Hello. This is Manufacturing man from the Manufacturing man Channel . Today, as you can see in the thumbnail, I will be comparing factories in Japan and Germany. The subtitle is the twin wheels of factory strength and business strength. I unravel the strength of European companies that drive these two wheels.
I visited the PHOENIX CONTACT factory. this is a nice photo everyone is laughing The cameraman was very good. I visited the Germany factory.
Today I will tell you an interesting factory story. In doing so, we have received support from CHUSEI SEIHYO REIZO Co., Ltd. in Mie Prefecture. This is a factory that makes ice. The president of this company has great insight into FA, automation and control.
For those interested in FA, working for this ice-making company must be interesting. If you want to try your own control or want to find a job at a stable company using FA, please contact us. They are number one in this category. it's great. About the PHOENIX CONTACT booth.
The venue in hanover was large in scale. This is the size of a person. Before Corona, there were no regulations, and there were 2nd and 3rd floors. Crowds are forbidden now, and it was open like this. There was also an OMRON Corporation booth. I argued with the head of the technical department for over an hour.
We talked about INDUSTRY 4.0 and their company's strengths. European upper class people are full of confidence. they were good looking. In Japan, some people may not know PHOENIX CONTACT.
You must have seen green connectors like this. This is a type called PUSH-IN. In Japan, terminal blocks are still screwed.
I want you to stop doing that. From what I have seen in hanover there are no more electrical junctions that are not of the PUSH-IN type. No one is screwing. Compared to round crimp terminals, this PUSH-IN type can reduce man-hours by 52%.
It's measured data. It's not just 52%. Look at the switchboard.
For example there are 10 modules of PUSH-IN type. A switchboard has three layers, so there are three inputs and three outputs, for a total of six. With 10 modules, there are 60, and the Japanese have to tighten the screws 60 times.
Let's say there are 10,000 people in Japan making switchboards. In that case, 10,000 times the number of processes is wasted in Japan. Please use PUSH-IN immediately. They are also famous as the company that built the PUSH-IN for the first time.
Also noteworthy is the trend in sales of PHOENIX CONTACT. Its sales have grown rapidly by 3.6 times in 15 years. Compared to Japanese companies, it is an impossible growth rate for a manufacturing company. If 1 euro is converted to 150 yen, their sales will be around 540 billion yen.
What level is it in Japan? It is YASUKAWA DENKI. They are the top of Kyushu. Yasukawa's sales are 479 billion yen. You can tell from this that PHOENIX CONTACT is a pretty big company. So what was it that made this company so explosive? what are they so strong at? I would like to clarify it. First, let's dissect their manufacturing site.
They advocate INDUSTRY 4.0. I would like to clarify their ability at the manufacturing site. What does PHOENIX CONTACT manufacture? This is the control panel at the head office.
As you can see here, a relay, a rail terminal block, and a connector terminal block. And a hybrid motor starter. switching power supply. fuse. wireless equipment. they make all sorts of things.
In other words, it is also possible to configure the control panel only with their products. The European Union control panel would not be possible without PHOENIX CONTACT. I visited the manufacturing site of control panel related parts.
At the manufacturing site of PHOENIX CONTACT, there was the following process. One of them is an injection molding machine. In addition to that, they also built their own molds and were doing mold manufacturing.
It is an essential process for manufacturing resin products. Next is SMT, Surface Mount Technology. That is the process of mounting ICs and capacitors on the board. The other is an automatic machine. Assembly was automated. Harness Assembly.
Put the harness into a shape that can be shipped. And Assembly the terminal block. those processes were carried out. They own multiple machine tools. They were often used in the process of manufacturing screws. In addition, they add strength unique to PHOENIX CONTACT.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to film it. My camera was confiscated. Quoting, programming, and setup are easy and fast. Let's take a look at their competence in each process. First, there is the SMT line of the mounter.
For a company with sales of 500 billion yen, I have to say that the level is low. PHOENIX CONTACT would be surprised to hear that. FUJI CORPORATION equipment was used in the mounting process.
Here is the raw board. Print cream solder there. Components are mounted where the cream solder adheres. Then reflow to harden the cream solder. Finally inspect with AOI.
Then, such a mounting substrate is completed. This is the process of mounting such parts on the raw board. Electronic parts are mounted on the board using a Mounter or the like. Parts (tape reels) are put here one by one like this on the feeder truck. The film is automatically peeled off from this part.
The component is picked up and carried towards the board. However, the arrangement is clearly poor. Not much digitization was done there.
