An “Industry 4.0 – intelligent factory lab” opens at the Jiading campus of Tongji University, Shanghai. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]

An “Industry 4.0 – intelligent factory lab” opened at the Jiading campus of Tongji University, Shanghai, on Oct 28.

Jointly built by Germany’s Phoenix Contact Co and Chinese-German University of Applied Science (CDHAW), an institute of Tongji, the lab is equipped with a variety of facilities and software, including a robot, digital controlled lathe, intelligent camera, variable frequency conveyor belt, servicers and monitoring software. It realizes the intelligent communication and cooperative work of men, work pieces and machines.

“The products produced on an assembly line can be different,” said Chen Ming, professor of CDHAW. Each work piece has a digital label with specific processing information, which can automatically exchange information with the robot and lathe and examine its quality. The lab change can realize mass personalized production, Chen explained.

The lab will introduce an intelligent stereoscopic warehouse and automatic guided vehicles in the next stage. With the aim of creating a flexible production model featuring digitalization and personalization, the lab will become a demonstration project for an intelligent factory in the Chinese manufacturing industry.

“Industry 4.0” is a high-tech strategy by the German government to develop innovative products and product concepts at the Hannover Messe in 2013. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel jointly announced cooperation in “Industry 4.0” during Li’s visit to Germany early this month. It will be a new direction for industrial cooperation between the two countries in the future.