machines rely on the IoT technology
sensors fitted on them and the
resulting data is used to improve and
track their performance.
The Digital Factory is one of the
nine divisions at Siemens. It aims to
provide a comprehensive portfolio
of hardware and software products
which enable comprehensive
integration of data from development,
production and suppliers,the
company claims. The complete digital
representation of the entire physical
value chain is its ultimate goal. The
solution platform created for this is
called ‘Digital Enterprise’.Under this term the DE product
portfolio smoothly connects major
parts of the product and production
life cycle. Powerful Product LifecycleManagement (PLM) software, for
example, allows us to develop
and optimize new products on an
entirely virtual basis. In the real
manufacturing world the Totally
Integrated Automation (TIA) concept,
which has proven its worth for about
20 years now, ensures the efficient
interoperability of all automation
components. The TIA Portal saves
time and cost in engineering.The German auto component
manufacturer Bosch is set to
implement smart manufacturing at
all its 15 manufacturing centres in
India. This is in line with its global
strategy of embracing Industry 4.0
or connected industry that combines
manufacturing with Internet of things
and technology. The company has
set a target to be among the state of
the art companies by 2018 that aligns
with smart manufacturing.It is a lead supplier and user in its
own manufacturing plants. This
strategy enables Bosch to be an
industry leader in this sector. The
Group, focusses on offering software
solutions with intuitive human
machine interface (HMI) and user
experience which results in full grade
connectivity, final transparency and
reduced complexity. In the space of
logistics and production, Bosch India
offers end-to-end monitoring and
coordinating of inter-and-intra-logistic
solutions. And, finally in the sphere
of service and consulting, Bosch
India offers consultation based on its
experience of automation solution,lean production and logistics, as well
as software solutions and services.
“At Bosch India, we expect the
future to be driven by key trends
such as digitization, growing
energy needs, urbanization and
better ecological solutions. With
the largest development centre
outside Germany, Bosch India is
committed to offering connected
smart manufacturing solutions,” Vijay
Ratnaparkhe, Managing Director and
President, Robert Bosch Engineering
and Business Solution, said. While
national initiatives, such as ‘Make in
India’ and ‘Digital India,’ intend to
build the brand and competitiveness
of India’s core sectors, Ratnaparkhe
said, “Digitization will improve India’s
competitiveness while also helping
businesses move faster to market.”
Bosch India’s strategy to realise
Industry 4.0 is three pronged:
Learning and transferring
knowhow from the European
counterparts;developing customized
solutions for India; and leading the
Industry 4.0 development globally
and competing with the best in class.Global Overview
Digital factories with the fusion
of the real and virtual worlds of
production ensure that man, machine
and materials are interconnected.
Machines will be conversing with
machines, people will be able to
talk to machines and vice versa.
Manufacturing becomes highly
individualised and resource optimisedCOVER STORY