Fulfilling individual customer requirements efficiently down to batch size 1 is a challenge for many companies. To meet this requirement, system integrator neogramm and Busch-Jaeger, the specialist for electrical installation technology, have pooled their expertise and developed an innovative and pioneering batch size 1 production line that combines individual products with the efficiency benefits of series production. The innovative solution already won the Industry 4.0 Award in the “Smart Supply Chain” category in 2020 – presented by the trade journal Produktion and ROI Management Consulting. The project demonstrates how intelligent networking, digitalization and partnership can be used to economically implement customized production.
The partnership
The product and the manufacturing concept were already in place when Busch-Jaeger and neogramm first set out together to find a solution. ABB, the parent company of Busch-Jaeger, and neogramm had recently cooperated in the Smart Industries network, an association of companies and research institutions in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, in which application-oriented technology projects and effective implementation processes are jointly developed.
The project and the collaboration with neogramm have elevated us to a new level of manufacturing technology. With a technologically strong partner, we were able to successfully further develop groundbreaking use cases. Without additional effort, we integrated customer-specific batch size 1 into the series production process,” says Aylin Kirli, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH.
The challenge
With the new Busch-tacteo® KNX sensor, Busch-Jaeger has developed a customized control element for intelligent buildings. The special feature: Customers can configure their product individually, with production starting from batch size 1. While Busch-Jaeger already had the product, design, and production concept, and the ABB research center provided an innovative concept, a partner for practical implementation was still needed. ABB brought neogramm on board. As a system integrator with expertise in IIoT, automation and image processing, neogramm turned the research center’s vision into a practical solution for production.
The product places special demands on the production line. Only a holistic, end-to-end concept based on digitalization can provide the right answer to this challenge. In cooperation with the parties involved, neogramm provided valuable advice at this point. How is data standardized, transferred and used? Which software solutions are already available and which should be used?
Individual production on an industrial scale at series conditions is a complex task, particularly in terms of efficiency, transparency and traceability of production. In addition to this core area, integration into the entire operation must not be overlooked: order processing, production control, procurement, logistics, ERP, MES, and SCADA levels. The communication infrastructure is designed to be particularly tightly woven to enable automatic configuration of the manufacturing system with all modules for each new product variant. An ambitious goal that can be systematically implemented with suitable technical means and standards.
The successful production of this device answers a key question: How can an individualized product be produced competitively down to batch size 1 in my industry? Or, in more general terms: How can the transition from “mass manufacturing” to “mass customization” succeed? To achieve this, key aspects in these three areas had to be analyzed: Modularity, interoperability and permeability.
The Solution
To enable smooth, secure communication between all machines in the production system, the OPC UA (OPC Unified Architecture) production protocol from the OPC Foundation is used and parts of a pioneering information model created by ABB (BJE TCS OPC UA Information Model) are taken into account. This enables the networking of complex machine components in production and the creation of digital twins. The real machines in the factory are simply combined to form the desired production system. neogramm also supplied software for ABB zenon for the acquisition, processing and visualization of production data, which forms the interface between man and machine as well as between the production machines. Machine vision solutions enable the automation and quality assurance of production steps.
Modularity: Flexible design for quality and efficiency in production
A flexible basic structure reflects the central design principle: modularity. With the ABB zenon operational data management solution, neogramm was able to implement a future-oriented service bus architecture, which is of decisive importance for achieving the objectives. For example, how can you ensure that different product concepts are implemented with consistently high quality? This is achieved by linking automated work steps, which receive their instructions digitally, with visual inspections. Meanwhile, the workpieces are clearly marked and scanned to ensure precise identification and allocation in the production process. At the same time, camera inspections of the condition and processing of the current workpiece are carried out continuously.
Interoperability: Flexible adaptation and seamless integration in the production process
In the interplay of components, expertise from automation, industrial image processing, and digital integration is interwoven in the application. The architecture, which is basically extension-friendly, also opens up possibilities for scaling and subsequent adjustments to the process. This is based on a generic information model. Machines can also be replaced or reinstalled without any complications.
Permeability: Optimized transparency and traceability in the production chain
The balanced and advanced design based on the selected software architectures contributes to the high efficiency in addition to the special flexibility. Comprehensible and interlocking approaches have been found for this purpose. Above all, data and recipe management has not been applied to the individual machine, but ‘one level higher’. In this way, data can be referenced, stored and traced (traceability). Every work step remains verifiable – from recording the order data to the final quality check and packaging. The overall system is rounded off by a worker guidance system that is closely aligned with the work process via an intuitive human-machine interface. Thanks to neogramme’s support, the concept, process and control were implemented in a targeted manner and the quality requirements were fulfilled.
The award
The cooperation has produced extraordinarily innovative and successful results. Busch-Jaeger and neogramm were jointly nominated for the Industry 4.0 Award 2019. In January 2020, the solution received an award in the “Smart Supply Chain” category for the consistent digitalization of the production and ordering process for the Busch-tacteo® glass sensor. Every year since 2013, the trade journal Produktion and ROI Management Consulting have recognized the most innovative solutions in the field of smart factory or supply chain management. This sets the bar for the best digitalization projects in the industry.
