It doesn't get more digital than this

The euphoria surrounding Industry 4.0 strategies is now being followed by an analytical approach and sustainable standards. This is due, among other things, to the inherently digital area of quality assurance. From being a wallflower, it has become a central cross-sectional function in manufacturing and assembly companies. This year's Control also shows that productivity and economic efficiency are essentially based on effective and consistent quality assurance. And this applies from the receipt of goods to the delivery of a product. Today, manufacturing processes are controlled less by economic key figures and more by QA data.

Industry 4.0: already a reality in quality assurance
In this sense, industrial quality assurance is a precursor of Industry 4.0, which has also been reflected for some time in the product and service portfolio of Control - International Trade Fair for Quality Assurance. At the 32nd edition of the world's leading trade fair, well over 900 exhibitors from more than 30 countries will gather at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre. The portfolio includes the proven mechanical and mechatronic measuring and testing equipment, supplemented by electronic CNC-controlled coordinate measuring systems or automated analysis equipment. Over the years, 3D measuring technology based on optics and optoelectronics has been added. Industrial image processing and vision systems have recently become a trend, as they can be easily integrated into I-4.0 processes. These are developing at a rapid pace, so that the corresponding components and assemblies as well as complete systems are taking up more space than ever in Stuttgart.

Control reflects current market
Only consistently networked processes and sequences can be reliably operated in a fully automated manner, i.e. controlled, monitored and adapted to the situation or demand. The prompt optimisation of production processes can only be as good as the knowledge- and technology-based evaluation, interpretation and reprogramming of processes and sequences. In this respect, the products, modules, subsystems and complete systems presented at Control as hardware and software solutions for industrial quality assurance are clearly among the pioneers. The digitalisation of all process functions in production and assembly, and in particular of the accompanying intralogistics processes, must be seen as an essential prerequisite for the realisation of the factory of the future.

Decentralized and multilingual
For companies with complex organizational structures and widely ramified national and international locations, the software manufacturer ConSense offers an integrated management system solution with Enterprise. The software, whose interface is currently available in 15 languages, enables the mapping of any number of standards and regulations, which greatly simplifies the harmonization and centralization of systems. The innovative multi-language concept allows country-specific standards to be taken into account, e.g. through the use of content variants. The user-friendly and easy-to-maintain management system now makes decentralized and international use even more convenient, promises the manufacturer.

More user friendliness
For its part, IMS Integrierte Managementsysteme AG has consistently invested in expanding functionality and user-friendliness for the latest version of IMS Premium. Workflows can now be designed even more specifically and used for highly regulated industries. The ability to control complex information releases meets all current standards, regardless of the industry. The new standards and legislation management is also geared towards the highest requirements. It makes linking company processes with standard-relevant information child's play and ensures a clear presentation thanks to numerous design options.

"Handy" quality measurement
In addition to industrial production, portable devices continue to be used for quality assurance. One such device is the sph xs1 spectrophotometer from ColorLite. It is light, small and handy and can optionally be equipped with a QR or barcode scanner and the 60° gloss measurement according to DIN 67530. The device is suitable for measurements in production or in the field. For online production control, ColorLite offers the sph9i with different measuring heads and geometries for various industrial products.