Smart manufacturing as the engine to drive the transformation of the steel industry
The steel industry is a process-oriented manufacturing industry with a high degree of automation and a good information base. Smart manufacturing is an important engine to promote quality change, efficiency change and power change in the steel industry and achieve high-quality development. In December 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments have released the “National Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System Construction Guide (2021 Edition)”. “The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Intelligent Manufacturing”, “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Raw Materials Industry” and many other important policy documents to promote the “intelligent + traditional manufacturing” integration and innovation The development of the “intelligent + traditional manufacturing industry” integration and innovation has pointed out the direction.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and three other ministries and commissions jointly issued the “Guidance on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Iron and Steel Industry” (hereinafter referred to as “Guidance”). As an important policy document guiding the development direction of the iron and steel industry in the 14th Five-Year Plan, the “Guiding Opinions” put forward specific requirements for intelligent manufacturing to promote the high-quality development of the iron and steel industry, such as demonstration and promotion, data sharing, demand guidance, and standard leadership, which are coordinated with the previously issued important policy documents on intelligent manufacturing and raw materials, and further It is clear that smart manufacturing as a powerful engine of innovation and development, to drive the steel industry to improve product quality, improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, reduce the pressure on safety and environmental protection, and release the vitality of human resources important mission.
First, the “Guiding Opinions” put forward the quantitative goals and main tasks of intelligent manufacturing
The “Guiding Opinions” put forward the steel industry “fourteen five” intelligent manufacturing innovation and development of quantitative goals, that is, by 2025, the steel industry, the key processes of CNC rate of about 80%, the production equipment digital rate of 55%, to create more than 30 smart factory. The main tasks include.
(a) demonstration and promotion. In the field of iron ore mining, steel production breakthroughs in a number of key common technologies of intelligent manufacturing, the selection of a number of promotional application scenarios, to foster a number of high-level specialized system solution providers, to create a number of smart manufacturing demonstration plants.
(B) data sharing. Build a large data center for the steel industry, improve data resource management and service capabilities. Relying on leading enterprises to promote multi-base collaborative manufacturing and realize the optimization of the whole industrial chain under the framework of industrial Internet.
(C) Demand guidance. Encourage enterprises to vigorously promote intelligent logistics, in-depth promotion of user-centered service-oriented manufacturing, scale customization, remote operation and maintenance services, networked collaborative manufacturing, e-commerce and other new business models to enhance the added value of products and services.
(D) standards to lead. Build a standard system for intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry, and actively carry out research on basic common, key technologies and industry application standards.
Second, the development of intelligent manufacturing of steel and key issues
During the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period, the steel industry has taken smart manufacturing as the main direction of “deep integration”, a number of key common technologies of smart manufacturing in steel production scenarios have achieved significant results, a number of smart manufacturing, industrial Internet projects selected by the Ministry of Industry pilot demonstration and new model special, the industry standardization of smart manufacturing work in full swing, supply and demand on both sides of the key technologies of smart manufacturing awareness and application level has been significantly enhanced.
(I) Development Status
During the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, steel enterprises have focused on the research of intelligent equipment, big data, artificial intelligence, digital twin, mobile IOT, industrial network security and other technologies, and actively explored the application of new intelligent manufacturing technologies in design and development, energy control, quality control, production operation and other scenarios. The steel production enterprises have further improved the construction of five levels of information system: basic automation, process control, manufacturing execution, enterprise management and decision support; improved the digitalization and intelligence of all processes of the whole enterprise; promoted the development and implementation of industrial Internet and industrial big data platform; and promoted the adoption of robot technology for jobs with harsh environment, high safety risk and high repetitiveness of operation.
Baowu, Shagang, Nangang and other enterprises have established “black light factory” and intelligent workshop, which have realized 24-hour unmanned and less personalized operation, and the resumption of production and production efficiency during the new crown epidemic is significantly higher than other enterprises. Baosteel has formulated the implementation path of intelligent manufacturing with the goal of “four all”, i.e., on-site control is always centralized, operation positions are always robotized, operation and maintenance monitoring is always remote, service links are always online, and the overall structure has formed three levels of intelligent factory, intelligent operation and cooperative ecology. In January 2020, its Baoshan factory was selected as one of the global “Lighthouse Factories” released by the World Economic Forum.
