Industry 4.0 Advances: Extrusion Systems Join the Digital Revolution

Industry 4.0 has traditionally concentrated on injection molding, but the latest releases show that extrusion is now ready to embrace digital standards.

The first fully approved interface, Euromap 77, uses the OPC‑UA protocol to connect injection machines directly with MES computers. Following that, Euromap released trial versions of three parts of Euromap 82, covering mold‑temperature controllers, hot runners and LSR dosing systems.

This week, seven Release Candidates for extrusion were published, outlining both the entire extrusion line and its key components. These documents define how data should flow between each part of an extrusion line and the MES system.

• Euromap 84.1: General Type Definitions
• Euromap 84.2: Extrusion Lines
• Euromap 84.3: Extruders
• Euromap 84.4: Hauloffs
• Euromap 84.5: Melt Pumps
• Euromap 84.6: Melt Filters
• Euromap 84.7: Dies

These parts will undergo rigorous testing before they become final releases. Additional sub‑parts for other extrusion components are already in development.

The introductory section of Euromap 84.1 highlights that “different architectures are possible for the information flow between the components of an extrusion line and towards an MES.” Three common scenarios are illustrated:

A. Each component runs its own OPC server and connects directly to the MES.

B. A central line controller gathers data from all components and forwards it to the MES. Communication between the controller and the components can use OPC‑UA, fieldbus, or Euromap 27.

C. The line controller is integrated within the extruder itself.