Optimizing manufacturing process management with data acquisition

The ability to gather specific data in a focused manner matters on today’s shop floor. It is critical to getting operational and strategic decisions right. With reliable data at their disposal, manufacturing teams can see how machine and processes are using resources and make informed choices about how to boost efficiency. Companies can analyze and interpret this manufacturing data to better manage operating processes and production lines to keep the competition at bay.

Challenges

Services

Approach

Transparency Toolkit

References

Engineers collecting and analyzing data in a smart factory to use resources efficiently and optimize processes.

One of the biggest challenges: getting the factory connected

How do you connect an entire production line? This is one of the most daunting questions in today’s data-driven factory. Often entombed in silos, some of this data is hard to access and use. And that makes it difficult to connect other systems. This inaccessibility impedes digitalization projects. Engineers will struggle to maintain scripts and have to jump through hoops to adapt the system when requirements change.

It pays to think about how to capture the right data beforehand, when you are planning to deploy new machines or revamp the assembly line. If you want to use process and machine data effectively to connect the production line and scale data-driven use cases to size, this is the only way to go.

Also listen to our data analytics expert Marcus Weber in the Factory21 Pocast, talking about how companies can use data-based decisions to increase quality in production and reduce costs.

Our services

Let us help you meet this challenge head on. Opt for our customized solutions to connect your factory and boost its efficiency and productivity.

Do you have a specific idea or project in mind?

Count on us to help you collect data and make the most of it for both operational and strategic purposes.

Taking a holistic approach to collecting data

Experience teaches that efforts to connect and control systems and processes succeed when engineers take a holistic approach to gathering data. The first to-do is to address the pain-points in the process. For example, it may be useful to monitor machine utilization and adjust the order sequence to reduce set-up times. The next step is to select the right sensors to capture the appropriate data points for the identified metric.

Once sensors are in place, you need to verify the data and assure its quality. Then you can mine it to gain valuable insights and take appropriate actions. Adjustments after commissioning ensure that the recorded data can also be used reliably in the future to optimize production processes.

ITK’s Transparency Toolkit is a comprehensive solution for data collection that accommodates a wide range of sensors. This easy-to-use platform serves to collect, analyze, and visualize manufacturing data in real time. It also supports data quality assurance and provides the underpinning for scalable solutions.

The ITK Transparency Toolkit, a portable and easy-to-set-up prototyping kit, enables the flexible and fast acquisition, analysis and visualization of machine data and process data in real time, supports data quality assurance and provides the basis for scalable solutions

Fast data acquisition and visualization with the ITK Transparency Toolkit

If you are looking for a quick, versatile way of capturing machine and process data on demand, your search ends with the ITK Transparency Toolkit. Portable and easy to set up, this prototyping kit is about the size of a toolbox. It features various components that use standard communication protocols – OPC UA, MQTT, AMQP, and DDS – to acquire data from multiple vendors’ machines and devices. The Transparency Toolkit can be tailored to suit your processes simply by integrating additional external sensors. Installation takes place right on site at the machine.

ITK expert works with the Transparency Toolkit for data collection in production and manufacturing

Data visualization of the alert function of the ITK Transparency Toolkit

Value-adding benefits of the ITK Transparency Toolkit

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Far greater transparency

  • Enables hypotheses to be tested based on collected raw data
  • Affords deeper insight into the system by visualizing internal cause-and-effect relationships
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Smarter machines

  • Retrofit of legacy machines
  • Integrates into existing systems such as SCADA, MES, and ERP
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Cost-effective prototyping

  • Affordable, easy to set up data acquisition system
  • Fast assessment of use cases’ potential in small projects

Do you have a specific idea or project in mind?

Count on us to support you with consulting services that address your specific needs. Let us tailor a data acquisition and processing solution that fits and creates maximum value for your business. Rest assured, we will factor your unique requirements, technical constraints, and legacy processes into the equation.

Highlights of recent projects

Determining OEE at the Bosch Rexroth plant in Lohr am Main, Germany

Energy monitoring at the machine level

Benefits

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Create a database

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Identify initial measures

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Connect existing systems

Unsolved challenges? We look forward to your inquiry.

Portrait Bastian Boeker

Industry – Industrial Solutions

Bastian Böker

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