Industry 4.0 - How to Bring New Life to Old Systems
(Room Room 104-C)
30 Apr 19
10:40 AM
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11:00 AM
Tracks:
Enabling Sustainability — NexGen Tech for Coatings, Surface Engineering and Smart Manufacturing
Advances in electronics and communications have brought a shift change to the manufacturing industry as well – interconnected manufacturing equipment, constant access to run and production data, interoperability of systems from different manufacturers are just a few of the advances that came along with these developments.
Often enough, while mechanically sound, production equipment starts failing on the electrical and controls side. At the same time the demand for better traceability and data access grows. Couple with diminishing profitability on mature products many operators are faced with a decision: Risk the high investment into new machinery, or ride the existing system until it fails completely.
In many cases there is another alternative: Upgrade and Update. PLCs, drives and motors for example can be upgraded on converting equipment such a roll to roll metallizers at a fraction of the cost of a new system. Along with that come the benefits of modern communication and connectivity.
Based on the case of an upgrade to an older roll to roll metallizer it will be demonstrated how it is possible to indeed take an “old” piece of equipment and make it “young” again. The case will look not only at the cost of the upgrade compared to a new system, but the cost savings based on different factors such as improved reliability, better controls (such as through drive upgrades), yield improvements and other factors.