① In the finishing process, Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry collaborated with China Mobile Ganzhou Company and ZTE to build a 5G smart factory. The powder production line will be completely remodeled; the upstream mine is expected to be able to operate ground-based remote control machines in 2-3 years. ② Ganzhou Mobile has invested in more than 11,000 5G base stations, continues to build 5G factories and 5G private network applications, and has built a number of projects in smart cities in counties.
Financial News Agency, December 5 (Reporter Fu Jing) According to the latest report released by the Information and Communications Technology Institute, China has now reached 8,000 5G+ industrial Internet projects, covering all 41 major industrial categories. 5G applications in the industrial sector account for more than 60%, and China's “5G+ industrial Internet” has entered a new stage of large-scale development.
Recently, a financial news agency reporter visited the Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry (002378.SZ) 5G smart factory located in Chongyi County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, the “tungsten capital of the world” and learned that during the finishing process, the company has joined forces with China Mobile (600941.SH) Ganzhou Company and ZTE (000063.SZ) to achieve gradual digital transformation using 5G, cloud, AI, Internet of Things and other technologies. The next step is to completely transform the powder production line. On the mining side, it is possible to operate remote control machines on the ground within about 2-3 years.
(Photo by a reporter from the Financial Association)
The transformation of the powder production line may be completed next year
“The company has gradually carried out digital transformation since 2017. This workshop was built and put into operation last year.” In the third workshop of the powder factory, Zhang Yuan, tungsten production director Zhong Wei, told the Financial Services Association reporter. “In the process of digital transformation, we are gradually advancing, stopping work without stopping production. Priorities are determined based on whether the equipment is key equipment for key processes. The production line has also been changed one by one in batches. The powder production line is expected to be fully renovated next year.”
(Photo provided by the interviewee in the third workshop of Zhangyuan Tungsten Powder Factory)
Research records previously publicly disclosed by Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry show that the company carried out technological transformation of the first phase of the powder to improve product quality and per capita production capacity by increasing the degree of automation and reducing energy consumption. It is reported that its tungsten powder production capacity is 15,000 tons, tungsten carbide powder production capacity is 13,100 tons, and ultra-fine tungsten carbide powder production capacity of 2,500 tons/year (phase I) has been gradually released.
Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry has established an integrated production system from upstream prospecting, mining, and beneficiation of tungsten, midstream smelting and milling to downstream deep processing. Currently, it has 6 mining rights mines, 8 prospecting mining areas, and 3 tungsten smelting and deep processing plants.
A reporter from the Financial Association News Agency learned that during the finishing process, Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry is one of the few enterprises in the industry that have established a 5G independent network. It has achieved traceability of the entire production process and unmanned post-process production logistics, and has achieved the effect of a “black light factory”.
Speaking about upstream, Zhang Yuan, assistant general manager of Tungsten Industry, Xu Tianren, also told the Finance Association reporter, “We are also undergoing digital transformation in mining. One direction in the future is to improve from underground operations to remote control on the ground via a network. This scenario can be realized in our mine in about 2-3 years.”
Expanding various applications based on 5G private networks
A reporter from the Financial Association News Agency noticed that the equipment placed in the workshop seemed to be no different from traditional factory production equipment, but Zhong Wei said that digital capabilities were already “hidden” in it. Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry uses 5G private network deployment, integrating 5G, Internet of Things, and edge computing (MEC) technologies to meet the network communication requirements of high bandwidth, low latency, high reliability, and information security.
According to reports, the company has expanded various applications based on the 5G private network, such as 5G+ safety production, 5G+ data collection, and 5G+AGV scheduling systems.
Zhong Wei told the reporter, “Among them, the 5G+AGV scheduling system has a large range of AGV activity and high real-time requirements. Through ZTE's CPE deployment, we have stably covered the entire factory area with 5G signals, solving the problem of signal penetration loss or blocking.” Zhong Wei said that this deployment will improve material operation efficiency, reduce labor intensity, greatly reduce operating errors, and reduce storage costs.
In addition, the company has achieved transparency in the production process through the 5G+ tungsten powder 3D digital twin industrial Internet platform. The 3D digital twin system uses visual charts to present various KPI indicators such as capacity achievement rate, input/output rate, and energy consumption on a large digital screen to assist managers to understand the production execution status of the workshop in real time.
(Photographed by a reporter from the Financial Association in the central control room of Zhangyuan Tungsten Powder Factory No. 3)
“Through the 5G private network and smart factory project, Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry has saved the number of energy workers employed, achieved refined production, and set a national benchmark.” Wu Wei, deputy general manager of China Mobile's Jiangxi Ganzhou branch, told reporters.
Currently, the number of 5G base stations in China has reached 3.189,000, forming the largest 5G network in the world. The scale of the industrial Internet industry has exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan, and applications have expanded to 49 major categories of the national economy. However, Wu Wei admits that in the specific implementation process, in terms of industrial digitalization, there will indeed be enterprises that do not want to change or are afraid to switch. “Because everyone is concerned about the results of investment, we will do a good job in infrastructure construction on the one hand, and set a benchmark on the other.”
(Ganzhou Mobile 5G private network display)
A financial news agency reporter learned that apart from Zhangyuan Tungsten's 5G smart factory, Ganzhou Mobile has invested in more than 11,000 5G base stations in the construction of new infrastructure, achieving 100% coverage in counties and key townships, and is continuing to build 5G factories and 5G private network applications with ZTE.
“The People's Hospital has achieved 'admission as soon as you get on the bus' through the application of the 5G private network, and the corresponding data circulation and data security issues have also been solved; Jiangtung Dajishan is building a 5G private network, which will achieve mineral data security and mining intelligence.” Wu Wei told the Finance Association reporter.