Status of the Implementation of Industry 4.0 in SMEs and Framework for Smart Manufacturing

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore after 10 years of Industry 4.0 the status of the application in manufacturing companies and especially in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on literature and previously conducted research we present guidelines and a modular framework for implementing smart manufacturing in SMEs. In addition, a stage model is illustrated to support SMEs in breaking down the framework from a design level to an implementation and operational level. Finally, an outlook is given on the future challenges that SMEs will face in the coming years when they want to reach the next level of Industry 4.0 in their own company.

How can open innovation support SMEs in the adoption of I4.0 technologies? An empirical analysis

“…While we have assumed that high-tech SMEs can face this uncertainty by enhancing OI breadth, our results show, As a robustness check, we classified I4.0 technologies in accordance with the SME maturity in their adoption. Following the classification proposed by Rauch and Matt (2021), we computed three discrete variables that measure, respectively, how high (Horizontal and Vertical Integration, Cloud, Industrial Internet of Things, Big data and Analytics), medium (Autonomous Robots, Simulation, Cyber-Security), and low-mature (Additive Manufacturing, Augmented Reality) I4.0 technologies are adopted by the SMEs in our sample. We computed the same negative binomial regression models discussed above replacing the dependent variable with each of these three discrete variables.…”

Implementation of 3D Simulation to Foster Digital Twin Based Applications in Manufacturing: An Educational Case Study

“…The manufacturing sector has currently faced a period of change over the last years, due to the request in high variability of products and the increasing complexity of manufacturing systems [1]. Changes related to the product integration phases over their overall lifecycle have however been growing together with a more common employment of digital technologies, which are crucial to guarantee the building of an up-to-date digital layout of a manufacturing system [2]. The transformation towards this kind of manufacturing, commonly referred to as smart manufacturing [3], is indeed one of the hottest trends nowadays.…”