(II) Important Achievements
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the number of patent applications related to smart manufacturing in China’s iron and steel sector reached 1,516; the project achievements won 5 first-class and 6 second-class awards of the Metallurgical Science and Technology Award; 9 projects, including metallurgical digital mine of Anshan Iron and Steel Mining and the smart workshop of steel hot rolling of Baosteel Corporation, were rated as smart manufacturing pilot demonstration projects by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; 10 projects, including the “Industrial Internet Platform for Iron and Steel Industry” of Baoxin Software and the “5G+Industrial Internet” pilot demonstration project of Zhongtian Iron and Steel, were rated as industrial Internet pilot demonstration projects by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
With the deepening application of key technologies of intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, the standardization of intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry was launched in 2020, and the Working Group of Metallurgical Intelligent Manufacturing Standardization of the National Steel Standardization Technical Committee was formally established to form a more complete “Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System in the Steel Industry” construction program, and in accordance with the principle of “common first, urgent first”, the declaration and development of the national line group standard was launched.
(C) Key Issues
Iron and steel production has a complex process system, production process uncertainties, manufacturing process intermediate products and end products of diverse nature and technical characteristics of the industry, and due to the low concentration of industry, different stages of development of enterprises, production indicators and management levels vary, there are great differences in information technology, intelligent investment cost pressure, resulting in the uneven level of integration between the two enterprises, to promote the intelligent upgrading of the whole industry needs to develop a differentiated development path.
Due to the lack of intelligent manufacturing model factories and industry standard system of intelligent manufacturing to lead, resulting in the lack of a clear path in the development of intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry, many enterprises for the understanding of intelligent manufacturing is still on the surface, there is no clear development plan and goals, the quality of the project is uneven.
Third, “demonstration and promotion, standard leading” will become a double drive for the development of intelligent manufacturing of steel
Steel production enterprises through the implementation of intelligent manufacturing projects, can improve product quality, improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, reduce the pressure on safety and environmental protection, release the vitality of human resources, and thus enhance the overall market competitiveness of steel enterprises. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the steel industry should follow the recommendations of the “Guiding Opinions”, give full play to the role of the engine of intelligent manufacturing, and actively participate in the “smart factory demonstration and promotion” and “intelligent manufacturing standards development and revision “two key work.
(A) Demonstration and promotion
The steel industry should give full play to the role of smart factory benchmarking demonstration leading. Smart factory is the carrier of intelligent manufacturing, the steel industry should actively promote the application of 5G, industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, commercial codes, digital twin and other key technologies, improve the level of security protection of industrial control systems, and achieve data sharing upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Through the evaluation of the selection of a number of intelligent transformation of outstanding results, high level of intelligence, with the value of replication and promotion of benchmark factories, to enhance the level of intelligent manufacturing industry-wide summary refining benchmarking experience model. It is recommended that industry enterprises actively participate in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organization of intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration, industrial Internet pilot demonstration, intelligent manufacturing benchmarking enterprises and other projects to declare, and actively participate in the industry, regional industrial Internet platform construction action, to play the benchmarking effect of leading enterprises.
(II) Standard Leading
Standards are an important means to participate in international governance and promote national governance. Up to now, there are 7 group standards released, 2 line standards and 67 group standards under research in the field of intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry. It is recommended that both sides of the supply and demand cooperate with the working group on standardization of metallurgical smart manufacturing of the National Steel Standardization Technical Committee, transform project experience and excellent cases into smart manufacturing standards in the steel industry, focus on the application of key technology scenarios, smart factory construction and intelligent management of production, put forward the project application of the national line group standards, actively participate in the research of 69 smart manufacturing standards, and build smart manufacturing standards in the steel industry together. We will contribute to the promotion of the overall level of intelligent manufacturing in the industry.