Digitalization

Even more efficiently, even more effectively. "Just in time" and "just in sequence". We use the data we collect in our production processes to make our products safer and more sustainable.

Digitalization

Through digitalization, we are
changing today how we work tomorrow

We create an ergonomic, safe and interesting working environment for our employees. Because we put people at the center – especially when it comes to digitalization.

How can data and machines
support us humans
even better?

We are driven by this question.

For example, digitalization helps us identify problems before they arise. Especially in our factories. This was already evident in our first, simple application – a scrap conveyor at our ‘an der Talle’ plant in Paderborn, Germany: Since it was digitalized, it’s hardly stopped running.

With Industry 4.0, we’re solving problems before they occur

A scrap conveyor in our Paderborn plant is hidden away in a cellar. Previously, the first we would know about a problem was when a motor got so loud, it could be heard on the next floor up. Today, the system immediately detects an increase in motor current, indicating a blockage. Within seconds, a technician receives a corresponding warning by push message. The situation can be resolved before it’s actually an issue. And since the digitalization, the conveyor has hardly stopped.

INDUSTRY 4.0

The digital shift is changing our world. Long-term only those who welcome this change in an open, active and courageous way will be successful. And BENTELER is doing just that.

We use new opportunities offered by digitalization and are increasingly relying on IoT solutions to transform production. With our focus on Industry 4.0 and Big Data Applications we promote reliability, efficiency and sustainability. From this contemporary readiness, all of us benefit – our customers, our employees and nature.

Did you know...Industry 4.0

More than 10 years ago, Angela Merkel spoke of Industry 4.0 for the first time at the Hannover Messe.

Just one year later, in 2012, the technology network it´s OWL was founded in Paderborn. BENTELER is a core member of the cluster that brings together over 200 companies working on the digital transformation solutions of tomorrow. This cooperation gives us new impetus from research, which helps us make progress.

That´s how we deliver better products for our costumers.

Big Data

We use Big Data in a variety of ways around the world – for example, to further enhance the quality and sustainability of our products and processes. Our own in-house data platforms make this possible. Thanks to our own Production and Process Database (PPDB) and Smart Production Data Platform (SPDP), we can now evaluate this wide range of process and product data easily and quickly. As a result, we can understand technical issues in real time and recognize otherwise unknown correlations. And that means better maintenance, higher output and even greater quality. Our automotive plant in Burgos is a good example of the many different ways we use Big Data on a daily basis.

From wire speed to welding current: With modern automation, data is available from sensors located all along the manufacturing process. In the course of a day, millions of data points are recorded on a typical production line. To make sense of it all, we use our Smart Production Data Platform (SPDP), for example at our plant in Burgos. As well as presenting data visually on production dashboards, the system sends alerts and notifications to staff enabling appropriate action to be taken in a timely fashion.

In cathodic dip painting, electrical current causes paint to adhere to the surface of a product. At our plant in Burgos, Big Data helps us see when the current goes out of tolerance, enabling us to rectify the situation and ensure uniform paint application.

With hot forming ovens, even small leakages in the insulation mean higher energy consumption. In Burgos we’re using Big Data to assess the integrity of the oven. In this way, we reduce unnecessary energy losses, protect resources and contribute to climate protection.

More about Sustainability

Predictive Quality

Hot, hot, hot! That’s exactly what our engineers expect to see across
the profile of a product when it comes out of one of our hot-forming presses. Quality is, in part, determined by the heat distribution across it during the pressing. As part of the ML4Pro2 project with the 'it’s OWL' technology network, we used thermographic data to predict the quality of the final product directly as it comes out of the press. Thanks to this predictive quality control, we can provide our customers with outstanding products. Consistently!

Process Optimization

Rapid, reliable, robotic: Optical scanning techniques for quality control provide many benefits. And a lot of data! Up to 1 GB, for example from the analysis of a single welding seam.

That soon multiplies into a forest of data. To help us see the wood for the trees, we’re using advanced data visualization tools with our Smart Production Data Platform. Presenting the data graphically ensures more meaningful analysis. The result? Previously seldom-used reports become a source for constant process optimization.

Current Industry 4.0 innovation at BENTELER

At our automotive plant in Vitoria, we're using "white light" optical measurement technology for quality control. Components are scanned from many sides and the images assembled in a 3-D representation, which is compared with reference data. Faster and more flexible than conventional methods, it gives us surface dimensions for each part in less than 30 seconds.

As part of our Industry 4.0 initiative at our Klášterec plant in Czech Republic, 3-D optical measurement technology is helping verify product accuracy. A robot mounted sensor quickly scans pressings after they come off the press. The high-precision data is mapped by color giving a quick visual indication of if and where components are out of tolerance.

In Burgos, vision systems ensure precise component positioning. By scanning the contours of parts on a robot manipulator, the system computes their position, calculates any variance and adjusts the positioning accordingly. Which all helps to improve spot welding time by 40%.

BENTELER research work on Industry 4.0 applications

Optimized processes, more efficient product development, better utilization of plant capacity.

