Key points
Just when the realisation hits that technology couldn’t get any better, it does get better. And the shifting paradigms from the Third Industrial Revolution to the Fourth Industrial Revolution stand as a testament to the fact.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has come a long way in the process industry and is moving just as fast, taking over drudgery and inefficiency, like any other trend with profound impact.
As manufacturers begin realising the potential of automation to future-proof their businesses, the sudden switch from manual to digital process does leave them overwhelmed.
However, a granular approach taken to inch towards digitalisation with a component-by-component and block-by-block movement strategy can catapult the leap of manufacturers on the bandwagon, right at the time when there’s still room left for consolidation.
Critically, to succeed at Industry 4.0, and to do so at scale, manufacturers need to zoom in their focus to a minuscule level, which, as a lot of process engineers would agree, are pumps and valves.
As simple as their functions may sound, these components are viable to embrace automation, and any irregularity or deformity in their structures can severely impact the efficiency, safety, and profitability of a process.
That being said, pumps and valves can directly be linked to the operational performance of a manufacturing process. It, therefore, becomes crucial for process engineers and manufacturers to offer a fresh eye to these components and their evolving nature to complement the automation trend.
Controlling the controllers – The valve technology
The valve technology tends to develop at an evolutionary pace rather than a revolutionary one, on account of fewer variables (i.e. material and design) to experiment with for value addition.
For instance, plastic is deemed suitable for the production of valves on the scale of ideal material, since metals are associated with corrosion and cost-prohibitive nature. On similar lines, tweaking design of a gate valve can lead to the development of a butterfly valve, which offers effective opening and closing functionalities.
However, the issue with the traditionally-manufactured and extant valves is that they aren’t viable for long-term use, as industrial revolution doesn’t only imply automation of equipment, but of even a microscopic component used in the development.
Automation in the valve technology, though at infancy, holds enormous potential to tune the process industry to the frequency of industry 4.0. Though the proportion of automation required in the valve technology is directly linked to the appetite of end-use industry, a generic approach for the development of a valve can be to consider the leakage rate and safety implications.
What should be the ‘Valve Approach’ of manufacturers?
Since an ideal movement towards industry 4.0 narrows down to the optimum use of resources, the modern process industry requires valves that offer proven precision benefits, while simultaneously keeping a check on the labor and maintenance cost. This further increases the relevance of smart technology in the valve industry.
A smart valve can eliminate hysteresis and improve the response to sensitivity, which can improve efficiency and precision aspects in a manufacturing process. Besides this, a smart valve delivers various actuation options from analog to digital fieldbus interface.
What’s more is that it is factory set and, hence, installation is convenient with a ‘plug and use’ design and its scope of application extend beyond merely monitoring process variables to allowing the real-time transfer of information including control instructions.
With the real-time information transferred by a valve, process engineers can accurately pinpoint maintenance issues, which otherwise requires labor to maintain strict scrutiny on the process and yet have a high error probability.
By utilising the smart valve technology, manufacturers can essentially drift towards ‘wireless actuators’, which eliminates a vast network of wires, and offers complete control even from remote locations.
Leveraging another aspect of automation, which is simulation, process engineers can determine the MVPs of valves, and test these solutions using 3D simulation software to cut down the time and resources invested in the physical development of valves and their modifications.
Pumps – Moving beyond just being an assembly component
Unlike valves, pump technology has been heralding innovation at a relatively rapid pace. One of the crucial driver propelling this advancement is its multifaceted use in numerous industries.
As found by Fact.MR, the dual quest of automotive manufacturers for achieving fuel-efficiency and distinguishing their product offerings will drive innovation in automotive pumps, and their volume sales will record a CAGR of 5.3% during 2017-2026. On similar lines, heavy lifting done by pumps in power generation sector will drive their adoption at a CAGR of 3.7% during 2018-2028.
With the use of a pump being unavoidable to distribute media from the hub to industrial and residential areas, ensuring safety during transmission becomes crucial.
However, with the well-established network of traditional pumps in the scenario, the blip of leakage never really moves away from the radar of manufacturers, which encourages them to leverage the prowess of technology. And pumps meet sensor technologies to forego drudgery and waive of high labor costs.
That being said, smart pumps are developed to exceed their standard competencies to offer end-to-end monitoring and safe distribution through the use of computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis.
However, only recently, manufacturers of pumps have found their interest in pumps integrated with microprocessors to develop intelligence using special software. With manufacturers expending efforts towards the development of intelligent pumps that can operate with a competency to adjust to changes without manual intervention, low error probabilities can be achieved.
However, the already cost-prohibitive nature of pumps and additional software and sensors may make it sound extravagant for the process industry.
How to optimise the cost of pumps without driving away the focus from efficiency
The opportunity to cost-reduction in a pump lies in its design. The pump manufacturing cost varies with the volume capacity, and hence, to control overhead costs, the pump diameter is to be reduced to increase the head coefficient.
Besides the reduced cost through alteration in the design, process engineers can also achieve an efficient design with now-reduced diameter to develop a compact unit.
Critically, in cases where requirements are simple with minimal and specific functionalities, process engineers can seek a customised pump and save on features they can go without, in the process.
However, if pumps are the last components of a fully-operative unit, retrofitting can help minimise the downtime and optimise the performance of the system.
Since technologically-driven pumps can be harsh on pockets, process engineers should consider the cost saved by foregoing labor charges, and consider investing in the latest pump technology as a way to catch up with the pace of industrial revolution at an accelerated speed.
How does the future of the processing industry seem like from lenses of Industry 4.0?
Though predictive and assistive technologies can enrich features of pumps and valves, material and design will continue to remain prominent parameters to enhance their functionalities, including the tolerance level.
This fact not only puts enormous pressure on valves and pumps manufacturers to develop sustainable materials and efficient design, but the stress also extends to the technology companies to come up with components that complement the overall functionality of the equipment.
Going forward, the integration of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will become a new business norm and it will be difficult to point traditional and modern system out, with black and white clarity.
With every component, including pumps and valves, of a manufacturing unit speaking for itself, process engineers will have a lot of data to analyse, which will be gathered through cloud computing.
To remain competitive in the process landscape, data will play a pivotal role of an asset to help businesses be more liable towards catering to the evolving need of end users in the least possible time.
