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  1. moneo: IIoT platform
  2. Use cases

Counting of workpiece carrier circulations using moneo RTM

Circulation counter in the plasma activation process of a production machine for electronic modules

The workpiece carriers in a production machine for electronic modules are subject to wear due to friction, impacts and plasma activation. To safeguard product quality, the workpiece carriers must be in faultless condition. Regular maintenance and replacement is thus necessary.

Initial situation:

The process of plasma activation inevitably leads to a high degree of wear of the workpiece carriers. In the past, time-based maintenance was performed once per month. Depending on the throughput quantity, maintenance was carried out too late, resulting in unplanned and costly production downtime.

Aim of the project:

In this process, a quantity-based maintenance strategy is essential in order to schedule maintenance tasks based on the actual wear of the workpiece carriers, focussing on the number of circulations per workpiece carrier.

Implementation:

moneo RTM is centrally installed on a server. The IO-Link master of the AL1350 series is connected to the server via a VLAN. A position sensor is used to detect the workpiece carriers on the conveyor belt. It switches its output when a workpiece carrier is detected. The switching signal is detected by a DP2302 IO-Link adapter and the internal counter is incremented. This counter value is read by the IO-Link master and transmitted to moneo RTM via the VLAN.

Result:

An effective quality assurance process has been implemented, increasing the quality and stability of the process and product. Warning thresholds and alarms have been configured based on the counter value acquisition; e.g. email notifications are sent when thresholds are exceeded. Comment functions in the ticketing system create transparency and improve the communication between the responsible team members working in different shifts. This makes it possible to schedule maintenance activities in time. In addition, stockpiling of required wear and spare parts can now be planned.

Bottom line:

Small change – great effect: An overall improvement of the maintenance and production process has been achieved.

System structure

  1. Position sensor (e.g. IF6124)
  2. IO-Link counter module (DP2302)
  3. IO-Link master (AL1350)

Dashboard

The dashboard visualises the relevant information for the current use case. Using the drag & drop editor, dashboards can be custom-built for a specific application. Background images can be inserted to highlight relevant plant components and insert the corresponding instruments at the respective position.

  1. Traffic light display of the current count (green≤ 2250, yellow> 2250, red> 2500)
  2. Level meter of the current count with threshold values

Tasks & tickets: manage thresholds with moneo RTM

For the main counter of the DP2302, the corresponding threshold values are defined:
If the thresholds are exceeded, a corresponding limit violation ticket will be created automatically.

  1. Warning threshold > 2,250
  2. Alarm threshold > 2,500

This helps the maintenance department document all the steps required as a result of the limit violation, ensuring seamless documentation of the actions performed.

Ticket processing rules

This moneo function can be used via an easy-to-use wizard to define what should happen in addition to ticket creation. In this use case, maintenance is informed by email when the warning threshold has been exceeded. They can now schedule and carry out the required maintenance. If the alarm threshold is exceeded, an extended group of employees in production will be informed.

  1. Definition of thresholds (5) and data sources (6)
  2. Defines which rule is applied
  3. Defines the warning or alarm urgency
  4. Defines the email recipients
  5. Definition of the relevant thresholds
  6. Definition of the corresponding data sources

Counter reset

The counter can be reset to zero via IO-Link (system command or Pdout), e.g. via the parameter setting software moneo configure.