KraussMaffei gets smart with digital apps

Industry 4.0 continues to shape modern manufacturing through automation and digitization, and Krauss-Maffei Corp. is embracing the technological trends with new cloud-based and predictive maintenance platforms for its machines.

The immediacy and availability of data in rubber manufacturing — Krauss-Maffei produces injection molding, plastic extrusion and reaction process machines—can maximize yield, ensure product quality, reduce life cycle costs and improve sustainability, according to Ulises Suarez, applications engineer for KraussMaffei.

KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH is the Munich-based parent of U.S.-based Krauss-Maffei Corp.

"The new platforms are meant to help customers with real information—information that is dependable and on-time — that they then can use to schedule production," Suarez told Rubber News. "Of course, they also can get the latest data out of those machines while the machine is running fully and automatically.

"This gets our customers on top of their production, on time and when they need things."

As evidence of the company's push toward digitization, KraussMaffei purposefully did not display a machine at the recent Plastics, Composites and Rubber Industry Conference in Lyon, France, April 5-8.

"Our objective was to highlight our service solutions," said Christophe Longuet, president of KraussMaffei Group France. "Therefore, we have chosen to present an entirely digital stand at the FIP where no machines will be exhibited. The show is a unique opportunity for us to strengthen the links with our customers through presentations and exchanges with our experts."

In particular, injection molding machines at KraussMaffei have benefited from digital transformation with the development of the SocialProduction platform.

The application combines the advantages of social networks and advanced technologies for better production monitoring — in essence, the machines inform users live and in secure chat groups.

SocialProduction automatically identifies deviations in production flow, "bringing machine monitoring into a new era," Suarez said.

"It uses interfaces to communicate with the production machines, so that everything is coming in from sensors on the machine," he said. "It can analyze cycle times, machine injection pressures, cooling time ... and then notify the customer via iPads or computers in real time."

When a history of tolerances is established, a customer can determine an upper and lower limit for injection-cushion pressures.

And a user does not have to be near the machine itself to view the data.

"They can be anywhere in the world," Suarez said. "All they need is an internet connection."

KraussMaffei is not developing these cloud-based applications solely for use on its own equipment.

"That is part of the scope ... we are not just tying all this up on our equipment, we are working on getting OEMs and other systems integrated with the SocialProduction platform. It doesn't really matter what brand ... we are catering to the system that is out there. This is making things easier and faster."

If the SocialProduction platform and the databank it generates sound like they might lead to predictive maintenance, they do.

LiveCare is KraussMaffei's new solution for remote maintenance management, based on information sent by the machine. Integrated into SocialProduction, wear-and-tear conditions are monitored and visible to the machinery users.

They also are visible to the machinery makers.

"Since we are already getting other information, we have (the LiveCare, or remote care) platform with upgrades that (tell us) whether there might be something wrong," Suarez said. "This is based on historical baselines—others are based on variations—and we can do our own analytics based on that."

With that capability, the experts at KraussMaffei can connect remotely and talk to the injection molder, extruder or reaction process machine.

"We are able to navigate the machine as if we were right in front of the interface," Suarez said. "We can help customers trouble shoot the machine."

Users can collect the data and give it to KraussMaffei for technical support, or have the KraussMaffei technicians troubleshoot a problem directly.

 calibrations or machine software," Suarez said.

And seeing is believing, as the German machinery maker soon will bring its third digital platform to market, the SmartAssist and SmartGlasses application.

The platform leans on the concept of virtual reality, but without the virtual hands and arms.

Yet.

"With SmartAssist we have created a platform to connect to users through mobile cameras," Suarez explained. "The user is hearing what the expert is advising, and the expert can see what the user sees on his or her end through a little camera in the SmartGlasses."

Suarez said the company is gaining early approval for the advancement during customer demonstrations.

"One of the important things about digit solutions," Suarez said, "is that the answers are received much faster, and they are highly reliable. Instead of waiting for a technician to arrive, these are things that are improving service, productivity and saving money.

"Customers can make predictions based on real on information, with real numbers to let you know how the machine is doing."

KraussMaffei serves the medical, industrial, construction and automotive markets, among others. Two areas seeing strong growth of late have been in packaging and construction, according to the company.

KraussMaffei, which does about $50 million per year in rubber-related equipment sales, was acquired by ChemChina in 2016.