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Industry 4.0 Is Funda­mentally Trans­forming Fluid Power

With digital twins, standardization, and submodels, Fluid 4.0 is laying the foundation for digitized fluid power.

Fluid power—encompassing hydraulics, pneumatics, and sealing technology—includes a wide variety of products that can be combined into any number of systems tailored to specific applications. At the same time, however, this diversity and flexibility also entail a vast amount of data and information. Fluid Power 4.0 enables structured data capture, comprehensive documentation, and consistently up-to-date product data.

Motivation

Why Standardized Data is Becoming a Com­petitive Advantage

Innovative digital solutions enable the development of new products and services in both supplier and end-user industries.

Data defines the value creation of tomorrow. Both manufacturers and end users rely on information throughout the entire product life cycle. However, finding this information is often difficult. The results of this are unclear or missing details, incorrect assumptions, significant time expenditure, and stressful phone calls between suppliers, end users, and, last but not least, frustrated customers.

But there is a simple, end-to-end, and platform-independent solution: the digital twin!

Product life cycle
Data and information are generated throughout the entire product life cycle and are used at various system levels. The diagram is based on the German Electrical and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI) discussion paper “Security of the Asset Administration Shell” and illustrates these relationships. The use cases of Fluid 4.0 are primarily located at the interface between the component and system levels.
Concept

The Asset Administration Shell as a Technological Foundation

In 2016, the industry agreed a standard for the fluid power digital twin, which it has been developing ever since. The key technology and central element of Fluid Power 4.0 is the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), which uses standardized properties and structures and provides uniform, unambiguous access across organizations. The AAS contains all data and information over the entire life cycle. It is standardized across manufacturers, structured, and compatible with formats such as “AutomationML” or “OPC UA.” This enables it to be linked to and embedded in the digitalization concepts of end-user industries.

Once the industry had established the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) as the digital twin standard, the Digitalization Working Group within the Fluid Power Association of the VDMA laid the groundwork through “Fluid Power 4.0.” This included initial demonstrators with QR codes that allowed digital twins to be explored directly at trade shows—including Live-AAS, which displayed real-time status and service life data from OPC UA systems. At the same time, standardization efforts were advanced within ECLASS and ISO to provide manufacturers and end users with standardized property models and interoperable data structures. This groundwork forms the foundation upon which the Fluid 4.0 project is systematically building today.

A key step toward operationalizing digitalization was the analysis of some 20 use cases across the entire product life cycle (PLC)—from the perspectives of manufacturers, machines, and end users. Through several rounds of evaluation and selection, the seven most relevant use cases were prioritized and subsequently refined in greater detail. To deepen understanding, several moderated workshops were held in 2021, during which the use cases were refined and consolidated in terms of content. These workshops identified pain points and the expectations of various stakeholders, developed four core use cases, and defined their specific benefits for industry, machine manufacturers, and end users.

Design Engineering

Design Engineering Without Media Discontinuities

The design engineering use case focuses on the challenges of modern product development: Heterogeneous data structures, a lack of standardization, and manual media discontinuities slow down the design and engineering processes. By using standardized, semantically enriched AAS data models, 3D information, parameters, and engineering data can be consistently provided, reused, and automatically processed across tools.
Commissioning

All Product Data Available Digitally

The commissioning of complex fluid power systems is often hampered by missing or unclear information. In the corresponding use case, all relevant data—operating instructions, configuration data, and interface information—is standardized and made available in the Asset Administration Shell in a vendor-independent manner. This reduces the effort required for planning and coordination, minimizes errors, and enables commissioning to be carried out more efficiently and reliably.
Maintenance

Get Systems Back Up and Running Faster

The maintenance use case focuses on the structured replacement of fluid-power components during service. When a component is replaced, configuration parameters, characteristic curves, interface configurations, and application-specific adjustments must be reliably carried over to the new component. The Asset Administration Shell standardizes this information and makes it available, uniquely mapped to the physical product. This allows replacement components to be configured consistently—reducing errors and maintenance time.
Change Notification

Manage Product Changes Digitally and Communicate Them Securely

The change notification use case optimizes processes for technical communication between suppliers, manufacturers, and end users. Today, changes to components or parameters are often communicated via paper-based methods or unstructured channels. Structured AAS data models enable change information to be clearly described, distributed, and tracked—providing greater transparency, traceability, and reduced coordination times.

From Concept to Industrial Application

Fluid 4.0 combines standardization, demonstrators, and concrete use cases to create an interoperable data space for fluid power. The four use cases illustrate how digital twins create real added value. Interested in learning more? Get in touch!