Chennai, March 2 (IANS): Days are not far off when electronic crane scales in foundry talk to other operating machines as part of a smart production process, said a top official of EHP Wagetechnik GmbH, Germany.

Speaking to reporters here, Jan Friedmann, Joint Managing Director, EHP, said: "Industry 4.0 will have an impact on EHP and the Indian foundry industry as many processes will be automated."

The term Industry 4.0 means smart factories where machines have sensors and are wirelessly connected to a central system and decisions are taken automatically. Medium sized German firm EHP makes digital crane scales which it ships out to several countries, including India. India ranks second in the global foundry sector after China.

According to Friedmann, the biggest advantage of smart crane scales will be that dangerous processes like pouring hot material can be handled without any direct human intervention. For instance, a crane can automatically move after an exact defined weight is filled in the ladle or an electro magnet can automatically increase/decrease its current to pickup scrap metal, he said.