Production line
Manufacturing analytics on the production line collects setpoints and actual values, cycle times and machine states directly from the controllers. Operators use it to find the causes of scrap and faults, compare lines with each other and shorten commissioning.
Production line at a glance
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Verified projects featuring Production line
Reducing complaints in adhesive tape production through process data analysis
Smart supply chain: development of the batch size 1 production line
Brembo drives digital transformation with innovative IoT use cases
CC-Link IE TSN brings movement to the battery industry of tomorrow
Placed on a solid MES footing – more efficient PCB production thanks to a solid database
Digital strategy for the most sustainable food packaging in the world
Manufacturing analytics on the production line: finding root causes
In the solution examples, connectors such as PTC's Kepware server or the Data Collector from iT Engineering Software Innovations pull data from older equipment and PLCs from different manufacturers, supplemented by sensors and cameras. Edge servers process and filter readings that arrive just milliseconds apart on site before dashboards display them. The machines are networked via OPC UA, at Busch-Jaeger with its own information model, or via CC-Link IE TSN. The data is analysed in platforms such as ENLYZE, ThingWorx, ABB zenon and Microsoft Azure, or in an MES such as FabEagle from Kontron AIS.
The examples come from the automotive, electronics and consumer goods industries and from mechanical engineering, mostly for scrap reduction and for recording cycle times and throughput. An adhesive tape manufacturer in North Rhine-Westphalia used ENLYZE to discover excessive slip between the rollers and cut scrap for one product group by 30%. Brembo has expanded its connected lines with Kepware and ThingWorx from three to 75, and a troubleshooting scenario now takes three to four hours instead of almost three days. Würth Elektronik controls its printed circuit board production with FabEagle MES and provides quality data to end customers.
Podcast episodes featuring Production line
Manufacturing analytics on the production line: frequently asked questions
How does process data analysis find the cause of scrap?
It reveals deviations in hundreds of measured variables that a PLC operator terminal cannot display at the same time. An adhesive tape manufacturer repeatedly had partly rewound rolls. ENLYZE showed a difference of around 20% between the speeds of the laminating station and the pulling station. The cause was excessive slip at the master roller. Since vacuum technology was installed there, the fault has not recurred, and material savings alone amount to around EUR 11,000 a year.
What does an MES system add to a production line?
An MES combines order, machine status, alarm and process data in one database and makes it usable for control, analysis and quality records. Würth Elektronik introduced FabEagle MES from Kontron AIS in its printed circuit board production, starting with a pilot on the solder resist line. A circuit board passes through around 30 production steps, and customers increasingly ask for production data as well. With data available quickly, information flow and fault analysis speed up and downtime becomes shorter.
How does real-time data speed up root cause analysis in manufacturing?
Real-time data shortens troubleshooting because nobody has to gather data from individual machines. At Brembo, data used to be collected on USB sticks and analysed in isolated systems. Today, Kepware collects line data, and ThingWorx compares the cycle times of parallel lines with the plan. A troubleshooting scenario that required almost three days of data analysis now takes three to four hours. According to Brembo, this helped the company save more than 1.5 million dollars by 2020.
How can batch size one be produced on a series production line?
Batch size one works when every station receives its instructions digitally and every workpiece is uniquely identified. For Busch-Jaeger's individually configurable Busch-tacteo KNX sensor, neogramm implemented a production line whose machines communicate via OPC UA. The ABB zenon operational data management solution links automated work steps with camera inspections. In 2020, the solution received the Industrie 4.0 Award in the "Smart Supply Chain" category.
More assets in “Machinery and Equipment”
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Electric motor
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Air conditioning system
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