GASER - Digitalisation supports anodising trade
Digitalised surface finishing
How GASER and ifm are optimising the anodising process together
The GASER Group specialises in the surface treatment of metals. In order to meet the growing demands of, in particular, the automotive and aviation market for traceability and process monitoring, the company is deploying a digitalisation strategy in cooperation with automation specialist ifm.
Whether screws, furniture frames, brake discs or aircraft engine components: metal components requiring particular durability or aesthetic properties undergo galvanic surface treatment. Common processes include anodising, nickel-plating, galvanising, heat treating and spray painting. The aim is to maximise corrosion protection, resistance and the appearance of the treated parts.
Heterogenous technology
“The digitalisation is fundamental for ensuring the traceability and monitoring of our processes”, explains Enrico Galliani, General Manager at GASER. “Our company has a long tradition, but has grown again considerably in the past 15 years. This means that our technology is very heterogenous. With this systematic digitalisation, we hope to standardise the digital level across the entire group so that we will be able to provide our customers with consistent information on our quality certificates.”
Individual solution for every system
GASER chose automation specialist ifm to implement this digitalisation strategy. “We have been impressed with the cooperation for several reasons. Firstly, the experts at ifm have adapted perfectly to our needs by meeting us at our particular industrial reality. This shouldn’t be taken for granted, as our industry can most certainly be considered a niche sector”, says Galliani. “Secondly, ifm has demonstrated a high level of flexibility. Instead of offering a generic solution for all our requirements, we have been able to target each individual system and each individual site together and develop bespoke solutions for the upgrade we wanted.”
Image 1: Examples of transformation and surface deposits. From unfinished to an aesthetic, technical artefact: GASER offers many coating options.
Image 2: GASER will continue to rely upon the experience of its staff in future. The digitalisation is intended to help them in their work.
From skills to data-based decision-making
But for GASER, it was not just about process transparency for customers, as Innovation Manager Graziella Galati explains: “Of course we would like to reflect the growth of the group by creating a sound database that provides an objective picture of where the company is at and that serves as a basis for decision-making. But the digitalisation process also helps our staff in their daily work. The skills and experience of our staff are very important for GASER.”
Step by step towards the goal
In spite of initial challenges due to the complexity of the project, Galati is positive about the outcome: “Our cooperation with ifm has allowed us to grow internally, expand our capabilities, and thus reinforce and consolidate our position overall. The results have borne this out and show that we’re on the right track.”
The GASER Group is just as optimistic about tackling the other goals together with ifm:
Sensor data for quality and traceability
The projects primarily involve sensors for temperature, pH-value and current, as Antonio Rendina, Automation and Digitalization Manager, explains: “These parameters are crucial for understanding whether a treatment has been successful. In this way we can monitor the process and identify any anomalies for quality assurance.”
Old and new sensors combined
GASER had to overcome two challenges along the way to digitalisation: older systems also had to be made fit for the digitalisation. “Together with ifm, we have managed to integrate smart sensors with IO-Link technology into outdated production lines”, says Rendina. While most of ifm’s sensors feature IO-Link technology, which enables seamless, straightforward data transfer to the IT level without compromising communication with the PLC, older analogue sensors also had to be included in the digital data collection as part of the digitalisation of GASER’s systems. ifm has just the solution for this challenge in the form of converters that convert the analogue signals into digital information.
IT-based process optimisation
The second challenge was to make the data obtained available to the staff in production. It was agreed to use moneo, ifm’s IIoT platform. moneo is a user-friendly, very powerful ifm software that allows its customers to easily review and optimise process sequences. moneo enables them to keep an eye on fill levels, temperature trends and the maintenance requirements of systems. Unexpected downtimes caused by a failure to replenish or system malfunctions can be avoided, as can quality losses caused by process deviations.
Image 1: The VVB vibration sensor monitors the status of the oven fans. Thanks to IO-Link technology, it transmits the measured values directly to the IT level.
Image 2: The moneo dashboard with the main process data is highly visible in the workshop. The response time is much shorter when intervention is needed.
Image 3: Temperature probe, evaluation unit and cables withstand the harsh environmental conditions of the anodisation process.
Easier controls, faster response
GASER uses the software to collate the relevant process data in easy-to-read dashboards, which can be provided on the system monitors.
“Thanks to the rollout of the new software, things such as checking the temperature of the basins are much easier for me now“, confirms Matteo Margiotta, plant technician at GASER.
From production line to management level
As well as production, the management also benefits from the transparency. Thanks to moneo, those in charge can monitor all the systems and sites centrally. By integrating the sensor data into the GASER Core ERP system, production and company data can be combined and used for strategic analyses.
“ifm was hugely supportive in helping us to develop all of these ideas”, says Antonio Rendina. “Besides training and skills development, there are still almost daily discussions to explore new approaches and overcome obstacles together. Thus their claim to be ’close to you’ is spot on in my eyes.“
