Oerlikon Manmade Fibers: En Route to The Digital Yarn Factory
The scenario of the future: tex- tile production – from the supply chain through to dispatch – is autonomously controlled in the fullynetworked Factory 4.0. The product being created controls and monitors the processes itself using embedded sensors. The manufacturing or order status is known at all times, raw materials are automatically reordered, wear and maintenance are planned as integral parts of the production process and error processes are identified, alleviated or displayed.
For this, the machine construction sector has to provide correspond- ingly intelligent and Web-enabled production systems.
“WE WANT TO BECOME THE TRENDSETTER”
Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment wants to face those technical development challenges and has high standards. “We want to become the textile machine construction trendsetter for technologies of this kind,“ says CEO Georg Stausberg. The first steps on this journey have already been taken. The Plant Operation Center (POC) for process monitoring enables the collation of existing production data in a central location and to make these data available. HMI based services such as process monitoring via a service online app on smart phones and tablets were introduced as well as an assistance system based on mixed-reality glasses (Microsoft HoloLens). The system supports predictive maintenance concepts and enables virtual 360-degree tours through spinning systems.
AIM4DTY: AUTOMATED DETECTION OF ERROR CAUSE
The digital future solution AIM4DTY provides help with the identi- fication of possible error causes in texturing machines to help reduce quality risks. Here, machine learning is being used: The system recognizes and is being “trained” using trend charts and their respective errors. A manual analysis and optimization is nearly impossible with more than 125,000 graphs per day. With the automated solution AIM4DTY the information is instantly available to customers, therefore allowing them to immediately optimize the quality during running production. “We process all data in accord- ance with the new European General Data Protection Regu- lation (GDPR), taking all further international data protection standards into account. Our customers always know which data we use and why”, explains Mario Arcidiacono, Business Intelligence & Data Warehouse specialist for the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment.
WIPING ROBOT WITH INTELLIGENT CONTROL SYSTEM
The crucial advantage of the wiping robot used for the cleaning of the spinnerets is automation:
intelligent control system which connects machines and processes. The information relating to all wiping positions, cycles and times can be saved in the management system. The robot accesses the saved wiping intervals in an automated and safety-relevant manner. To this end, the robot can cope with up to 48 positions, corresponding to one entire production line. However, more decisive here is the impact of the intelligent control system, with whose help the spinning pump can be moved up and down in an automated and ‘intime’ manner. The advantages over the manual process are for example extended cleaning cycles, less silicon use, more production time, less oper- ating costs as well as advantages for human resources and health management. The wiping robot has been operating at two major yarn manufacturers in China now.
WORLD PREMIERE: STAPLE FORCE S1100
The Staple FORCE S1100 is a one-step plant, which spins, draws, crimps, cuts and bales in a single process step, produces small batches (up to 15 tons per day) and can be swiftly reconfigured for various requirements, including polymer, dye and titer changes. Its process control system for easy operation is absolutely unique.
NEWS FROM THE PA6/66 SECTOR
With the acquisition of the PE Polymer Engineering Plant Con- struction GmbH, based in Thuringia, Germany, Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment expanded its now completed polyamide process chain for fibers and filaments. The now available and tested technologies in the melt preparation process include the entire polyamide 6 polycondensation systems division and its PA6/66 copolymer and the patented dimer-hydrolysis proce- dures for feeding recycled-lactam with the very highest end-product quality.
EN ROUTE TO DIGITIZATION WITH A NEW MINDSET
To show its direction towards digitization, the company offered its vis- itors at the exhibition booth in hall 2, B24 alongside machine exhibits mostly virtual experiences. They deployed playful solutions to present the topic of artificial intelligence as well as a virtual showroom to allow visitors to experience complex systems live in 3D. “We showed that the ‘digital factory’ is already in part becoming a reality in conjunction with our machine exhibits and that we are in a good position to further optimize the efficiency of our equipment and quality of their end products – with digital solutions” affirms Georg Stausberg.