With this device from FUJI CORPORATION, it should probably be possible to visualize the situation as an option. But it wasn't done. Had that option been installed, it would have been introduced as such. But that was not the case. Instructions for supplying parts were also old-fashioned.
I also visited the DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED factory to see their production instructions. At DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED, AI instructs what kind of setup is the best. At PHOENIX CONTACT, humans were doing it. The level of digital utilization at the site was very low. We are taking data when incorporating this board into the product. But they haven't improved with it.
Operation information was visualized. I asked the people in charge how they could improve their productivity, but they didn't get it. The person in charge didn't really understand how to use digital. It's kind of deadly. My honest impression is, "Huh? Compared to Japan, their level is not very high." Quoting, programming, and setup are easy and fast. I then moved to another factory that worked with machine tools and molds.
I didn't have time to visit the mold factory. They tagged everything with RFID and automatically managed it so that they could find out what type of mold was where. And they make all molds for resin products in-house. This is one of their strengths. For machine tools, screws were manufactured in-house. They built it themselves using Siemens CNC's.
Tens of thousands of very small screws were produced per day, and this part was automated. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a video of the process. A processing method similar to that of cutting tools seen in Rollomatic SA was probably used. The fact that they have been manufacturing machine tools in-house for quite some time is evidence of their power. Of course, there were machines that they purchased from other companies as well as in-house production.
However, in-house machine tools were used in mass production processes. Their level is high in the part that they can make it. For parts that are required in large quantities, they produce the molds and machine tools to manufacture them in-house. For example, resin products are required in large quantities. That's why they make the mold in-house. A large number of screws are also required. So they manufacture them themselves.
They make the core things in-house from the machine tools. Here was their strength. They are better in some areas than similar companies in Japan. I will not say which company. If sales are around 500 billion yen, PHOENIX CONTACT will be slightly better. Now let's talk about automation.
For products shipped in large quantities, automation was well advanced. It is a level that is not inferior to that of major Japanese companies. I visited Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitutoyo Corporation, THK CO., LTD. and others. I would say they are on par with these companies. One of their strong points is that they have a horizontal axis in the Machinery Department.
There is a machine tool department in the PHOENIX CONTACT factory. After Assembly the equipment at the headquarters factory in Germany , they deploy it to factories in each country. They don't just give the equipment to the field and stop there. The person in charge of the Machinery Department will go to the site and provide education to prepare the mass production system. There are about 100 people in the Machinery Department.
The parts related to control can be arranged in-house. PHOENIX CONTACT also makes PLCs. So they can also supply the control part themselves. There was one unfortunate thing.
I asked what CAD they were using. They answered that they did not know about CAD. However, it is a strength that they have a machinery department.
I visited with SAKAI this time. SAKAI previously worked as a mechanical designer at HITACHI ASTEMO. SAKAI looked at their factory and said, "Their level is not low." I thought that SAKAI was reliable. SAKAI's evaluation of them was neither good nor bad.
I think it's very good to pass the horizontal axis through the equipment that is being deployed globally. Next, I would like to talk about digital utilization in the field. At the hanover Messe, a digitally-oriented solution is being proposed. So I was curious about their digital use. But as we saw for SMT, the level is not very high. They were able to gather data on SMT Assembly as well.
But they have not been able to use that data to improve the situation. In Japan we do WAIGAYA. Write various opinions on the whiteboard and freely discuss where to start on a certain problem. they didn't do that.
Next is the injection molding machine. Conveyors and transfer machines are used for this, and the level of automation is high. However, what kind of work is currently flowing there, the number of production, production status, etc. are not visualized. There was no visualization of productivity. Their answers were vague.
I haven't seen the equipment design, so I don't know the whole picture. It would have been nice to be able to see inside the Machinery Department, but we weren't allowed to enter there. I assume that their level of digital utilization is generally not high. It was below my expectations for a Germany factory with INDUSTRY 4.0. Data utilization has not yet advanced even in Germany companies.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Electric would be far ahead of it. Their other strength is the favorable land environment for manufacturing. It is very strong. Why?
This is PHOENIX CONTACT. This is a google earth photo. Behind their estate lies a rolling moor. There are about 40 buildings in the head office.
When I went to Germany, I found that there were no mountains at all, but endless plains. There are wind farms. That's great. Quoting, programming, and setup are easy and fast. In other words, factory expansion is very easy. In fact, the PHOENIX CONTACT factory was also expanded. Behind them is a plain, so they can expand as much as they like.
They have no trouble finding a place to build a factory. I visited Toshiba Corporation's semiconductor factory the other day. they were carving mountains. It costs a lot of money. Controlling the supply chain is easy for them. For example, if they build a factory here, they can quickly bring the parts they need from there.
