Industry 4.0 is changing the work processes in industry through big-data applications, intelligent procedures, and machine-to-machine communication. Networking, data analysis, and automation ensure new flexibility in production. In order to utilize potential with regard to cycle time, energy efficiency, and many other fields, Felss decisively advances the linking of forming technology with Industry 4.0. At Felss we call that e4.0.
Solutions for Industry 4.0
Resource Efficiency for the Automotive Industry

The smart services from Felss
The Smart Services of Felss are one of our answers to the questions revolving around Industry 4.0. The Smart Services demonstrate how efficient production processes can be realized with less material, lower energy consumption, and shortened production times. Felss in this way makes a contribution to the megatrend of resource efficiency that is presently of particular importance for the automotive industry. The Smart Services offer a holistic approach, from which users profit in several ways. The Smart Services offer the efficient design, optimization, and control of complex forming processes: The Smart Design and Smart Setup services, for example, will increase process security when designing and implementing forming process chains. The Smart Correction products from Felss also guarantee the greatest process security when forming. The goal is the optimal support and process accompaniment through Smart Services.
Find out about the first thematic areas, developments, and products, our Smart Services, and find out how we intend to design the future more efficiently.

Smart Design
Goal: Time Savings for Component Development and Project Planning The “Smart Design” project planning assistant should in future use real time data analysis to provide detailed suggestions for stage plans, machine configuration, tools, and characteristic process parameters. The starting point for this is an electronic component drawing with individual customer specifications that are compared with a large big-data library.

Smart Tool Management
Goal: Cost and Planning Security in Tool Management The “Smart Tool Management” should later provide the foundation for your integrated tool warehouse and an intelligent tool management system. Smart tool management will thus in future improve planning and cost security – through improved cost analysis and reduced machine down times.

Smart Correction
Goal: Quality Assurance of Process and Product “Smart Correction” stands for intelligent, self-learning products for process correction. The development goal is to guarantee a high level of component quality in the series process through constant checks in the process and automatic corrections of the data. Especially with complex transfer systems, valuable resources can be saved here and the expertise required for operations reduced.

Smart Maintenance
Goal: Time and Cost Reduction through Error Prevention The “Smart Maintenance” assistants will in future make it possible to provide you with rapid support for regular maintenance and acute problems. A maintenance and upkeep assistant can, for example, make interactive documentation and projections for maintenance work available as needed. In this way, you optimize qualification work and personnel deployment planning.

Smart Traceability
Goal: Risk and Cost Reduction through Documentation “Smart Traceability” will greatly simplify the tracing and checking of components in future. The corresponding applications for tracing components run on smartphones or tablet PCs and provide the user with a high degree of flexibility and great freedom in usage.

Smart Setup
Goal: Reducing Setup Time for New Component Series The “Smart Setup” assistant should allow the quick and simplified commissioning of machines for the production of new components and support users in the setting up of machines. The time to market can in future be reduced significantly thanks to rapid product validation on the machine.

Smart Production Management
Goal: Time and Cost Reduction through Wear Reduction With intelligent data analysis, “Smart Production Management” should operate as your assistant to design production planning to be faster, more cost-effective, and more balanced. The basis for this will in future be provided by intelligent data analysis from comparison productions, as well as a route-based search for areas of focus for optimization, such as costs or time.

Smart Machine Management
Goal: Process Security and Quality in Machine Management With the development of “Smart Machine Management,” users should in future be able, among other things, to check the current status of a machine anywhere and at any time. The Condition Monitoring provides more process security, reduces costs, and increases quality through permanent central control.

Smart Customer Setup
Goal: Time and Cost Reductions, and Improvement in Quality The retooling assistant “Smart Customer Setup” will in future stand for complete and error-free retooling. In the process, an assistant system accompanies and assists the machine operator during the entire retooling process. The Customer Setup offers you stable retooling quality with simultaneously more flexible personnel deployment planning, as no special knowledge is required for the retooling.

Smart Optimize
Goal: Optimization of Processes Such as Cycle and Idle Times As an assistant for process optimization, “Smart Optimize” should in future assist users in reacting more flexibly to deviating customer requirements and operation capacities. To do so, various functionalities of the “Smart Services” were later linked with one another, making it possible to access a database tuned to individual customers.
Felss Edge Device
The Felss Edge Device is your way to our Industry 4.0 solutions. The retrofittable hardware is at the same time more than simply a gateway: It is the foundation for the smart digital networking of your machines and the basis for the connection of production systems with process-relevant thematic areas of the Smart Services from Felss.


Functionality
With the Edge Device, all important machine, production, process, and component data is recorded and saved at a high level of importance. The processing power enables real-time analyses, data filtering, and knowledge generation directly at the data source. The data volume for transfer to IoT platforms is thus considerably reduced. At the same time, a great variety of assistant systems and supporting functions in production, process monitoring, and maintenance are available.
Integration into Machines
The Edge Device from Felss can be directly integrated into our machines, meaning both in new machines or retrofitted into used machines. The Edge Device is installed and connected in the control cabinet of the machine. Additional sensors within the machine enable communication, as well as the exact recording and analysis of data. We exclusively use hardware and software solutions of our technology partners for connectivity. They fulfill the highest safety standards in the processing and transfer of data.

Your Added Value with the Felss Edge Device

Resource Efficient
Efficient early detection of deviating production indicators through automatic and intelligent machine and component data.

Faster
Time savings through real time analyses, data filtering, and knowledge generation on the machine.

More Precise
Targeted recording ands analysis of machine, production, process, and component data.

Resource Efficient
Efficient early detection of deviating production indicators through automatic and intelligent machine and component data.

Faster
Time savings through real time analyses, data filtering, and knowledge generation on the machine.

More Precise
Targeted recording ands analysis of machine, production, process, and component data.
Confidence in Innovation: Prizes and Awards
We are proud to have already been honored many times by research, politics, and the economy for our achievements in innovation leadership and for our entrepreneurial successes.




The Felss Company Group
Find Out More about the History and Locations of Felss.