Key enabling technologies, methodologies, frameworks, tools and techniques of smart and sustainable systems

Abstract

For manufacturing systems, Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is currently considered a big challenge and is closely related to intelligent manufacturing or production, alongside a more or less wide set of technologies, methodologies, frameworks, tools and techniques. I4.0 encompasses a diversity of approaches to enable the progress of production systems, resulting in shortened production times, production efficiencies, product quality, customization and flexibility of performance. Due to the general awareness about the importance of enabling intelligent manufacturing alongside sustainable production, sustainability is gaining renewed importance. Due to the importance of the theme, there is a need for an updated review of the main enabling approaches of I4.0 for sustainable manufacturing systems. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted considering the research question: Is there increased attention being given to sustainability issues nowadays in Industry 4.0? Through this work, it was possible to verify the main I4.0 and sustainability pillars considered in academia, which for I4.0 are the integration of horizontal and vertical systems, with 94% of the relevant articles mentioning this pillar. The additive manufacturing and 3D printing was refered in 56% of the relevant articles, and for sustainability, the economic pillar was mentioned with 95%, being the main one, with a large difference from other factors.