Z.magazine

Z.magazine 2016

DATA PLAYS A KEY ROLE

AND ZOLLER HAS THE SOLUTION

Intelligent systems require information

if they are to control and manage them-

selves. It follows that the generation,

evaluation and availability of data is

playing an increasingly key role in Indus-

try 4.0. Since the Smart Factory of the fu-

ture will need to have accurate data and

a well conceived tool data management

system. Particularly regarding tools, the

process-reliable and end-to-end trans-

fer of data is of enormous significance

to the delivery of seamless operations.

Also, the need to manage this tool data

efficiently becomes greater as the va-

riety of products grows because tools

need to be changed more frequently, and

because the number of new tool variants

on the market is rising all the time.

To continue working profitably, tools

must be identified quickly and clearly,

and their data processed so it remains

available at every stage of production. In

this area, ZOLLER has already done pio-

neering work as an all-round specialist

in the world of tooling. As a technology

leader, ZOLLER solutions are always suit-

able for now as well as in the future. They

can also be combined with one another,

and extended as required, enabling them

The Internet of Things (IoT)

is already linking up

different areas of life and

sectors of industry.

INDUSTRY 4.0

With the TMS Tool Management

Solutions app SILVER version, tools can

be moved into and out of a selected

storage location.

to be integrated perfectly in existing

production processes. The combination

of ZOLLER tool presetters and measuring

machines, along with TMS Tool Manage-

ment Solutions, lays a firm foundation

for the Factory of the Future. The central

ZOLLER tool database, z.One, organizes

all tool data throughout the entire life

cycle of a tool, across all departmental

barriers — from production planning to

CAD/CAM, inventory, tool presetting and

measuring, and to the machine. Stan-

dardized tool data are available today at

many locations, and they can be import-

ed in a time-saving manner—for example

from Kennametal, GTDE, or CIMSOURCE.

What can we do to safeguard Germany as a manufacturing location in years to come? This is the

question that gave rise to the term “Industry 4.0“, coined during a project initiated by the German

government to look at what the future might hold. Industry 4.0 is a term used for the growing

together of the virtual and physical world to become an Internet of Things and of cyber-physical

systems. The aim is the Smart Factory—a cost-effective and energy-efficient production facility

that is capable of configuring and perfecting itself, thereby securing its own future. To achieve

this goal, innovative technology companies like ZOLLER are working pedal-to-the-metal on laying

the groundwork for Industry 4.0 in their in-house research and development (R&D) department as

well as in joint projects with the tertiary education sector—this with financial backing from the

German Ministry of Research and Education. SmartTool is an example of this type of project.

READY FOR 4 .0