APA solution

Responding to the demand, we offered the Industry 4.0 Technology Testing Centre, an industrial showroom that allows you to take a close look at the production process in accordance with the Industry 4.0 standards.

Main description

The components of the Industry 4.0 Technology Testing Centre are:

Multifunction display designed by APA Group engineers and composed of components from dozens of recognized suppliers of production line equipment,
NAZCA 4.0 platform, a comprehensive IIoT application for managing and optimizing automation in a manufacturing plant.

The basis for optimizing production processes is the ability to make reliable measurements, real-time readings of plant and equipment parameters, and the ability to manage the machinery fleet in real time. That's why CTTP 4.0 includes full-scale production stations equipped with advanced technology solutions from leaders in specific industries. The aim is to demonstrate the leap in productivity and qualitative technological change after applying the ideas of the fourth industrial revolution.

The exposition in the Industry 4.0 Technology Testing Centre allows to select a sample product, give it characteristics, and then manufacture it while monitoring each stage of the production process in real time - both on-site in Gliwice and via the Internet. Importantly, within this system it is possible to observe the function and practical applicability of IoT, Big Data, machine learning concepts in industrial manufacturing.

After the cycle is complete, users such as managers, maintenance staff and planners receive a clear report detailing key indicators such as quality, productivity, costs, energy consumption and CO2 emissions. And this will allow us to accurately estimate the unit production costs of the components.

Such rapid data analysis, in a broad sense, has not been available as an educational showroom until now.

For greater clarity, all types of messages are presented on the station's graphic overlay, making it easier to locate the source of the information.

The project has already been joined by more than 20 partner companies that will disseminate the ideas of Industry 4.0 and actively provide technological support and mentoring to all the entities involved in the venture.

Leading organizations representing the Polish and global economy, education and industry have decided to assume honorary patronage over the Industry 4.0 Technology Testing Centre, including:

AHK Polska
EMT-Systems
FANUC Polska
Katowice Special Economic Zone
KUKA Polska
Silesian University of Technology
Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Gliwice
SINOTAIC

The Centre is connected to APA Group's proprietary engine called NAZCA 4.0, which collects thousands of pieces of information and figures that suggest how to maximize profits or avoid downtime and breakdowns. The platform connects different technical layers through communication protocols, building a single management Centre for easy decision making and report generation.

Station functionalities

1. Remote access to data
Possibility of remote access to current statistics, quality indicators or alarms from the production process. All data is available on the production network and selected data is also available on the office network or from anywhere outside CTTP4.0. For greater clarity, all types of messages are presented on the station's graphic overlay, making it easier to locate the source of the information.
2. Mobile application
Monitoring of the most important production parameters, alarm log or e.g. camera images also from the level of the mobile application. When a failure is detected, the mobile app generates a notification accordingly.
3. Predictive maintenance
A method for preventing machine failures by analyzing machine parameters (e.g., current draw, temperature, operating speed, positioning) to identify patterns and predict problems before they occur. Analytics tools allow you to monitor equipment health, optimize service intervals, and report irregularities in real time.
4. Monitoring of additional signals
Monitoring of signals that are not used in the Industry 3.0 control process. After analysis of the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity), the station's power supply parameters or e.g. drive vibration, their influence on the process is determined, allowing further optimization of quality and production time.
5. Setting KPIs
The system allows to display the efficiency ratio of stations and individual devices, calculated on the basis of production orders and actual order processing time. Planned and unplanned shutdowns are taken into account, as well as the accompanying plant parameters and irregularities. Without the need to analyze technical parameters, the manager gets the percentage OEE index of production. It is automatically compared for different time periods.
6. Utility telemetry
Collection of indications from meters and utility analyzers (electricity consumption, compressed air consumption) in one central point. The data is automatically converted into monetary values and thus the production cost of a single workpiece. In addition, the power guard functionality allows you to control the demand for maximum power and optimize utility contracts or better plan production.
7. Change and long-term reports
Automatically generated reports are sent to defined recipient groups after each day, also presenting long-term trends. The information is adapted to specific groups of recipients - managers, planners, logisticians, accountants or maintenance services.
8. On-demand production
Ordering a workpiece from the project’s website. The customer is informed on an ongoing basis about the status of the order, with the possibility of online access (camera image, installation parameters) during the automatic production of the ordered workpiece. Then the workpiece is sent to the customer with a report summarizing the execution of the order (duration, cost of production, air consumed, electricity, etc.)
9. Testing the influence of interference
The station allows you to introduce malfunctions, e.g. by switching a working compressed air supply circuit to a faulty circuit. It examines the speed of automatic fault diagnosis, the effectiveness of informing maintenance services, as well as the impact of the fault on production parameters and the quality of the manufactured workpiece.
10. Integration of solutions from different manufacturers
Collection and archiving of operating parameters of devices from various manufacturers in one central point, which facilitates management of a diversified machine park. The effect of individual devices on each other is examined, and correlations between the individual parameters are sought.

Collection and archiving of operating parameters of devices from various manufacturers in one central point, which facilitates management of a diversified machine park. The effect of individual devices on each other is examined, and correlations between the individual parameters are sought.

Station operation - step by step production

1. Guest selects the dimensions of the manufactured part on the Nazca screen or in the Visca mobile app
2. Robot picks up a transport box from the table and puts it on conveyor 1
3. Robot picks up 5 pieces of sheet metal of a certain size from the table and puts them into the transport box
4. Turntable (item 10) rotates 90 degrees, connecting conveyors 1 and 2 together
5. Box from conveyor 1 is transported with conveyors 9, 2, 3, 4, 5 to conveyor 6
6. Gripper on the linear portal lifts a transport box from conveyor 6 and transports it to conveyor 13
7. Box is transported with conveyors 13, 14 to the welding cell
8. Welding robot changes tool from gripper to suction cup
9. Welding robot pulls out 5 pieces of sheet metal one by one with the suction cup and places them on the welding table in the pre-weld area
10. Cylinders on the welding table press the sheet walls against the blank
11. Welding robot changes tool from suction cup to welding pipe
12. Welding robot welds the walls together (in spots)
13. Welding robot changes tool from welding pipe to gripper
14. Welding robot moves the spot-welded sheet metal walls to the welding spot (next to it on the welding table)
15. Welding robot changes tool from gripper to welding pipe
16. Robot welds sheet metal walls together
17. Welding robot changes tool from welding pipe to gripper
18. Welded workpiece is cooled by air (blast through welding table)
19. Welding robot moves the workpiece from the welding table to the transport box on conveyor 14
20. The box is transported by conveyors 14, 13 to beneath the linear portal.
21. Gripper on the linear portal lifts a transport box from conveyor 13 and transports it to conveyor 6
22. Turntable (item 10) rotates 90 degrees, connecting conveyors 8 and 11 together
23. Box from conveyor 6 is transported by conveyors 7, 8, 9, 11 to the end of conveyor 12
24. Guest takes a welded workpiece out of the transport box and approves it with a button mounted on the partition
25. Box is transported back to conveyor 11
26. Robot picks up the shipping box and puts it on the table

Benefits

Ability to make reliable measurements, real-time readout of plant and equipment parameters, and real-time fleet management.

Curiosity

The platform has been appreciated in the industry environment and awarded with the prestigious distinction "Teraz Polska".

Our partners

Companies that are creating the 4.0 revolution with us: