Roadmap › Industry 4.0 & IIoT — Smart Manufacturing Software › Module: Foundations
Lessons in this course (10)
1. Industry 4.0 concepts and the smart factory
Basic★ Must knowLesson 1 of 10
Key terms:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cyber-physical system (CPS) | Physical machine + software that monitors and controls it via data |
| IIoT | Internet of Things applied to industrial equipment |
| IT/OT convergence | Connecting business IT systems with plant operational technology |
| Vertical integration | Data flows up and down the levels: sensor → PLC → SCADA → MES → ERP |
| Horizontal integration | Data flows along the value chain: suppliers → plants → logistics → customers |
| Edge computing | Processing data near the machines (low latency, works offline, reduces bandwidth) |
| Digital thread | Connected data across the product lifecycle — design, production, service |
| Lights-out manufacturing | Highly automated production that runs with minimal human presence |
Smart factory example: a CNC line streams spindle load, temperature and state to an edge gateway; MES knows which order and part is running; OEE dashboards show losses in real time; a vibration model predicts bearing failure two weeks ahead and creates a maintenance work order; every part's serial number is linked to its machine parameters for traceability.