The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is here and it’s improving the way manufacturers operate, produce products and provide services.
公司已经从programmab捕获数据le logic controllers (PLCs) for decades, but now they’re allowing that Big Data to reach everyone who can use it to improve production. Machines, operators, supporting areas and managers can all communicate in near real time to improve production.
This is especially true in multi-model manufacturing, where multiple products are produced on a single line, requiring variations in parts and processes that don’t exist in single-model lines. That higher level of complexity can slow throughput.
One area where IIoT can have an immediate impact is in traceability. With its broadcast/subscribe model of data sharing, IIoT can facilitate a more hands-off approach to tracking varied part types through the production line, saving manufacturers and suppliers valuable time and money. Component-level traceability can give a precise birth history for each part, process and product, allowing managers to isolate faulty parts and machines, avoid adding value to faulty products, and limit the impact of product recalls.
A global tier 1 automotive supplier needed a solution to a three-part problem on their mixed-model assembly line, and they looked to an IIoT-based track-and-trace system to help. Here’s how the problem broke out:
- They were creating part lists for each car by scanning pieces of paper and sending a traveling spreadsheet through the assembly line. This created 40+ pieces of paper per product and slowed down the production process.
- PLC没有连接到其公司网络，因此很容易丢失生产线和其他工厂之间的扫描数据。因此，如果供应商或客户呼吁零件历史记录，则没有办法远程调用数据。植物员工必须步行到PLC以获取该零件线，然后搜索该产品的零件号。这种打断了工厂的操作，使得很难响应这些重要的查询。PLC由于担心其数据量减慢网络并迫使服务器升级而被禁止公司网络。
- 数据并未始终如一地备份。如果PC有停电，没有重新启动，被无意中关闭或被升降机撞到，那么错过的数据就永远消失了。
他们想要一个无纸化解决方案，该解决方案可以通过任何授权的订户几乎任何地方访问PLC数据，而不会减慢公司网络。因此，他们实施了IIOT设备，IIOT Gateway软件，可追溯性应用程序和云托管的组合。
Today, the in-cell PCs have been eliminated, and a simple IIoT device collects and backs up PLC data. It’s always on, and every IIoT device is controlled from a central location. IIoT gateway software manages the collection and broadcast functions. A track-and-trace app collects the scanned part data and logs it for that part. The IIoT gateway publishes the status of info to the HMI and an operator has instant access to an HMI with instructions, ending the need for paper ride-along tracking sheets. Those 40+ pieces of paper that used to travel with the product have been eliminated.
By choosing cloud hosting, PLC data is now being captured and broadcast without bogging down the corporate network. At each station, the part is assembled and a tracking app asks, “Has this part gone through all previous operations? Did it pass all previous operations? Is it configured for the right part?” Once all of those questions answer “yes,” the track-and-trace app keeps a local copy of the data and then pushes it to the cloud as a permanent record.
The PLCs are all connected and communicating so that they know where each part is in the production process. And if a PLC goes down, the data isn’t lost because it’s backed up in the cloud, with no burden on the company’s IT servers. There are no more isolated PLCs and no more PCs to maintain and manage for backup.
One of the great things about using an IIoT approach to traceability is that they’ll be able to continually add new ways to leverage their data. The same IIoT system that tracks parts through production can broadcast data to anyone who can use it to improve production:
- Shipping can use it to decide which size trucks to stage.
- 零件套件和测序可以使用它来评估线侧零件的及时性。
- 用于整体设备有效性（OEE）的应用程序可以监视瓶颈和饥饿站，并调整线路速度。
The possibilities are virtually endless.
因此，当涉及到数据时，所有内容都是与数据有关的 - 分享和通过IIT连接它，使制造商可以以他们从未有过的方式获得数据的好处。
格雷格·吉尔斯（Greg Giles），ggiles@redviking.com，是制造执行系统(MES) forRedViking，成员Control System Integrators Association. He leads a team of electrical and software engineers to design and implement MES, including error proofing, tracking and traceability, part kitting and sequencing, mobile factory apps, and custom app and report design. He graduated from the University of Michigan Dearborn with a B.S. in electrical engineering. VisitRedViking在工业自动化交易所的个人资料.
