Market Trends of IO-Link System Industry
Machine Tools Application Segment to Acquire a Major Share
- Automation is currently the most important factor in increasing productivity for the machine-tool sector. Parts are becoming increasingly more complex, and the market time is shorter. Thus, there is a need to produce the parts faster. Automation helps to increase efficiency in every process step.
- Moreover, with the advent of Industry 4.0, comprehensive and intelligent automation has come to be defined by advanced controls, monitoring, and diagnostics. Such capabilities can only be realized by leveraging industrial connectivity - through which controls and machine devices are unified on some platform (such as IO-Link) for continual data exchange.
- A machine tool has multiple sensors for detecting pressures, levels, and temperature. The sensors used currently are set manually using keys and a 7-segment display. Initial parameter setting and resetting when a unit needs to be replaced can be time-consuming and costly. Thus, there is a need for solutions to automatically identify sensors and set parameters in an automated manner.
- IO-Link capable sensors can be identified through their Vendor and Device ID. The program recognizes the connected sensor, checks for correctness, and sets the sensor parameters using the associated parameter record. With this solution, sensors from different manufacturers can also be used.
- Further, machine monitoring can be realized with IO-Link devices set up to report status that can, in turn, inform the system of necessary adjustments and corrections. Also, IO-Link devices can make actionable status communications to support enhanced maintenance routines for minimized downtime.
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Asia-Pacific to Grow at a Significant Rate
- China has the largest manufacturing industry in the world. The country's industrial output grew 3.6% in 2022 from the previous year, as per the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), despite production and logistics disruptions from COVID-19 curbs. The manufacturing sector's output was estimated to have risen by 3.1% in 2022, accounting for 28% of China's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the MIIT.
- Moreover, Industry 4.0, Made in China 2025, and Internet Plus have emerged as the key economic triggers of China's long-term economic strategy. IO-Link is expected to be an important enabler for innovative sensor solutions and support the availability of data and information required by Industry 4.0.
- In March 2023, China-based Hefei Onsoon Intelligent Electronics Co., Ltd. was accredited as a new IO-Link Test Lab. Thus, Onsoon has emerged as the first Test Center in Asia and expanded the number of global test labs to three. Such initiatives in the region also provide a significant growth momentum to the market.
- Further, India is a major manufacturer of machine tools, ranked 17th in production and 12th in the consumption of machine tools globally, according to IBEF. The country is also set to establish a firm foothold in the global machine tools industry and is expected to see substantial high-end machine tool manufacturing.
- Also, with the current trend of 'Make in India' providing the much-needed push to the manufacturing sector, the country is on its way to becoming a major manufacturing giant. Such trends are indicative of the growth potential of the market in the country.
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