The Challenge: One of North America’s largest manufacturers of AWWA and UL/FM hydrants
and valves needed to increase the production of their foundry machines. Their
aging cope and drag tight flask machines featured technologically
obsolete controllers that cost the foundry significant expense in
unnecessary downtime.
The customer needed to reduce machine downtime in order to satisfy customer-service objectives, increase production throughput, and reduce operating costs.
The Solution: Brock Solutions was contracted to design an updated control system capable
of gathering up-to-date information pertaining to their machine downtime, which
would allow them to measure and analyze their productivity and causes for lost productivity.
Functionality
- Downtime Tracking: The Downtime Tracking Module provides the customer with the ability to capture
production data in real time, and also provides the reporting and analytical tools
to permit operating management to identify the root causes of production problems.
- AutoReady Fault Recovery: The updated control system allows the customer to quickly diagnose faulted line
sections. The PLC automatically scans for the machine’s current position and
sets the sequence’s active step according to that position. Machine interlocks prevent
equipment movement until other moving parts release the motion. The movement in the
whole system is now initiated from the event driven section and will sequentially release
interlocks to permit subsequent movements. The machines self-regulates its movements
and cycle will continue.
- Diagnostic Screens: Operators can use the new HMI’s diagnostic screens to quickly pinpoint faulted
line sections, the movement which faulted, and the sequence step which faulted. Using
the touch screen, operators can view additional screens that illustrate the corrective
actions that must be taken to resume production, dramatically reducing the amount of
time spent searching for causes and troubleshooting production problems.
- Production Reporting and Analysis: Foundry management have the ability to abstract and examine operating data
by machine group, machine, product run, etc., over any time period. The following
statistics are captured from the customer’s upgraded machine control systems:
- Runtime
- Machine State
- Mold Counts
- Cycle Time
- Faults
- Downtime incidents
The Benefits: With access to real-time and historical machine downtime data, the customer is
able to quickly and easily measure actual vs. planned production, evaluate productivity
and analyze reasons for lost production. With this information, the customer can
implement fact-based continuous improvement programs.
With the capability to measure the technical availability, rates of utilization,
and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of their foundry machines on-line and on-demand,
the customer is:
- Increasing their system reliability
- Dramatically reducing their machine downtime
- Increasing their cycle production throughput
- Reducing operating costs
