Future Production - Linking Modular Production, Additive Manufacturing and Industry 4.0

The F³-Project – a project sponsored by the EC and major chemical companies – has successfully demonstrated a new manufacturing approach: modular processes - fast, flexible, future!  

Although the modularapproach is a useful tool to manage unpredictable and fluctuating product demand, the capital investment disadvantage of modular facilities remains the main obstacle to achieve a breakthrough of the modular technology against “large scale of economy”- processes.

Are there technological trends visible to overcome this challenge? The answer is self-organizing plants and additive manufacturing supported by digital, virtual plant models. These technology trends have the potential to change the capital disadvantage and further enhance the flexibility advantage of modularity:

Self-organizing Plants will significantly reduce the effort necessary to set-up a network of modular units of a chemical plant. This will cut the cost of modifying process/plant structures to respond to changing product demand. Time-consuming wiring and programming will disappear and manufacturing flexibility will reach the next level.Digital plant models accompany a new process from development, through engineering / construction towards manufacturing. The digital plant model is not only used to design a process or plant, but also to manufacture equipment, construct plants and operate manufacturing plants.

Additive Manufacturing using a digital plant model (or at least equipment model) is likely to revolutionize certain areas of equipment manufacturing lowering the cost of prototypes, tailor-made equipment and units made in only small numbers. Equipment sourced from a network of additive manufacturers will challenge the “scale of economy”- approach of traditional suppliers.