Keeping an eye on oil consumption with moneo and Shop Floor Integration
Manufacturing companies in the metal industry need oils and other fluids that are consumed by their machines. To make this consumption transparent and to establish a link to the ERP system, Arnold Umformtechnik relies on the IIoT platform moneo in combination with the SAP-based software solution Shop Floor Integration (SFI) – both from ifm.
By: Jörg Lantzsch for ifm
Cold forming presses and rollers are the most important machines in Arnold Umformtechnik’s production – a specialist in high-quality and innovative fastening technology. All these machines require different fluids to ensure their operation. Five different oils including waste oil and emulsion are stored in a central oil supply system. There is a "filling station" in each department where employees can collect the oils for the individual machines.
Detection of consumption and transfer to ERP
In the past, the consumption of the individual machines was not transparent, and it was not possible, for example, to track which machine would consume which amount of oil. The company has now implemented an Industry 4.0 solution based on the moneo IIoT platform.
The employee collecting the oil selects the machine for which the oil is needed at the filling station’s control panel. Flow meters then measure the amount of oil dispensed. The moneo agent accesses the controller to further process the information about the oil quantities and can analyse the detected consumption and provide a clear overview.
It is of particular interest to Arnold that the SFI solution from ifm feeds the data directly into the SAP system. This solution thus creates end-to-end transparency of the consumption, so that quantities can be booked accordingly. Detecting the oil consumption of each machine offers another important advantage: If the oil consumption of two identical machines differs significantly, this will be noticed immediately.
Arnold has known ifm as a sensor supplier for a long time. However, the fact that moneo is an open system is very important for the project that has now been implemented. For example, Arnold uses sensors from a manufacturer other than ifm to measure oil quantities, but the data from these sensors can be seamlessly imported into moneo. These sensors were already installed in the plant.
About the ARNOLD Group
ARNOLD is internationally renowned for first-class innovative fastening systems. Based on many years of expertise in the production of intelligent fasteners and highly complex extruded parts, the ARNOLD GROUP has developed into a comprehensive supplier and development partner for complex fastening systems. With the positioning of "BlueFastening Systems", this development is now being continued under a coherent umbrella. Engineering, fasteners and functional parts as well as feeding systems and processing technology from a single source form a unique combination of experience and competence – efficient, sustainable and international. ARNOLD has been part of the Würth Group since 1994.
