Deutsche Telekom Helps Arburg Make Plastics Production Machines Smarter with 5G

At its headquarters in Lossburg, Arburg has commissioned a 5G Campus Network from Deutsche Telekom. Calling is as an 'Investment in the machine room of the future',  Arburg presented the potential of the 5G mobile communications standard for networked production in plastics processing at its Customer Center as part of the Technology Days 2022 initiative.

In its blog post, Deutsche Telekom describes it as (translated from German by Google Translate):

The traditional family company, which is heading into the future with Telekom, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2023. The view goes a little into the past, but above all far ahead. Arburg - the name comes from the combination of company founder Arthur Hehl and the Lossburg location in the northern Black Forest - is one of the world's leading machine manufacturers for plastics processing. With injection molding machines, additive manufacturing, robot systems, process technology and, more recently, 3D printing, Arburg ensures that its customers from automotive engineering to electrical engineering and the medical sector successfully produce plastic parts. Around 3,600 employees work at locations in 25 countries. Production takes place exclusively at the headquarters in Lossburg. The traditional family company, which is heading into the future with Telekom, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2023. The view goes a little into the past, but above all far ahead. Arburg - the name comes from the combination of company founder Arthur Hehl and the Lossburg location in the northern Black Forest - is one of the world's leading machine manufacturers for plastics processing. With injection molding machines, additive manufacturing, robot systems, process technology and, more recently, 3D printing, Arburg ensures that its customers from automotive engineering to electrical engineering and the medical sector successfully produce plastic parts. Around 3,600 employees work at locations in 25 countries. Production takes place exclusively at the headquarters in Lossburg.

Arburg and Telekom have set up the 5G machine room of the future at their headquarters in Lossburg - as a test field for smart production in the plastics industry. The mint green machines are intelligently networked with each other with the help of 5G. When these machines communicate and coordinate their work, production becomes even more efficient. And it can be controlled and monitored digitally. Among other things, the focus is on the Arburg Allrounder injection molding machine and the so-called Freeformer – a type of large 3D printer. Arburg and Telekom have set up the 5G machine room of the future at their headquarters in Lossburg - as a test field for smart production in the plastics industry. The mint green machines are intelligently networked with each other with the help of 5G. When these machines communicate and coordinate their work, production becomes even more efficient. And it can be controlled and monitored digitally. Among other things, the focus is on the Arburg Allrounder injection molding machine and the so-called Freeformer – a type of large 3D printer.

To ensure that the machines can be networked with full 5G performance, Telekom equipped the Arburg customer center with eight so-called "in-house" antennas as a first step. These supply the 2,100 square meter area with the latest mobile communications standard. IT expert Stephan Reich reveals how internal access to the network works: “It works very simply. You take a SIM card, insert it into Arburg’s IIoT gateway like you would with a mobile phone, and you are immediately connected without even having to talk to a colleague from the IT infrastructure or have to lay a cable.” The abbreviation IIoT stands for "Industrial Internet of Things" - i.e. for the " Internet of Things" known from the Smart Home area, among other things. To ensure that the machines can be networked with full 5G performance, Telekom equipped the Arburg customer center with eight so-called "in-house" antennas as a first step. These supply the 2,100 square meter area with the latest mobile communications standard. IT expert Stephan Reich reveals how internal access to the network works: “It works very simply. You take a SIM card, insert it into Arburg’s IIoT gateway like you would with a mobile phone, and you are immediately connected without even having to talk to a colleague from the IT infrastructure or have to lay a cable.” The abbreviation IIoT stands for "Industrial Internet of Things" - i.e. for the " Internet of Things" known from the Smart Home area, among other things', but in the much larger industrial version. And the gateway is a small box - of course in the Arburg company color of mint green - with a small antenna that provides access to the 5G network. ', but in the much larger industrial version. And the gateway is a small box - of course in the Arburg company color of mint green - with a small antenna that provides access to the 5G network. 

Because industry, but also business customers such as the Hannover Exhibition Center or the Port of Duisburg, have the highest demands on the speed, flexibility and security of their data networks, Telekom is building so-called campus networks at such locations. These are local 5G mobile networks that are exclusively tailored to the needs of such users and their digital applications. As a rule, only certain user groups and devices have access to such a network. Due to the mobile 5G connectivity and because it is mainly the company's data that is on the move, such campus networks are very fast, flexibly adaptable and secure. It is possible to prioritize which data has priority for certain machines, for example - in its own "fast lane" in the 5G network. And if desired there is no connection to the public mobile network. This ensures maximum data security. Because industry, but also business customers such as the Hannover Exhibition Center or the Port of Duisburg, have the highest demands on the speed, flexibility and security of their data networks, Telekom is building so-called campus networks at such locations. These are local 5G mobile networks that are exclusively tailored to the needs of such users and their digital applications. As a rule, only certain user groups and devices have access to such a network. Due to the mobile 5G connectivity and because it is mainly the company's data that is on the move, such campus networks are very fast, flexibly adaptable and secure. It is possible to prioritize which data has priority for certain machines, for example - in its own "fast lane" in the 5G network. And if desired there is no connection to the public mobile network. This ensures maximum data security. 

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