Intelligent manufacturing as the engine to drive the iron and steel industry three major changes

The iron and steel industry is a process manufacturing industry with a high degree of automation and a good information foundation, and intelligent manufacturing is an important engine to promote the quality change, efficiency change and power change of the iron and steel industry and achieve high-quality development. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the key technologies of intelligent manufacturing have been continuously deepened in the steel industry, effectively improving the steel production efficiency, product quality and enterprise management level. In December 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments have issued a number of important policy documents such as the Guide to the Construction of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System (2021 version), the "14th Five-Year Plan" intelligent manufacturing Development Plan, the "14th Five-Year Plan" Raw material Industry Development Plan, pointing out the direction for promoting the integration and innovation of "intelligent + traditional manufacturing industry".

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other three ministries jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the high-quality development of the steel Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions"). As an important policy document guiding the development direction of the steel industry "14th Five-Year Plan", the "Guiding Opinions" put forward specific requirements for intelligent manufacturing to promote the high-quality development of the steel industry, such as demonstration and promotion, data sharing, demand guidance, and standard guidance, which are coordinated with the previous important policy documents related to intelligent manufacturing and raw materials. It further clarified that intelligent manufacturing, as a powerful engine for innovation and development, bears the important mission of driving the steel industry to improve product quality, improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, reduce safety and environmental protection pressure, and release the vitality of human resources.

First, the "Guiding Opinions" put forward the quantitative objectives and main tasks of intelligent manufacturing

The "Guiding Opinions" put forward the quantitative goal of the "14th Five-Year Plan" intelligent manufacturing innovation and development of the steel industry, that is, by 2025, the numerical control rate of the key processes in the steel industry will reach about 80%, the digitalization rate of production equipment will reach 55%, and more than 30 smart factories will be built. The main tasks include:

(1) Demonstration and popularization. In the iron ore (949, -17.00, -1.76%) mining, iron and steel production field breakthrough a number of intelligent manufacturing key common technologies, select a number of promotion application scenarios, cultivate a number of high-level professional system solution suppliers, build a number of intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories.

(2) Data sharing. Build a big data center for the steel industry to improve data resource management and service capabilities. Rely on leading enterprises to promote multi-base collaborative manufacturing, and realize the optimization of the whole industrial chain under the framework of the industrial Internet.

(3) Demand guidance. Enterprises are encouraged to vigorously promote smart logistics, further promote user-centered service-oriented manufacturing, and carry out large-scale customization, remote operation and maintenance services, networked collaborative manufacturing, e-commerce and other new business forms to raise the added value of products and services.

(4) Standard guidance. Build a standard system for intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry, and actively carry out research on basic commonalities, key technologies and industry application standards.

Second, the development status and key issues of steel intelligent manufacturing

During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the iron and steel industry took intelligent manufacturing as the main direction of "the deep integration of the two", a number of intelligent manufacturing key common technologies in the application of iron and steel production scenes achieved remarkable results, a number of intelligent manufacturing, industrial Internet projects were selected by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pilot demonstration and new model special, the industry intelligent manufacturing standardization work was fully launched. The cognition and application level of key technologies of intelligent manufacturing on both sides of supply and demand have been significantly improved.

1. Development status

During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, iron and steel enterprises have focused on the research of intelligent equipment, big data, artificial intelligence, digital twin, mobile Internet of Things, industrial network security and other technologies, and actively explore the application of new intelligent manufacturing technologies in design and development, energy control, quality control, production and operation. Steel production enterprises have further improved the construction of five-level information systems for basic automation, process control, manufacturing execution, enterprise management and decision support; Enhance the digitalization and intellectualization of the whole process of the enterprise; Promote the development and implementation of industrial Internet and industrial big data platforms; It has promoted the use of robot technology in positions with harsh environment, high safety risk and high operation repeatability.

