Industrial IoT: Reality beyond Hype
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
There is no doubt that Industry 4.0, digitisation and Industrial IoT has gained momentum. Most of the Indian manufacturers are busy conceptualising factories of the future. A smart factory consists of aspects such as efficient machine-to-machine connectivity and easier maintenance, diagnostics. Along with these topics, users also talk about digitalisation, big data, analytics, data security and mass customisation.
Taking advantage of data
Data has been termed as the new oil or the new gold. However, it is not only sufficient to gather data but also important to find a way to store this data securely and find a way to translate it into actionable information, which provides benefits right across the enterprise.
Today, majority of factories are still relying on paper documentation and manual data recording from machines on the shop floor and entering it in a system for analytics. But this method is time-consuming, prone to human errors, not real-time and in a way expensive. In addition, this might always entail loss of information. It is possible to eliminate these errors with installation of automated systems for data acquisition on the shop floor. With automated systems for acquiring data from the shop floor, it is possible to eliminate these errors and acquire the data in real time. However, in many cases, it is not easy to obtain information from an existing machine for analytics and to use it for optimisations. Orange Box from B&R was developed with this is mind and to provide Greenfield installation benefits to brownfield installation in a cost effective method. Orange Box enables machine operators to collect and analyse data from previously isolated machines and lines with minimal effort. From this data, the software is able to generate and display OEE ratings and other KPIs, and is able to share this information with higher-level systems.
Building on information
A reliable and secure data connection and acquisition infrastructure is a prerequisite to increasing production efficiencies and reducing system downtimes. With the reality of big data comes the challenge of analysing it in a way that brings real business value.
A middleware is necessary for translating this data from the field into meaningful information and moving it to the MES/ERP. The APROL PDA from B&R simplifies this process data capture, acting as a middleware. It enables process data acquisition coupled with energy monitoring and condition monitoring. It collects and analyses logs, reports, and monitors data to enable the collection and analysis of big data. Users thus do not need different systems for satisfying different needs of energy, condition monitoring and data acquisition and can be handled in a single system. Condition monitoring systems help in predicting the behaviour of the machines and reducing unplanned downtimes. APROL PDA can be used to monitor one or more lines of machines. A clear overview of the entire plant, including aggregated status signals, makes it possible to assess the state of individual production lines or an entire plant at a glance. APROL is equipped with comprehensive analysis and reporting tools that generate individual reports at the push of a button. These analysis and reporting tools round off the functionality of the automation platform and make the system an ideal tool to meet the challenges of the future. Factory operators get a complete view of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), energy data and condition data at their fingertips.
Moving data across enterprise
B&Rs edge architectures coupled with open source connectivity such as OPC UA, MQTT and AMQP enables factories to have a seamless and secure connectivity from sensors to the cloud. Control, security, connectivity, data compression, data archiving, business intelligence and machine learning are few features offered by edge architectures. To satisfy various needs of users, B&R offers Edge connect, Edge embedded and Edge controllers. Coupling these architectures with the cloud, users can get long term archiving and analytics. A detailed overview of machinery and equipment performance can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The Industrial IoT solution package enables to improve lifecycle management and implement condition-based predictive maintenance. Even if one can't rely on the internet connection, they can always rely on B&R to bring the benefits of the Industrial IoT.
Adaptive manufacturing for ultimate production effectiveness
Adaptive manufacturing extends economy of mass production to batch size one production. Produce small batches efficiently and benefit from the higher margins of personalised products. Extend machine builders digital transformation to include motion control and mechanical design. The Industrial IoT presents new challenges for existing network architectures. The need to pre-process data acquired from machinery makes edge architectures the solution of choice. A holistic approach must also satisfy the demand for real-time communication and provide the necessary data processing functionality.
ACOPOStrak from B&R is a revolution in adaptive manufacturing aiding smart factories. ACOPOStrak boosts overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), multiplies return on investment (RoI) and accelerates time to market. It is a generational leap in intelligent, flexible transport systems. In addition to flexibility, the intelligent transport system offers notable performance as it has an acceleration of up to 5 g and a maximum speed of over 4 m/s with products with a minimum size of at least 50 mm. It’s absolutely unique design delivers decisive technological advantages for adaptive, connected manufacturing.
Answering technological challenges in a hostile environment
Industrial IoT is not only limited to manufacturing facilities, it is also opening up new possibilities in off-road automation such as agriculture, forestry, construction and municipal vehicle. One of the major challenges in adopting this technological advancement is the hostile environment. B&R’s rugged X90 control system is the answer to this challenge. X90 modules comply with IP69K and cover a temperature range between -40 and +85°C. It offers versatile connectivity options with interfaces such as CAN, Ethernet and the real-time POWERLINK bus integrated as a standard feature. Using expansion boards, the system can be optimally adapted for a wide variety of applications. These are easy to set up for tasks such as the grapple hydraulics on a front-end loader using preconfigured software blocks that not only accelerate development but also ensure that the software is readily reusable for other configurations. In addition, predictive maintenance for avoiding unplanned downtimes is the need of such off highway equipment and with condition monitoring X90 provides an ideal platform for these vehicles to improve productivity and avoid unplanned downtimes.
Ideal partner for IIoT implementation with cutting-edge technology
Today, Indian manufacturers have initiated projects or at least thinking of moving towards Industry 4.0 and IIoT readiness. Digitisation is enriching every aspect of manufacturing and it is enhancing efficiency, accuracy, productivity and quality. The new technologies are game changers and leading to higher profitability. To cope with these opportunities, B&R offers innovative technologies and provides users with automation solutions for step towards smart manufacturing in every industrial sector.
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Photo1: B&R's mapp-based automation solution provides a clear overview of operating data for any manufacturing asset.