Production and Product data exchange between Controller and MES
The Automotive Catalyst production from Umicore has been unified worldwide in relation to Automation and Systems. In the Plants, the in-house MES solution administrates all production and product data in the Microsoft-SQL-Database and they have selected the TwinCAT-Software system. Secure high performance data exchange between SQL-Database and Controller, is ensured by the SQL4automation Connector. Axel Wienand, Manager of Automation & Systems at Umicore AG & Co. KG in Hanau, explains the reasons behind this.
The Umicore Group is technology leader when it comes to precious metals and covers a broad spectrum right up to Automotive Catalyst production. Umicore has set itself demands to develop, produce and recycle materials sustainably, or in other words "Materials for a better life". A major part of the precious metals activities of the Umicore Group is located in Umicore AG & Co. KG in Hanau.
The manufacturing plants for the Automotive Catalysts, which include coating units and furnaces, are significantly large and are to be found worldwide in 14 Umicore Plants. Axel Wienand is responsible for the automation in the Catalysts area for every Plant, worldwide. Since the time when he was active for Umicore in South Africa for five years in the nineties, he has made it his mission to standardise the automation and production IT sectors in the Plants. Early on in the process, Microsoft-SQL-Databases were implemented, which served as the base for the in-house developed MES solution. The key factor here, according to the manager, is that it is a stable and scalable Database solution. "Within the company we have a policy of selecting Microsoft solutions in order to avail of a unified operating system base", he concludes. One of the major benefits he sees is the automatic Update supply.
A Microsoft based platform has also been selected for the controlling tasks. "We decided on the TwinCAT platform from Beckhoff, which runs on a high performance Industrial PC from the same manufacturer", according to the Manager of Automation & Systems, who has been intensively involved with the topic of implementation of Automation Technology for 30 years.
MES and Control worlds linked with each other
" Now the issue was to link the worlds of MES and Control", continues A. Wienand. "In the past we programed an in-house Visual-Basic-Application, for this purpose. "However, the handling efforts required proved to be very high. For example, the changeover from Windows XP to Windows 7 demanded unifying adjustment processes", is how he remembers it. And there were limitations inherent when it came to implementation. We came across the Inasoft Company and their SQL4automation solution on a trade fair stand at the SPS IPC Drives fair. We have equipped all our new plants with the Inasoft solution, for the past eight years, ", according to the Umicore-Manager. "The SQL-Database coupling to TwinCAT worked very well from the beginning. In the meantime more than 40 Plants have been equipped with this solution".
"The Connector supplied by Inasoft provides a complete range of benefits", A. Wienand points out. The Query-Tool makes the configuration very simple and the Debugger highlights possible faults immediately. "We received feedback very quickly confirming that the entire system was functioning perfectly", says the Umicore man. Likewise there were no problems reported from the data performance side. "The SQL4automation solution processes huge volumes of data without problems", which makes A. Wienand very content.
Bidirectional data exchange
The machine and production parameters are transferred to the controller from the SQL-Database. "The master data is administrated by ourselves centrally in the Database", according to the Manager. The machine parameters include, amongst others, machining times, stroke rate and cycle times of the machine. The production parameters include, for example, barcodes, product designations, dimensions and part sizes. This is exactly how current production and quality data like temperature, pressure and weight are transmitted back to the MES.
"To date we have always had 1:1 coupling, meaning we implement SQL4automation in the Light version", he reports further. "Now we will implement the standard version as well in larger Plants, as this enables up to ten connections with one Tool". The savings seen in handling, justify the investment costs for the purchased Software solution", is A. Wienand's firm conviction. "A major factor here is the way support from Inasoft has worked so excellently. Every query we have is met with a suitable solution, normally within a few hours".