No need to transport them. It's a strength. All the buildings look the same, and I felt it was Germany. Differences between departments are not represented. There is no hierarchy of departments, such as "The Machinery Department is superior" or "The Procurement Department is superior". It was so good.
And they have a lean logistics system. I have visited Hitachi, Ltd. and Okura Yusoki Co., Ltd. in the past. I have also seen a lot of Material Handling handling sites.
I have also been to Murata Machinery, Ltd.. I understand the cutting edge of Material Handling, transport and logistics systems. With that in mind, I went to the scene. There, the system was configured so that human intervention was required only for the final packaging.
Compared to Japanese factories, it is the most advanced class. The only one that can beat them is Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd.. they were more amazing. And thanks to the vast plains, it's easy to expand the warehouse.
They said they would expand the warehouse further. This is not limited to PHOENIX CONTACT, but delivery trucks have been standardized. The truck is docked at the warehouse.
It can be loaded directly onto the truck without human intervention. Delivery systems, pallets, etc. are all standardized in Europe. It's efficient. Developing land in Japan is difficult.
I thought again that Germany is a suitable environment for the manufacturing industry. Finally, a summary of the factory tour. Digital utilization is only halfway through, but I have to say that it is still gaining momentum.
about their weaknesses. Their digital use is immature. excuse me. Forgive me for saying this after the factory tour.
They don't understand how to use the visualized data. Their SMT and assembly line lacks the understanding of optimizing throughput and reducing waste, or TPS. About their strengths. In mass production, the Machinery Department is in charge of building an automated line. Since development is not carried out for each base, it can be assumed that a very integrated control is configured.
However, the lack of understanding of the linkage between product design and equipment design is regrettable. The person in charge does not see the CAD, so he does not know how the equipment is designed for the product. That lack of understanding is regrettable. The level of engineering department was good. They make their own molds. Injection molding machines are automated.
One of their strengths is that they also build their own dedicated machine tools. Another advantage is that site expansion does not become a bottleneck due to geographical conditions. In addition, Europe's own standardized transportation and delivery system is optimal. They are not good at using digital to improve production. They use their own dedicated equipment and automate (reduce the number of workers)...
In addition, the ease with which they can expand their premises gives them an edge. It's a strategy that fits the terrain. There is one more thing, which could be a weakness. In cities where PHOENIX CONTACT is located, almost all residents work for PHOENIX CONTACT. I wonder what would happen if the population of the city decreased. This is the summary of the visit.
I think that the production technology of factories is the same as Japan, or that there are many factories in Japan with a higher level. To be honest, there were many scenes where I thought, "Is this level even in Germany?" But they have this turnover. Why is it rising so high? There are not many companies in Japan whose sales have risen so much. This cannot be explained only by the strength of the back end, the factory side.
So what is their front-end or product strategy? They may have strengths in solutions. It's not hard to predict. hanover also exhibited H2/CO2 and electricity strategies. I figured there would probably be companies that developed synergies with it. It was PHOENIX CONTACT. ALL ELECTRIC SOCIETY.
what does this mean. This is actually what I saw in Germany. There were a lot of wind power plants. Sun power generation was also seen here and there.
They are trying to grasp the key factor in anticipating a green society. They are trying to configure optimal power control themselves. They are growing rapidly as a company that plays a central role in the electric power society.
As I said earlier, there is no company that does not use PHOENIX CONTACT's control equipment for its control panel. This means that the control panel will be the point of contact with PHOENIX CONTACT, so they can approach customers immediately. They are already leading their customers. All they have to do is offer the best solution. Their products are always installed in European switchboards. Optimal control is required when constructing a new power system or performing optimal power management.
At that time, the customer comes over and says, "PHOENIX CONTACT, please." What PHOENIX CONTACT offers is optimal and state-of-the-art control. Being up to date is especially important. What makes it different? What they are trying to build is beyond control. To use their terminology, it's "PLCnext".
This is the control panel that was exhibited in hanover. PLCnext resides in this. This is the configuration concept of PLCnext. look here "Linux". The biggest difference is that the OS is disclosed. Open source Linux is used.
what does this mean? This is very interesting. It's real time control, of course, and its OS is Linux. What's so great about having Linux as the OS? People outside the control industry would think, "It's natural to use Linux." Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Siemens, and Rockwell Automation basically do not disclose the OS of PLC.
