IF4.0: Industry Business Network 4.0 presents new industry standard

IF4.0 is intended to become the new industry standard for cross-manufacturer information exchange in a smart factory. The standard was designed by Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V. and will be continuously developed by the association members in the future. The IF4.0 standard defines relevant data and methods for individual categories of plants, devices and components, from which the necessary information for the smart factory is generated.

 

On the Trade congress "Manufacturing 4.0 - Concrete solutions with added value for small and medium-sized enterprises". the Industry Business Network 4.0 association presented the cross-manufacturer solution for medium-sized companies to the public for the first time. "Thanks to the standardized exchange of information between different machines and systems with IF4.0, the implementation of a smart factory is finally also becoming attractive for small and medium-sized companies and offers direct added value," says Igor Mikulina, CEO of Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V., describing the advantages.

The association was founded in 2016 at the Fertigung 4.0 trade congress and has since been intensively driving the project to develop the IF4.0 industry standard. Compared to many existing solutions that focus on using all available data, e.g. in the cloud, the core idea of the manufacturer-independent IF4.0 standard is to process the machine data directly into relevant information using suitable methods and to make this available for a smart factory in a standardized form. "Our approach to developing the solution is always oriented toward customer benefits" explains Konstantin Kernschmidt, Industry 4.0 project manager at the association. "For the operator of a medium-sized production facility, networking must bring tangible added value. For example, he is interested in the fundamental question: Is my machine doing well? Depending on the type of machine/plant, this information can be generated from different data."

 

Important basis for the topics of safety and security

 

The IF4.0 standard therefore defines the data and methods from which the relevant information can be generated for individual categories of plant, equipment and components. This also has the considerable advantage for manufacturers of not having to disclose all the data of their systems, which often contain the technological know-how. The IF4.0 standard also represents a significant simplification in terms of the auditability of networking and information exchange compared to uncontrolled data exchange, and thus forms an important basis for the topics of safety and security. TÜV Süd is particularly committed to this complex of topics as a member of the Industry Business Network 4.0 association. "Only with a coherent security concept, transparent use of data and independence from a specific provider will Industry 4.0 prevail in medium-sized companies," says Dr.-Ing. Detlev Richter, Vice President of TÜV Süd Product Service GmbH.

IF4.0 is the new industry standard for cross-manufacturer information exchange in a smart factory

 

Implementation of the IF4.0 standard in reference plants

 

The next step will be to implement the IF4.0 standard in the association's reference plants and in initial products. "When implementing the technology, we build on existing standards - such as OPC UA - as far as possible, but always keep an eye on the benefits for medium-sized companies. Through implementation, we will continuously develop the IF4.0 standard and add further categories," explains Kernschmidt. In addition to machines and systems, for example, gas, compressed air, or energy supplies can also provide important information for operations. Applications that offer additional added value for the customer can also be docked via a standardized interface and use the information from the various systems in the smart factory.

 

"When purchasing equipment, devices and components in the future, customers will pay attention to whether the products make their information available based on the IF4.0 standard," Mikulina said.
 

 

Dr.-Ing. Detlev Richter(left) from TÜV Süd, together with Konstantin Kernschmidt from Industry Business Network 4.0, presents the new industry standard IF4.0 for cross-manufacturer information exchange in a smart factory.

Compatibility with the IF4.0 standard is therefore confirmed by the association with a corresponding certificate on the product. "Our association is open to interested parties from all industries and we welcome any member who would like to actively help drive implementation in the coming months," says Mikulina.

 

If you want to be actively involved in the implementation of a SmartFactory in medium-sized companies, then you will be Member! We are looking forward to your application.