We ❤ Powders!
Published

Where Do You Fall On Industry 4.0’s Adoption Curve?

Beyond the hype: how are injection molders applying industry 4.0 today, and what’s coming in the future.

Share

In his 1962 book, Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers first posited the concept of a technology adoption curve that many of us are familiar with more than 50 years later. Five categories of adopters—innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards—spread across a bell curve with most falling in the middle three categories.

As interesting as the curve, however, are Rogers’ five stages of technology adoption:

  • Knowledge
  • Persuasion
  • Decision
  • Implementation
  • Confirmation

It’d be hard to work in injection molding and not have knowledge of Industry 4.0 by now. In fact, at least on a small scale, I’d guess many molders have been persuaded one way or the other and are on the precipice of making a decision about Industry 4.0.

To help those folks along and to hear from companies that have already implemented Industry 4.0 and confirmed its benefits (and challenges), we have created an entire track at Molding 2018 (Feb. 27-March 1; Long Beach, Calif.) looking at “Practical Application of Industry 4.0”.

Injection molding machinery suppliers have been at the forefront of Industry 4.0 in our space, and they are well represented in the track with speakers from Arburg, Engel, KraussMaffei and Wittmann Battenfeld. Speakers from these companies will discuss how their customers are already utilizing the power of Industry 4.0 and how molding machines are enabling that utilization.

In addition, we’ll have auxiliary supplier, Piovan, discussing the installation of an Industry 4.0 compliant molding facility here in the U.S., and we will also hear from two vendors of powerful hardware/software solutions to bring 4.0 functionality to the plastics shop floor.

Whether you’re an innovator or a laggard or you’re in the process of gaining knowledge or confirming your decision regarding Industry 4.0, you will stand to benefit from the collective experience of our speakers.

Molding 2018
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Practical Application of Industry 4.0

1:30 - 2:00 pm
Installation of an Industry 4.0 Compliant Production Facility in the U.S.
Giorgio Santella, VP service and sales North America, Piovan
Read More about Industry 4.0 and Piovan: Industry 4.0 Connects Auxiliaries

2:00 - 2:30 pm
Real World Examples of Condition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance
Joachim Kragl, director advanced injection molding systems & processing, Engel
Read more about Engel and Industry 4.0

2:30 - 3:00 pm
Condition Monitoring Systems for Modern Day Work Cells
Markus Klaus, injection molding machines USA division manager, Wittmann Battenfeld
Read more about Wittmann Battenfeld and Industry 4.0

3:30 - 4:00 pm
The Competitive Advantage of Industry 4.0
Willem Sundblad, CEO & founder Oden Technologies
Read more about Oden Technologies and Industry 4.0

4:00 - 4:30 pm
Industry 4.0 Used in the Real World
Juergen Giesow, director of technology & engineering, Arburg
Read more about Arburg and Industry 4.0

4:30 - 5:00 pm
Production Monitoring And Time—The Benefits Of Making Effective Decisions Faster Than Ever Before
Max Preston, director of marketing and sales, Smart Attend
Read more about Smart Attend and Industry 4.0

5:00 - 5:30 pm
Self-Correcting Machines & Auxiliary Integration as Elements of Industry 4.0
Jason Holbrook, sales manager, KraussMaffei
Read more about KraussMaffei and Industry 4.0

There’s more at Molding 2018

Read more about the 2018 version of the industry’s preeminent injection molding conference from previous posts:

Entire Track Dedicated 3D Printing
Emerging Technologies
Special Pre-Conference Hands-On At-the-Press Design of Experiments Workshop

New 2024 Twin Screw Report
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
Masters of Blending
Everyday circularity
We ❤ Powders
ONLINE AUCTION
Dri-Air
Biodegradable chemical foaming agents extrusion
Shibaura Machine Industrial IoT machiNetCloud
TD-Series Desiccant Dryers
Flow Meters display cooling water flow and temp
Dover Clear

Related Content

Four Industry 4.0 Tech Adoption Insights from Indiana Plastics Manufacturers

As more plastics manufacturers step into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, insights have emerged about how best to approach the digital transformation journey.

Read More
industry 4.0

Manufacturers’ Superpower: ‘X-Ray Vision’ into Your Processes

Meet a ‘new’ name (to North American processors) in MES software, which provides a simple, modular way to achieve visibility into your production operations.

Read More
industry 4.0

Automation in Thermoforming on the Rise

Equipment suppliers’ latest innovations exemplify this trend driven by factors such as labor shortages, higher-speed thermoformers and tighter quality control.

Read More

‘Get the Right Information to the Right People at the Right Time’

Scott Rogers at Noble Plastics is working on production-monitoring software to empower his shop-floor personnel.

Read More

Read Next

sustainability

Lead the Conversation, Change the Conversation

Coverage of single-use plastics can be both misleading and demoralizing. Here are 10 tips for changing the perception of the plastics industry at your company and in your community.

Read More
NPE

Beyond Prototypes: 8 Ways the Plastics Industry Is Using 3D Printing

Plastics processors are finding applications for 3D printing around the plant and across the supply chain. Here are 8 examples to look for at NPE2024.

Read More
Equipment innovation