Control developers build controls only on the OS they purchase from. I see. look here "C" and "C++". Linux based open development is possible, and it supports multiple languages. Such as "C/C++/Java/Python". Control development can be done by combining these languages that IT engineers always use.
It says "PLCnext Store" here. Quoting, programming, and setup are easy and fast. what is this Suppose an optimal control is constructed. For example, in the case of wind power generation, optimal solutions for blade direction and rotation speed are required to generate more electricity. If the control developed for that purpose is a good one, it will be disclosed in this store. Those with high convenience are published in the store and can be downloaded.
Of course, it's not just wind power. The same goes for your home's power system and the control panel for storing power in batteries. Ultimately, there is a community for that. That is "PLCnext Community".
It is possible to explore the optimal control through the exchange of opinions within this community. In Japan, once a control is created, it is enclosed by saying, "This is mine." In European culture, they publish it in communities and stores to make it even better performer. The idea is that there is value in being used. Therefore, the control performance is getting better and better. Next is this.
What does using Linux mean? Because it is open, there is a risk of hacking. No, it's fine. It complies with the IEC62443 standard and ensures security. No problem. And it guarantees OPC UA and connectivity and is easy to connect. Standardization of data communication, in other words, easy-to-connect environment construction can be easily realized. With PLCnext, it is possible to remove the barrier between OT (on-site control) and IT construction (information communication) that originally existed within the company.
Building controls is easier. Control can be built based on the system developed by the company so far. And it became possible to publish good ones on the PLCnext Store and standardize them.
Make building controls easier. For that purpose, it is necessary to facilitate the exchange of data. You will need to make such a control or a control board. PLCnext can then be used to build power and motion controls.
In addition, optimal controls can be downloaded from the store. A control person would be happy. It makes their job so much easier. They can download and buy it at the PLCnext Store. What used to take hours can be done in 5 minutes. It is not only used for control.
For example you may be hesitant to use it for control. It's said to be the best, but now let's see how everyone uses it, and so on. However, you can also download the monitoring environment of the operation to see what the current dynamics are. It's Python-based, and if you already have the library, just download it. It's hard to build this with ladder. When transmitting information to the cloud on a periodic basis.
First, create a timer that turns on every second. I'm talking simplistically. Next, set the timer.
After that, it sends data to a specific location each time it is turned on. You have to write these things one by one. It already exists based on Python.
You can build on that existing library. Simply put, you just plug the cable into your router and you're done. In Europe, the value of software increases when it is used more openly.
they don't lock in at all. This is a common asset, and we should further refine it together. This is fantastic. In my previous video on SCHNEIDER, I said that it was not the time to do ladder culture. Then I was criticized, saying, "That's blasphemy against the person in charge of building the ladder." On the other hand, another said, "Thank you, TARO. I appreciate you expressing what we were thinking."
The reactions are polar opposites. SCHNEIDER isn't the only one to suggest "downloading control." PHOENIX CONTACT is proposing a similar concept. Those who are writing ladders may be fine now. In the future, outside of Japan, control systems may only be downloaded. Then the person writing the ladder will lose his job.
Some people say, "TARO, thank you for telling me that." "Thanks to you, I realized." "I'm an engineer. It's an engineer's job to learn what the optimal control is." In the first place, in-house system engineers study every week.
Writing ladders is not an engineer's job. If he doesn't realize it, the world of downloading control systems will come suddenly to him. But if you listen to people like me saying, "The dynamics of control systems are changing," you can prepare yourself. It's better to be prepared than to be suddenly exposed to change.
Do you want to suddenly lose your job? I want you to notice it as soon as possible. Quoting, programming, and setup are easy and fast. It doesn't just make it easier to build controls and monitors.
PHOENIX CONTACT's strategy is to play a role in the All Electric Society. This is a New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization document. Currently, Europe's green energy is around 20% to 22%. Then came the Ukraine crisis. Europe decided that it was not good for Europe to depend on Russia for gas.
Europe supported the promotion of green energy. It is raising the use of green energy. In fact, the number of wind power construction starts will explode in the future. The target for 2030 is 320 GW on land and 135 GW at sea.
The goals for introducing Sun power generation are as follows. Over 320 GW in 2025, double that in 2022. 600 GW by 2030. This means that the European Union will produce predominantly green energy. In other words, many control panels are required.
PHOENIX CONTACT is building a superb strategy to turn the European Union 's pinch into an opportunity. They see the future of green energy prosperity. The prosperity of green energy is the smart grid.
