Hesse Lignal is a specialist in intelligent and sustainable coating solutions for trade and industry. The company was faced with the same production optimisation challenges as its own customers. The coating manufacturer was looking for a holistic solution. Dirk Conrad, Head of Application Technology at Hesse Lignal, has had positive experiences with the Industry Intelligence solution, smart2i from Hymmen.
“All data and information are visualised at the touch of a single button”
A continuous and trouble-free production flow is the goal of every manufacturing company. It should be ensured by successful process management and quality monitoring.
Companies face multiple challenges in this regard – not just when it comes to finishing their surfaces. It begins with the surface complexity caused by product diversity. The challenge continues with the piecemeal addition of production lines and the lack of data transparency. The final problem is the cross-industry shortage of skilled workers and the goal of sustainable production. To date, there has been no holistic approach.
These challenges gave rise to the idea of a pilot project to test the new smart2i industrial software solution from Hymmen.
Conrad reports enthusiastically at the in-house Tech-Together trade fair, “I can see the result straight away. Transparency in production significantly increases product quality and the overall result.”
smart2i enables the digital transformation of production processes. All data generated by the machines is recorded automatically. This prevents error-prone and inaccurate manual quantity recordings. Temperatures, pressures, quantities and many other process data are recorded digitally. This enables production managers to analyse the most frequent reasons for failure on a data basis, down to the second. As a result, they can understand their systems in detail and determine preventative measures. Rejections are reduced and no new quality problems arise in production.
Conrad was particularly impressed by the smart2i’s customisable dashboards and that all sources are combined in one system. He was also excited by the combination of machine and quality data, as well as its accessibility from PC, tablet or smartphone.
At the beginning of the pilot project, a large amount of data was already mapped and could be integrated into one single system by smart2i. However, other measured values were supplemented by additional sensors to complete the system. This was easily done, because various manufacturers of measuring instruments offer the missing components that can be implemented in smart2i.
At Hesse Lignal, these included UV power and UV dose, LAB values, gloss level and coating thickness (see Figure 2).
Machines and sensors are connected via the smart2i-connect gateway (see Figure 3). The recorded data can be analysed to the second (see Figure 4). This greatly simplifies both the calibration of the overall process and subsequent production operations (see Figure 5).
“smart2i enables the digital transformation of production processes”
Hesse has now extensively tested the industry intelligence solution in its in-house technology centre and applied it to a wide range of customer processes. Not only the promised increase in production is convincing, but also the avoidance of waste and the reduction of the reject rate by up to 12%. Above all, the simple handling of the system stands out. All data and information are visualised at the touch of a single button.
smart2i meets all of the challenges outlined. The surface complexity, caused by product diversity, can be made measurable with the many sensors that can be integrated. Production lines that are added piece by piece can also be easily integrated into smart2i. The data is processed transparently and individually for the respective user –
be it the managing director, plant manager or machine operator. The automation of production control is a targeted measure against the shortage of skilled workers. In addition, the goal of sustainable production can be specifically addressed using the transparent data situation. Conrad summarises, “We can only recommend smart2i. It is a comprehensive system that can be used for any type of plant configuration.”