Replacement of Legacy Systems

Use Case

Continuous monitoring

Manufacturing

The challenge Blickle has always prided itself on the superior quality of its wheels and castors. To further enhance this quality with modern technology, the company decided to migrate its production processes to Industry 4.0 standards. This planned transition should have minimal impact on the three-shift production operation, while maintaining flexibility and openness for future digitalization initiatives. The solution Blickle IT developed a concept to enable a sustainable and gradual transformation. At the heart of the strategy is edbic, which enables condition monitoring. Acting as a central data hub, edbic seamlessly extracts data from the machines, transfers it to the ERP system and provides full production transparency. The result With the implementation of edbic, machine data no longer reaches IT incomplete or delayed. Immediate data analysis enables rapid problem resolution. Automatic punching presses are monitored to determine output results, missing parts, quantities and more. By eliminating most of the Excel lists previously used, edbic has significantly streamlined operations. In polyurethane production, edbic identifies and corrects problems, contributing to Blickle's high quality castors and wheels. In addition, edbic is now being used beyond production, facilitating connections to payment providers in the web shop and establishing a communication link with SAP. Outlook for the future Blickle plans to further refine the system by using machine data comparison for predictive maintenance. In addition, the company is considering implementing the compacer IoT gateway to take communication between machines and the ERP system to a new level of automation.

Use Case

IoT gateway and Industry 4.0 application

Industry 4.0, Manufacturing

The challenge: BURKHARDT+WEBER is renowned for its expertise in large machining centres. Headquartered in Reutlingen, Germany, the company has a global presence and supplies its products to customers around the world who place a premium on quality. For 130 years, BURKHARDT+WEBER has focused on developing state-of-the-art production solutions for the demanding machining of steel, cast iron and titanium components. The development of these machining centres is the collaborative work of interdisciplinary teams, and all essential components, as well as in-house developments, are manufactured within the company. The compacer IoT solution, built on the edbic platform, is planned for future integration into BURKHARDT+WEBER machining centres. The installation of the compacer IoT gateway enables data collection from the machine's control system. In the long term, BURKHARDT+WEBER machines will offer a wide range of data that can be examined in real time to provide a detailed overview of the machine's condition and efficiency on a dashboard. The solution: An IoT hub will process the collected data, enabling a variety of assessments and ensuring that the operator is kept informed at all times. With machines connected to the compactor solution, condition monitoring is possible, paving the way for the implementation of predictive maintenance. With this approach, BURKHARDT+WEBER enables its customers to successfully implement upcoming digital transformation projects within their production processes.

Use Case

Digital retrofit at a manufacturer

Electrical installation technology

The challenge: Our customer has an individually analog 30t punching and bending machine in use, which must not be interfered with in the control process. Small hairline cracks in the large drive wheel can lead to a machine failure, resulting in a production stop. Due to the high storage costs, the spare part is not kept in stock. It can take up to three weeks to order and deliver the new part. In order to avoid a machine breakdown, it should be digitally connected to the current production environment and in future the condition of the gearwheel should be analyzed by means of condition monitoring and a breakage better predicted. Our customer's goal was therefore to make the machine IoT-ready with a digital retrofit in order to reduce machine downtimes and increase machine utilization times. The solution: Digital activation of the existing system was unavoidable, which is why sensors were initially installed by the customer to detect the gear breakage. The vBox from Fraunhofer IPT processes the sensor signals and sends the data to the compacer data platform edbic. Among other things, structure-borne noise, vibration, temperature, torque and current are measured. Increased current consumption, which can be a sign of excessive load due to friction and a lack of lubricant, is detected. However, the collected and evaluated data also reveals smaller cracks. The frequency spectrum and other values are recorded, compared and examined for outliers in real time. If an outlier, such as a crack, is detected, an alarm is generated and employees are informed. They can take action if necessary and production downtime can be avoided. Our customer: a German market leader in the field of electrical installation technology and global market leader in SCHUKO® sockets, produces at two locations in Germany and exports to more than 60 countries. In order to further expand its brand leadership and establish innovations in the smart home sector, the company is taking on new digital challenges.