Next-generation power grids such as smart grids will be built more and more. At such times, optimal energy distribution is required. This is a large-scale storage battery system that has been proven in Germany. This is not a uniform power grid, but connections are constantly being built. For example, if you have Electric Vehicle or Sun panels in your home, you will need to generate electricity there. If new wind farms are built, they will use electricity generated at home when there is no wind.
For such occasions, it is necessary to charge such facilities. In other words, optimal energy management is required. As the number of connection destinations increases, it becomes necessary to rewrite the control system.
In that case, is it really sufficient to build a conventional control system solely on the OT side? Instead, it will need to constantly update its software to support its evolution. For that purpose, a control system that has no boundary with IT is required. The number of connection destinations will increase, and there will be situations where the existing control system cannot increase the number of connection destinations any more. But with PLCnext you can download the optimal control.
That's the All Electric Society. it's great. Until now, power systems have been one-size-fits-all. However, as the number of Electric Vehicle and Sun panels increases, storage batteries will become necessary. If you hesitate to use PLCnext for that control area, you can use another control device.
However, visualization alone is sufficient. Its security is guaranteed by PLCnext. If wind power generation increases, it will be necessary to control it. Furthermore, control is also necessary in situations where power is shared.
Once the Sun panels are installed, they need control again. A new electric world is coming. That's the All Electric Society. Instead of a uniform power system, systems will be built here and there.
In that case, wouldn't it make more sense to update the system rather than rebuild it each time? That is the question that PHOENIX CONTACT sends out to the world. They see this future. So they became one of the first companies in the world to comply with the IEC62443 standard. In the future, all devices that can be connected to networks used in factories will need to comply with IEC62443. Dear control manufacturers, this is very important. In Europe this is mandatory. This will soon be legislated, and it will be mandatory for control and equipment manufacturers to comply with it.
Control devices that do not comply with IEC62443 cannot be sold in Europe. There are ISO/IEC standards that are security standards. However, the control system design area is not mentioned. I have met MONOist NAGASAWA. He defines IEC62443 as: SL0: State in which nothing is done.
SL4: Resistant to attacks with very high resources and motivation. For example, it can withstand attacks that target national institutional infrastructure. It complies with such standards. The fact that PHOENIX CONTACT was the first to conform to this IEC standard means that they could see the future.
They embodied creation. They wanted to build a new PLC. But security is an absolute necessity, so they implemented it. It was around the same time that Siemens also complied with the IEC standard. I checked the DCS certification on their homepage.
However, unless you ask them directly, there are some points that are unclear. Not sure about IEC62443-4-2 certification for PLC. PHOENIX CONTACT is aiming for an electric society with a keen eye. Is there such a company in Japan? PHOENIX CONTACT is already aiming there before the country gives the order. The Japanese may not be able to tolerate this situation.
Sadly, I was also heavily criticized. This PLC can be upgraded at any time. It has already transcended the PLC.
So PLCnext. There is no doubt that the industrial control field has evolved to a different dimension than it did a decade ago. Don't you think so? Do you still write ladders? PLCs will never go away. But let's stop the ladder culture. It's okay to write a ladder, but let's prepare for the times to come. Engineers should be ready to engineer them.
I don't understand people who don't think like that. They say things like "That's blasphemy!" no. I publish new solutions that can only be felt in Europe. In response, some people say, "Respect PLC engineers, take care of them."
"what!?". wake up You download the application from Apple's APP Store. Such a world has also appeared in the “to B” area. Now that smartphone have appeared, who will use the "i-mode" of old mobile phone? A world where OT can be built with IT has already appeared. It's not just PHOENIX CONTACT. everyone does it. In Japan, it may be good to leave it as it is.
However, when Japanese line builders and Japanese systems are marketed overseas, what do overseas managers think? would they accept it? They read the trends of the future to come and used their strengths. They made sure every control panel had their own controls and terminal blocks. In addition, they transform their control and boom their business.
Control panels are their specialty. Taking advantage of their existing lead, they want to redraw the world of industrial control. PHOENIX CONTACT thinks so.
Their factories may be equal to or less than those in Japan. Their factory capacity is not very high. But they win by reading future solutions and executing them into modules. This is European manufacturing. What did you think.
Japanese factory VS Germany factory. PHOENIX CONTACT revolves around both factory strength and business strength. that's all.
What do you guys think? I will continue to report on the hanover Messe. The world's largest exhibition is not of this scale. I still have a lot to say.
Please look forward to it in the future. In this way, I always send out dynamics related to the manufacturing industry. Machine tools, controls, FA, semiconductor, automobiles. Those engaged in the manufacturing industry. Those who are interested in the manufacturing industry. And those who are interested in Manufacturing man.
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2023-06-06