Industry 4.0 forum

Nowadays, practically all organizations have a number of technological plant management solutions that they use to resolve certain issues. Each one delivers, although in response to new needs, multiple tools are being incorporated, creating more complex environments that sometimes complicate plant control.

Thirty years ago, the global distribution of sheet metal cutting machine-tools was dominated by the oxycut variety (large thicknesses) and, to a lesser extent, the plasma variety (small thicknesses). There was a niche for punching machines along with water jet and laser machines. The latter were aimed at thicknesses less than 5mm and were expensive. Since then, the trend has shifted, shrugging oxycut in favor of other technologies according to thicknesses.

Transporting water, protecting cables, channeling energy... There are round ones, square ones, rectangular ones or open profiles. They’re everywhere, from electrical appliances to awnings, including canopies, trailers or all types of machinery for the industrial sector. They are also manufactured in different materials, but the one we’re interested in is metal. For some time now, the tube manufacturing industry has been playing an increasingly central role in the plants, ceasing to be a complimentary and limited activity to become a large-volume production which incorporates complex structures and assemblies thanks to the improvements introduced in cutting machines and benders.

It has taken more than two centuries for us to travel from the First Industrial Revolution to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and be able to truly refer to advanced manufacturing. Yes, manufacturing which generates and applies knowledge and experience, combined with state-of-the-art technology and innovations that enable products, production processes and high-value-added services to be created. We’re not really discovering anything new now, just making all the refinements we can since the ultimate aim is to increase the company’s productivity and hence our competitiveness in the market.

Two years ago, Hollandsteel started producing metal parts for the Dutch market in a brand-new factory. Its machines are running 24 hours for an ever-increasing number of clients and its concept could be trendsetting for the industry. An interview with Ruud Appel of Holland Steel and Christoph Lenhard, sales director of Lantek Germany.