Aisemo mooves from cows to injection molding machines

At first blush, the link between a cow's ear tag and an injection molding machine may seem tenuous. However, it turns out that the technology that works for one, works just as well for the other. A case of lateral thinking at its best.

In 2009, Aisemo GmbH founder Wolfgang Auer developed a technology called Smartbow, which uses an ear sensor to collect data on the movements and body temperatures of cows and to monitor their behavior. If this changes in any way, a self-learning algorithm can predict why this is happening.

Werner Schwarz, CEO of the young Austrian startup, at the company's booth at K 2022 explained how this could be relevant for injection molders: "The sensor in the ear tag enables artificial intelligence to be used to discover what is going on. In this way it is possible to tell very early on, for example, whether a cow is ill or even pregnant," he said. "In the same way, we thought it should be possible to monitor the performance of an injection molding machine, using simple Bluetooth sensor technology."

The idea led to the founding of Aisemo, short for artificial intelligence sensor technology monitoring and founded in 2019 by Auer and Schwarz, who run the company as managing partners. Now at K for the first time, Aisemo is showcasing its noninvasive and manufacturer-independent solution based on artificial intelligence that, Schwarz said, will continue to be expanded as more and more data is collected.

The system stands out, among others, because of its ease of installation. It consists of a Bluetooth sensor that is glued to the moving side of a clamping unit, a measuring module for power consumption, a tablet computer and an edge gateway. Aisemo provides the full package to its customers.

"No interface is needed. Data on the temperature, movement of the clamping unit and energy consumption of the machine are collected and sent to the gateway via Bluetooth. The gateway transmits this information to our cloud in Frankfurt am Main, where it is analyzed and sent back," said Schwarz. He emphasized that the brand, year of construction, machine drive and controller type, as well as the mold used and the material processed, are wholly irrelevant. Transmission occurs via an SSL-encrypted connection.

Any deviations in cycle times, movements, ambient temperatures and power consumption are immediately detected and communicated to the machine operator on a tablet or a browser-based device, enabling a prompt response to problems, avoiding unnecessary downtime and minimizing rejects.

The company provides its services on a subscription basis. Customers are not required to invest in an expensive software and equipment upfront: "Typically, this is easier for customers to digest," said Schwarz. "They just have to pay a subscription fee, which is very affordable, and we provide the rest."

Currently the company's customers are mainly in Germany, Austria and Italy and consist largely of injection molders with heterogeneous machine parks that want to use Industry 4.0 applications. "Our customers tend to be the small to medium-sized converters, privately owned companies, with around 20, up to no more than 100, machines."

The basic package was recently expanded with the addition of two new functions: an energy monitoring module and a module for order planning in production.

"The big advantage of the order planning module is that it uses real-time data that comes directly from the machine on the shop floor. It makes it possible to respond and plan based on what is actually going on," he said.

The analysis of production sequences helps to optimize manufacturing processes and save costs. Incorrect planning, such as overlapping use of molds and machines, is avoided.

Very little data is actually needed, making the system very simple to operate, he added.

The software has been designed to be easily mastered in a short time, which contributes to the high rate of acceptance among plant operators.