The watch segment spooked by Industry 4.0

A system in which new technologies - big data, machine learning, cobot, predictive analytics - chip away at the boundaries between physical and digital GF Machining Solutions, a leading provider of machines including for precision-component manufacturers, was one of the finalists for the Exhibitors Grand Prize with its wire-EDM cutting machine "Our solution measures the intensity of the spark even before it's produced and adapts the machine's behaviour in real time" Data is processed to the micro-second so the process can be constantly monitored.

Crevoisier, another of the machine manufacturers showing at the fair, was kept busy throughout the four days of the show demonstrating its new 4.0 polishing cell The machine is an example of one of the very latest technologies in industry: the collaborative robot or cobot Collaborative robots were also the main attraction on the neighbouring stand, at Stäubli, where the focus was not on machine learning but production modularity.

Voumard acknowledges that "Connecting the machines does give access to a lot of information, such as how long workstations were in use or the number of components produced Hence why clients insist that we install these dashboards in their facilities If it's to move ahead, the watch industry has to find a way round this" A change in mentality could well be the place to start. More