Industry 4.0 on ​Product Life ​Cycle Development

Industry 4.0 is here, and it’s no secret that your business and product development processes will be affected. The Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Additive Manufacturing (AM) and other innovative technologies add more dimension and depth to the never-ending amounts of data produced by the industry. How will you effectively manage and use this data to enhance your product development processes? It’s important to know the answer to this question, because Industry 4.0 shows no signs of slowing down.

What challenges will you face with Industry 4.0’s integration, implementation and education in your company? How will it affect your PLM infrastructure and product development processes? How will you adopt new business models and increase value by intelligently linking your products? Are you ultimately prepared for digital transformation?

Adopting modern technologies can be a challenge for any company. Executing digital thread or digital twin initiatives to monitor products while they’re being used will affect your current PLM architecture and processes. Are your existing PLM infrastructures adequate for meeting these new challenges?

If you look at today’s development processes, PLM must have a strategic approach towards answering Industry 4.0’s challenges. These approaches include:

• Modular PLM architectures and agile processes
• ALM integration, PLM integration and ERP integration
• Systems Engineering and Model-based Systems Engineering
• Interdisciplinary variant, configuration and change management
• Collaborative PLM processes
• Implementation of the digital thread and digital master

Your existing PLM solutions most likely aren’t enough to incorporate the full gamut of industry 4.0 data. Experts suggest that federated systems with open architectures will help accommodate industry 4.0. This setup enables a modular, multilayered architecture that allows data to be linked across different systems. A network of ALM, PDM and ERP systems allows the entire lifecycle of a product to be mapped.

What does this ultimately do? Enabling linked data between systems will ultimately allow for better, faster and more intuitive product development. The ability to access, at any time, up-to-date information about a product is your basis for making sound business and technical decisions. Integrating Industry 4.0 technologies into your processes gives you more information about your products across the entire product lifecycle.

Industry 4.0 is driving digital transformation through its technological impact on companies and customers. Systems integration will not only help product development by being better and more efficient, but also help the end consumer with a top-quality product.

So, where should you start with systems integration? Visit PROSTEP INC, PLM integration experts who have been integrating systems for over 25 years. You can learn more about systems integration and API integration with our API for the Digital Thread.

Original article by Joseph Lopez, Marketing at PROSTEP INC.