Industry 4.0 on the rise

To give the lower parts of arch printing machines in the Würzburg plant a highly fine finish, KBA acquired a DIXI 270 machining center from the Swiss manufacturer DMG Mori in 2015. (Source: Nerling Systemräume GmbH)

In order for the machine to maintain the required accuracy values of ± 10 µm, a temperature of 22 °C ± 0.2 K/h must be maintained in the machine room. To ensure these climatic conditions, KBA commissioned Nerling System Rooms GmbH to set up a precision manufacturing room with a pre-temperature room. (Source: Nerling System Rooms GmbH)

The entire system was designed to be Industry 4.0 capable: for example, there are possibilities for intelligent, networked communication between the measuring machine and the DIXI processing center. (Source: Nerling Systemräume GmbH)

System room system (Source: Nerling Systemräume GmbH)

To further increase production flexibility and to continue meeting the challenges at the German site in the future, more and more companies are relying on optimized processes according to Industry 4.0 or on the use of networked systems. Many medium-sized businesses, however, find this concept difficult to implement within their own operations, as the possibilities of intelligent production – and the resulting efficiency gains – are perceived as very limited when dealing with a small machine park and few processes. However, it is overlooked that machine-to-machine communication can already bring significant advantages and relief for employees in individual, selected processes. This is especially true for production in technological rooms such as cleanrooms, sterile rooms, or measurement rooms. At this year's Control, the experts from Nerling Systemräume GmbH will showcase an Industry 4.0-compatible room system, recently installed at the printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) in Würzburg, and advise on the possibilities of intelligent production in medium-sized companies.

"KBA acquired a DIXI 270 machining center from the Swiss manufacturer DMG Mori in 2015 to give the subcomponents of bending presses a highly fine finish," explains Ralf Nerling, General Power of Attorney of the Nerling Group and member of the Industry 4.0 Working Group of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). To ensure the machine can meet the required accuracy values of ± 10 µm, special conditions must be met in the machine room, primarily a temperature of 22°C, with only a minimal deviation of ± 0.2 K/h allowed. To guarantee this, KBA commissioned Nerling Systemräume GmbH to set up a precision manufacturing room with a preheating room. This was designed so that it directly adjoins a class 2 measurement room, including an anteroom, which Nerling had already built in 2006.

Since the appropriate climate technology for maintaining a constant 22°C is installed not only in the precision manufacturing room and its associated anteroom but also in the measurement room and its anteroom – a value necessary for conducting measurements – the entire material flow occurs at a constant temperature, leading to significant time savings: the subcomponents of the bending presses are initially pre-finished outside the preheating room. They are then transported on a light rail system, suitable for weights up to 8 tons, into the preheating room, where they are stored for 24 hours at 22°C. Following the First In – First Out principle, the parts are then supplied to the DIXI 270. Afterwards, the parts are returned to the temperature control area and from there to the anteroom of the measurement room. Measurement is the final processing step. Parts that are not within specifications are returned with the corresponding information to the DIXI 270 for reworking.

Intelligent Process Design

The entire system was designed to be Industry 4.0-compatible: "For example, there are possibilities for intelligent, networked communication between the measuring machine and the DIXI processing center," says Nerling. If the measuring machine detects that a part is not entirely within specifications, it sends it back to the processing center. Instead of repeating the entire reworking process according to a fixed sequence, a networked system can adapt the program for each part based on the results of the measuring machine – meaning only the necessary steps are selected and carried out to correct the identified errors.

"Many medium-sized businesses see Industry 4.0 as not very relevant to their operations because their machine park is relatively small. They think that the use of networked systems or intelligent machine-to-machine communication is only worthwhile if, for example, a measuring machine can select the appropriate model with the optimal processing method from a pool of processing machines for a specific task – considering cost blocks and utilization," explains Nerling. However, the setup at KBA shows that intelligent production can indeed be implemented within individual process steps, significantly increasing efficiency.

At Control 2016 in Stuttgart, Nerling will inform visitors in Hall 5, Stand 5208, about the various ways to make cleanrooms, sterile rooms, and measurement rooms Industry 4.0-compatible. Ralf Nerling and other staff members will be available for discussions and specific inquiries about intelligent production in technological rooms.