iTAC’s exhibition concept for this year’s fair focuses on Industry 4.0-capable MES and IoT products and solutions. As the founding member and initiator of Smart Electronic Factory e.V. and a public cloud MES pioneer, iTAC has extensive Industry 4.0 expertise, and this is reflected in the latest iTAC MES and IoT developments.
A prototype of an iTAC.MES.Suite with a Smart Data Analytics Service will be on display at the iTAC stand. This service will be used for the future implementation of process-specific predictive maintenance applications. The infrastructure layer of the iTAC core product has been supplemented with the Apache Spark cluster computing framework and the Cassandra NO-SQL database. These new infrastructure components, which are essential in IoT application scenarios, have been seamlessly integrated in the iTAC.MES.Suite with iTAC.ARTES middleware technology.
The new Smart Data Analytics Service is also incorporated in the new iTAC.IoT.Platform – an Industry 4.0 platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is based on the leading horizontal IoT platforms such as MS Azure, AWS and IBM Bluemix and enables the combination of these IoT platforms‘ services with iTAC functions such as MES, APS, Predictive Maintenance, Analytics and Advanced Intelligence. The software applications (SaaS) that are available on the iTAC.IoT.Platform for SMEs are derived from the iTAC-MES and DUALIS-APS, and encapsulated into a docker container.
This allows small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to select their IoT platform and services – MES, APS, Predictive Maintenance, Analytics, Advanced Intelligence etc. – according to application without having to use an internal IT infrastructure.
iTAC.MES.Suite: a key element in smart factory initiatives
iTAC is also demonstrating application scenarios and the prototypes for a new workplace design for its long-established iTAC.MES.Suite at the HANOVER TRADE FAIR. Among other things, the MES is the data hub for the Smart Electronic Factory organization’s smart electronic factory, an Industry 4.0 initiative for SMEs. Smart Electronic Factory e.V. is demonstrating the profitable side of Industry 4.0 at the HANOVER TRADE FAIR, and the benefits of real IoT applications in the electronics industry, with a live SMD placement system and a digital twin of an SMD production line. A pay-per-use scenario in collaboration with Bosch Rexroth and Bosch SI visualizes horizontal and vertical connectivity. It’s an example of the new smart factory business models for SMEs that are emerging.
iTAC’s MES is also used in the SmartFactory KL. The SmartFactory KL e.V. initiative and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) are exhibiting an Industry 4.0 system at the fair. The iTAC.MES.Suite is the data hub, performing the function of controlling an autonomous robot. The MES also instructs the flexible transport system – the main element of the showcase – where to transport the product for further processing. The production data obtained by and stored in the MES is used to calculate KPIs, which are then displayed in real time on the dashboard. This data can be used to optimize production processes and for preventive maintenance purposes.
Visitors to the HANOVER TRADE FAIR from April 24 through 26, can find further information about iTAC products at the shared stand of SEF Smart Electronic Factory e.V. (stand C16 in hall 7), and the shared stand of Smart Factory KL e.V. (stand D20 in hall 8).