Under the leadership of Fraunhofer IEM, we’re participating with other companies in the "MoSyS" research project. The goal is to create a modular "human-oriented system of systems" that can be used to optimize work processes and reduce development efforts. Our use case is based around the development and production of a twist beam axle. Ultimately, these modular systems will give us far greater production flexibility and higher quality, enabling several products to run through one modular plant. As a result, we’ll be able to respond much faster to customer requests.

Predictive maintenance model increases equipment effectiveness by 5%.

Together with the internationally renowned Fraunhofer Institute, BENTELER has developed a model for predictive maintenance of machines using Big Data. BENTELER is now implementing the process model in production. As a result, downtime can be avoided, and customers can be supplied on time and at fair prices. "Thanks to Boost 4.0, we’ve significantly improved our Big Data infrastructure and are reaching the next level of data analytics within BENTELER. The project is a driver in increasing our competence in Industry 4.0. As a direct benefit, it has increased the overall plant effectiveness of the applicable machines by 5%. In the next step the project results will be multiplied in all BENTELER plants around the world," said Emerson Galina, COO of BENTELER Automotive.

SMART FACTORY

More and more, Industry 4.0 applications are changing modern industrial operations. But what does it look like when a complete plant is planned, built and operated in a digitalized and networked manner from the very first idea? Our Smart Factory in Mos, Spain, provides the answer.

The AIVs ensure an autonomous, fast product and material flow in the plant.

The factory uses 3D printing to produce tools and materials.

Big Data architectures offer the possibility to evaluate and process large amounts of data.

The machines in the plant independently monitor their status and
request maintenance.

With our Smart Factory in Mos, the eighth BENTELER plant in Spain, we are one of the largest employers in Galicia. To enable our employees to make the best possible use of the new technological possibilities, we conduct special training courses. Because, as a family of driven professionals, our focus is on people. Even in our Smart Factory.

INTERVIEW WITH BENTELER DIGITALIZATION EXPERTS

In the following interview, Daniel Koechling, Director Process Engineering, Michael Lindenblatt, Head of CoC Metrology (both BENTELER Automotive) and Madlen Büker, Project Manager Digitalization (BENTELER Steel/Tube), talk about topics in the field of Industry 4.0.

Q. Mr. Erfling, for the laymen amongst us, could you explain the difference between a conventional factory and a smart factory?

A. In our everyday lives, most of us experience smart technology in some form or other. Whether it’s asking a digital assistant to play our favorite song on our mobile phone or using 3-D printing to quickly build prototype products. In our smart factories we make use of the many opportunities these digital technologies offer. They allow us to work more efficiently and produce better quality products for our customers. For example, we analyse large amounts of data automatically to detect if and when machines need to be serviced before there is actually a problem. These analyses enable us, for example, to optimize the maintenance cycles of our welding systems, so that we can no longer intervene according to fixed maintenance schedules but in a condition-controlled manner. In the end, this also makes life easier for our employees and stabilizes the quality of our products.

Q. Would we recognize any of the technology being used in smart factories?

A. Certainly. Just one example that many people will be familiar with are our data glasses. At BENTELER, we’re using them with our Remote Expert platform. In this way, maintenance technicians in locations all around the world can get local support from experts without them having to be on site. The technician working on the spot wears the data glasses, which allows the remote expert to share the view and make suggestions about maintenance or repair. That not only saves time, it can also save an expert having to travel to site – an important consideration since Covid-19.

Q. Mr. Lindenblatt, how is Industry 4.0 helping BENTELER in the area of quality?

A. Digitization and automatic "real-time" data processing help us shorten our response times, identify focus problems faster and better, and close control loops. Production employees are relieved by receiving a fast and focusable overview of the data volumes in an automated manner. This eliminates the need for manual processing of the growing volumes of data. The setters and quality staff can concentrate even more on the systematic optimization of their processes. Automatic notifications when certain warning limits are exceeded also help to inform those responsible in good time. As already implemented at the Burgos (Spain) and An der Talle plants, for example.

Q. How can Big Data improve quality for our customers?

A. In our production processes, we have always been proud of our efficient quality control. With Big Data, we can still take a significant step forward. We gather millions of points of data from our manufacturing processes and products each day. New software tools enable us to analyse these vast quantities of data very quickly. We’ve even built some of these tools ourselves, thanks to cooperation between our IT and production experts. In this way, we can tailor them to our precise needs. For example, today we can detect and perceive changes in the product or process very quickly and initiate immediate measures. Even before the parts run out of tolerance. Now, we can take steps, perhaps by an adjustment to a production process, to ensure that products are consistently manufactured to our high standards. Which means greater consistency and lower costs.

Q. Mrs. Büker, how is digitalization affecting manufacturing processes at BENTELER Steel/Tube?

A. We are implementing Industry 4.0 in many areas at BENTELER Steel/Tube and digitalization is bringing many benefits. The more we digitalize our manufacturing processes, the more production data we collect. This gives us a wide range of insights into our production processes that weren’t available previously. We use this knowledge to help improve quality and increase output across the entire process chain.

Q. How are these insights being used in practice?

A. One example is optimized plant control. We’ve developed our own real-time recommendation system in tube production. Using Big Data, the system suggests the most favorable production values based on previous experience. It’s a good example of how we are making use of digitalization internally. In this way, we are not only increasing pipe quality but also customer satisfaction. At the same time, we also become more efficient internally. So, it's win-win on all sides!