ILLIG Assist: Industry 4.0
makes thermoforming more effective
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart factories and fully networked value chains: The digital transformation continues to make inroads into German industry. But what does it look like in concrete terms? The leading manufacturer of thermoforming, packaging and tooling systems, ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, has set itself the goal of actively supporting its customers on the path to Industry 4.0. ILLIG is cooperating with the Munich-based IIoT software company elunic. Together, they have developed the digital service platform "ILLIG Assist" and are taking the next steps in the field of thermoforming towards the fully networked factory.
The fourth industrial revolution continues to gather pace in German companies. Thanks to innovative technologies, the guiding principle of holistic digitalization is increasingly becoming a reality. This also applies to the packaging industry: manufacturing processes are becoming more digital and the entire value chain is being networked. The world's leading supplier of thermoforming and tooling systems demonstrates the potential that can be tapped as a result ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG.
Communication between user and machine
ILLIG machines are already equipped with intelligent operator support systems, such as a basic setting calculation of the machine parameters, a guided set-up system or dynamic optimizations. They also offer the option of the necessary connectivity and querying of production-relevant data points.
ILLIG Assist supplements these supporting systems and helps the machine operator to eliminate incidents in daily operation. While this was previously based on notes and the personal experience of individuals, the new application simplifies the transfer of knowledge by means of a clear and interactive user interface.
Messages from connected machines as well as from the machine operators themselves are recorded and displayed chronologically. The system automatically provides a visual localization of the event that has occurred and detailed solution suggestions based on a solution database. This is initially created with the knowledge of ILLIG. In addition, operators can actively contribute their own suggestions for dealing with recorded system messages and enrich them with videos and images, for example. An integrated chat function makes it possible to comment on and evaluate suggested solutions. This system serves to build up a permanent knowledge database, prevents loss of knowledge due to the departure of experienced machine operators and accelerates the training phases of new employees on the systems. ILLIG Assist bundles the experience and knowledge of operators and makes it available to all users. Users can also view and manage shift reports, maintenance information and digitally prepared manuals, for example.
ILLIG Assist is based on an IIoT platform. Events that are reported to ILLIG Assist can be displayed with any internet-enabled communication terminal and operators can be informed on the move. The event messages are sent by the operator or, in future, directly by the machine in the case of networked machines connected to the IIoT platform. Based on the IIoT platform architecture, the messages are automatically made available to other approved users within the organization. In addition to the asset management and chat function for each machine, ILLIG Assist also provides rights management for creating and reading comments and other information. Depending on a user's rights, the system provides insight into the machine with its functional sub-blocks as well as an overview of the entire line, factory or worldwide locations. Third-party machines can also be easily integrated, even if they do not yet offer any digital interfaces themselves.
Bildquelle: ILLIG
Implementing customer benefits in an agile way
When developing ILLIG Assist, the focus was clearly on the benefits for machine operators and production managers, with the aim of increasing efficiency in production, service and maintenance through an intelligent store floor communication tool and active knowledge management.
Da die Anforderungen zu Beginn bewusst nur grob spezifiziert werden konnten, wurde mit Hilfe der agilen Projektmanagement Methode SCRUM, in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Münchner IIoT-Softwareunternehmen elunic, in einem iterativen Vorgehen gearbeitet. So war es bewusst das Ziel, Fortschritte anhand von echtem Anwenderfeedback zu bewerten und iterativ zu integrieren. Als IoT-Plattform wurde ADAMOS gewählt.
ILLIG Assist, das durch eine Architektur bestehend aus Microservices modular erweiterbar ist und eine flexible Anbindung an externe Systeme ermöglicht, bildet die Grundlage für die IIoT-Strategie des Thermoform-Maschinenbauers.
Aktuell ist ILLIG auf der Suche nach Leadkunden, die bereit sind ILLIG Assist in Ihrer Produktion im Livebetrieb zu testen.
About ILLIG GROUP
ILLIG ist ein weltweit führender Anbieter von Thermoformsystemen und Werkzeugsystemen für Kunststoffe. Das Leistungsspektrum umfasst Entwicklung, Konstruktion, Fertigung, Montage und Inbetriebnahme komplexer Fertigungslinien und Einzelkomponenten. ILLIG bietet seinen Kunden mit der 360° Verpackungsentwicklung Pactivity® und leistungsstarken Verpackungssystemen ressourceneffiziente und nachhaltige Lösungen, „Designed4Recycling“. Mit eigenen Niederlassungen und Vertretungen in über 80 Ländern ist ILLIG auf allen Märkten rund um den Erdball vor Ort präsent. Seit über 70 Jahren unterstützt das Familienunternehmen seine Kunden weltweit als verlässlicher Partner, anspruchsvolle und hochpräzise Formteile aus thermoplastischen Kunststoffen wirtschaftlich herzustellen – mit innovativer Technologie höchster Qualität und umfassendem globalen Service.
Hinweise: Mit ® gekennzeichnete Begriffe sind eingetragene und geschützte Marken der ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG.
