Bosch Rexroth expects a further boost in automation for the manufacturing industry and other segments in 2021. According to the automation specialist, the trends are also being driven by the coronavirus pandemic. Manufacturing companies in particular are being forced to further digitalize processes in order to keep production processes efficient and maintain delivery capability during the crisis. However, the demand for open, easy-to-use and flexible automation solutions will also increase regardless of this.

Software on the rise

"Customers only want to use and pay for what they really need and always have the freedom to expand as required," explains Steffen Winkler, Sales Director of the Automation & Electrification Solutions business unit at Bosch Rexroth.

© Bosch Rexroth

"Automation is a growth market. Fast, flexible solutions are in demand - as the coronavirus pandemic has once again demonstrated. Rigid, complex, proprietary systems are becoming obsolete," explains Philipp Guth, Head of the Automation & Electrification Solutions business unit at Bosch Rexroth. "Another driver for this development is the fact that mechanical engineering and other industries are increasingly defining themselves through software development and increasingly want to incorporate their own expertise into the control system and software. This requires adequate solutions."

As a result, common software development tools and programming languages are increasingly finding their way into automation. It is also to be expected that engineering processes will be completely digital in the future.

Platform economy for automation

Bosch Rexroth draws these insights from customer requirements. In 2021, the demand for simplicity, openness and flexibility of an automation system that works like an ecosystem is particularly high. The company offers this with the automation platform ctrlX Automation, which removes the limitations of previous solutions. With the platform, the company relies on an open, flexible architecture based on the powerful and communication-capable industrial control unit ctrlX Core. Bosch Rexroth relies on the Linux real-time operating system, open standards throughout, app technology, web-based engineering and comprehensive IoT connections.

"Automation is a growth market. Fast, flexible solutions are in demand - as the coronavirus pandemic has once again demonstrated," explains Philipp Guth, Head of the Automation & Electrification Solutions business unit at Bosch Rexroth

© Bosch Rexroth

"Today, automation systems should be geared towards the needs of the user, not the other way around. Customers only want to use and pay for what they really need and always have the freedom to expand as required. The trend is therefore towards microservice or app-based system architectures instead of large software monoliths. This allows users to put together their own solution according to their requirements and thus achieve high added value," explains Steffen Winkler, Sales Director of the Automation & Electrification Solutions business unit at Bosch Rexroth.

Open ecosystems and needs-based solutions required

The overriding goal of the user is therefore to obtain a solution that meets their needs as well and as tailor-made as possible. "The domain expertise required in automation today is so broad that one company alone cannot cover it. This is why the willingness to cooperate is increasing in all directions. Suppliers, partners and customers are working together to develop the best solution. Everyone concentrates on their strengths and contributes partial solutions that interlock perfectly via standardized interfaces," says Guth.

The company has therefore created a partner world around ctrlX Automation. The principle: users can use apps from Bosch Rexroth, third-party applications or apps they have created themselves. Users of the automation platform can access a broad portfolio of applications and download them via the App Store. Third-party providers can make their own apps available in ctrlX World.

For example, apps for digitalization trends in mechanical engineering can be downloaded: Apps for the implementation of AI, digital twin or simulation solutions for process optimization in production and much more. "The use of technologies such as digital twins and simulations for development and commissioning as well as for optimization and increasing efficiency will continue to increase. Our customers can find apps for all these requirements on our platform as well as the corresponding hardware and software," explains Winkler.