Baowu, Shagang, Nangang and other enterprises have established "black light factories" and intelligent workshops, which have realized 24-hour unmanned and less unmanned operation, and the resumption of production and production efficiency are significantly higher than other enterprises during the COVID-19 epidemic. Baosteel has formulated an intelligent manufacturing implementation path with the goal of "four homogenous", that is, on-site control is centralized, operating posts are all robot, operation and maintenance monitoring are all remote, and service links are all online, forming three levels of smart factory, smart operation, and collaborative ecology in terms of the overall structure. Its Baoshan base plant was included in the list of global "lighthouse factories" released by the World Economic Forum in January 2020.

2. Important achievements

During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the number of patent applications related to intelligent manufacturing in China's steel field reached 1,516; The project achievements won 5 first prizes and 6 second prizes of metallurgical science and technology awards; Nine projects, including the metallurgical digital mine of Angang Mining and the steel hot rolling intelligent workshop of Baosteel, were rated as intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration projects by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; Ten projects such as Baoxin Software's "Iron and Steel Industry Industrial Internet Platform" and Zhongtian Steel's "5G+ Industrial Internet Pilot Demonstration Project" were rated as industrial Internet pilot demonstration projects by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

With the deepening of the application of key intelligent manufacturing technologies in the steel industry during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the steel industry will fully launch intelligent manufacturing standardization work in 2020, and the metallurgical intelligent manufacturing Standardization Working group of the National Steel Standardization Technical Committee has been formally established, forming a relatively complete construction plan for the "intelligent manufacturing standard System for the Steel Industry". And in accordance with the principle of "common first, urgent first", launched the national delegation target application and development work.

3. Key issues

Iron and steel production has the industrial and technological characteristics of complex process system, many uncertain factors in the production process, diversified nature and form of intermediate products and final products in the manufacturing process, and due to low industrial concentration, different development stages of enterprises, uneven production indicators and management levels, and great differences in information and intelligent investment cost pressure. The level of integration between the two enterprises is unbalanced, and 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 intelligent manufacturing standard system guidance, resulting in the iron and steel industry in the process of intelligent manufacturing development lack of a clear path, many enterprises for intelligent manufacturing understanding is still on the surface, there is no clear development planning and objectives, the quality of the project is uneven.

Third, "demonstration and promotion, standard guidance" will become the double drive for the development of steel intelligent manufacturing

Through the implementation of intelligent manufacturing projects, steel production enterprises can improve product quality, improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, reduce safety and environmental protection pressure, release human resources vitality, and then enhance the overall market competitiveness of steel enterprises. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the steel industry should give full play to the engine role of intelligent manufacturing in accordance with the recommendations of the "Guiding Opinions", and actively participate in the two key work of "smart factory demonstration and promotion" and "intelligent manufacturing standard system revision".

(1) Demonstration and popularization

The steel industry should give full play to the leading role of smart factory benchmarking. Smart factory is the realization of intelligent manufacturing carrier, the steel industry should actively promote the application of 5G, industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, commercial password, digital twin and other key technologies, improve the level of security protection of industrial control system, to achieve upstream and downstream data sharing of the industrial chain. By evaluating and selecting a group of benchmarking factories with outstanding intelligent transformation results, high intelligent level and replication and promotion value, the benchmarking experience model is summarized and refined to improve the level of intelligent manufacturing in the whole industry. It is suggested that industry enterprises actively participate in the intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration, industrial Internet pilot demonstration, intelligent manufacturing benchmarking enterprises and other projects organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, actively participate in the construction of industrial and regional industrial Internet platforms, and give play to the benchmarking effect of leading enterprises.

(2) Standard guidance

Standards are an important means to participate in international governance and promote national governance. Up to now, in the field of intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry, 7 group tenders have been issued, 2 row tenders and 67 group tenders are under research. It is suggested that both sides of supply and demand cooperate with the Metallurgical intelligent manufacturing Standardization working group of the National Steel Standardization Technical Committee to transform project experience and excellent cases into intelligent manufacturing standards for the steel industry, focus on the application of key technology scenarios, smart factory construction, and production intelligent management to propose project applications for national Bank group targets, and actively participate in the research of 69 intelligent manufacturing standards. Build a standard system for intelligent manufacturing in the steel industry and contribute to promoting the overall level of intelligent manufacturing in the industry.