SPALECK GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned company with a tradition spanning over 150 years, headquartered in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since its founding in 1869, it has grown into a leading provider in the fields of conveying and separation technology, metal processing, precision parts, surface finishing and water treatment. With more than 500 employees, SPALECK manufactures high-quality screening machines that are used worldwide for recycling materials such as metals, plastics and batteries. In addition, SPALECK screening machines and conveyor troughs are an integral part of many production systems in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries.
Using an IoT solution based on a combination of IXON Cloud and AI software from aiXbrain, SPALECK service engineers can monitor the company’s systems for unwanted influences or issues such as vibration and take timely corrective action.
The challenge: Preventing machine failures caused by gradual wear
In practice, recycling technology is often exposed to extremely harsh environmental conditions. As a result, there is a constant risk of unexpected machine failures and, consequently, downtime of the entire recycling line. To counter this, SPALECK was looking for an IoT-based solution to provide its end customers and in-house service staff with proactive machine monitoring.
Gradual deviations from target values and changes in key machine parameters can be identified by experts. However, regularly reviewing large volumes of machine data and converting this information into usable algorithms is time-consuming. The goal was therefore to transfer this knowledge and information to an artificial intelligence (AI). A key step toward this solution was the platform integration with IXON Cloud.
The solution: AI-based drift detection in IXON Cloud
IXON Cloud enables the storage and monitoring of raw sensor measurement data, which can be displayed in configurable dashboards. The end customer’s machines are connected to the cloud via the powerful “SecureEdge Pro” edge gateway from IXON. This gateway allows highly secure remote access and is equipped with a 1.8 GHz ARM quad-core processor and a configurable OT/LAN port to isolate the factory network from the internet. It also supports Docker apps running locally on the gateway. Registering a new device takes just one minute.
The data is presented graphically in the cloud platform’s service portal. The interface also allows for the creation of static, rule-based alerts. However, it is the integration of AI that turns the cloud platform into a truly smart monitoring solution.
To implement artificial intelligence, aiXbrain GmbH — a spin-off from RWTH Aachen — and its AI software Dataray® AI come into play. This is an industrial AI framework specifically developed for a wide variety of machines and sensor data.
During the development of the IoT solution for SPALECK, a joint workshop was held to define the required AI functionalities, data requirements and dashboards. In the next step, Dataray® AI for Predictive Maintenance was activated as a SaaS app in the IXON Cloud Marketplace. The configuration of the app and the AI was carried out jointly by aiXbrain and IXON. The Dataray® plug-in ensures seamless integration of SPALECK’s data and dashboards with the platform via the IXON Connector.
Relevant training data from the past was identified using a combination of statistical methods and SPALECK’s domain expertise. A semi-supervised drift detection model was then trained and now continuously runs in real time alongside machine operations.
The AI-generated results are clearly visualized in dedicated dashboards. In critical cases, automatic email alerts proactively notify the service team.
To ensure the AI continues to improve, misclassified or missed data segments can easily be marked and (re)labeled directly within the dashboards.
The result: Optimized spare parts management and increased customer satisfaction
The combination of IXON Cloud with Dataray® AI from aiXbrain enables simple and elegant intelligent monitoring of all machines in use at SPALECK’s end customers. This leads to faster response times and proactive maintenance that helps prevent issues before they occur. As a result, monitoring efforts are reduced and customer downtime is avoided.
Thanks to IXON’s IoT solution, SPALECK was able to optimize its spare parts management and, ultimately, measurably increase customer satisfaction.
