The integration of existing machines into smart processes is also playing an increasingly important role in the area of service, for example for the Industry 4.0 trend of predictive maintenance: here, machines must independently report information about their operating status back to the cloud and thus to the manufacturer or maintenance provider. In this way, maintenance processes can be triggered preventively before a fault actually occurs. ERP provider Asseco Solutions has developed several methods based on customer projects with its predictive maintenance solution SCS to equip originally non-intelligent machines with the ability to communicate in Industry 4.0 scenarios. However, as every factory has its own individual starting point, this is a complex area of application with sometimes very heterogeneous solutions, both software and hardware-based. The specific approach should initially be determined primarily by the requirements of the machine to be integrated.

Software access enables communication

If the machine itself already has communication-capable control software, the machine can be connected to the company's Industry 4.0 infrastructure at software level. If the software was possibly even developed by the customer itself and the customer therefore has full access to the program code, the customer can carry out a corresponding modification itself. In this way, the transmission of the relevant data can then be initiated by the machine. To receive such data in the IT system, companies can use a REST API, for example. This acts as an endpoint in the cloud to which the information is sent. As this method intervenes most comprehensively in the core of the respective machine, the majority of the work required for this falls to the customer. The provider of the respective smart technology can only play a supporting role here.

With the help of a software library or hardware box, even originally non-intelligent machines can be integrated into Industry 4.0 scenarios such as smart services via the cloud.

© Asseco

Alternatively, a special software library can also be used here, which is made available to the customer by the IT provider and which already contains simple functions for sending data. By integrating this into the source code of the control software, corresponding tasks such as the use of protocols, the establishment of encrypted connections or the exchange of certificates can then be accomplished in a simple manner. As the developer of the machine software does not have to worry about implementing the communication protocols themselves in this case, they have significantly less work to do than with a completely independent implementation.

In addition, the use of a software library enables secure, bidirectional communication. This opens up further options that go beyond pure data transmission and can even extend to the complete update of control software. For example, a functionality that displays the individual machines in a management console would be possible so that management can be carried out centrally and efficiently. In addition, the software library could be integrated into machine simulation programs, allowing the cloud system to be tested for its resilience in terms of connecting a larger number of machines.

Hardware-based solution

In many cases, however, the customer is not able to access the machine's control software directly, for example because no modifications may be made to the machine software for legal or safety reasons. This is the rule, especially in highly sensitive industrial sectors such as medical technology. In such cases, the machine must be connected to the Industry 4.0 system at the level of the standard interfaces offered by the machines. An external hardware box could be used for this purpose, for example.

Such a component makes it possible to directly connect machine controllers as well as analog or digital sensors and PLCs. In this way, the necessary data can be recorded and then securely transferred to the smart factory systems. The same software library can be used for the hardware box as in the previous scenario for direct cooperation with the machine's control software. In the case of the hardware box, the library must be able to handle the required communication protocols such as Modbus, Bluetooth, MQTT or ZigBee. Corresponding flexibility is particularly important here because the solution must also be equipped for future requirements.

There are two options for subsequently transferring the collected information to the cloud: Firstly, the hardware box can be connected directly to the internet. Alternatively, the component could be supplied with a GSM module, i.e. with its own SIM card, via which it would be able to communicate even without a local internet connection. The method of choice again depends on the specific conditions on the machine and in the factory: for example, in many production environments, the networks are isolated and sealed off from the administration area and the Internet, so that another transmission method must be used as an alternative.

Smart sensors in use

As an alternative to an external hardware component, it is possible to start directly with the sensors themselves and use them to enable the machine to communicate with the smart factory. For example, the existing sensors on the machine can be replaced by smart sensors. Corresponding products are already available from third-party manufacturers. These sensors record the necessary data and send it to the cloud via a bridge. As the associated wireless sensors must be able to transmit for as long as possible on a single battery, the use of real, high-consumption Wi-Fi is not an alternative. Instead, the smart sensors use communication standards such as Bluetooth LE to communicate in the production hall in a very energy-efficient way. The disadvantage of this variant, however, is that the solutions currently available are still the specific systems of individual manufacturers. In order to be able to draw usable conclusions from the data from smart sensors in scenarios such as predictive maintenance, a further step is therefore necessary: it must first be consolidated again and enriched with data from other systems - for example order data or information on machine utilization from the ERP system.

The human alternative

In the broadest sense, people can also take on the function of sensors - for example, by using analog or digital tags to transmit information to the smart factory. For example, QR codes or NFC tags can be used for this purpose, which can be scanned by the machine operator as required. This could give them access to a special portal in which certain actions can be selected directly: From reporting back the current machine status to opening a service ticket or retrieving important instructions or documentation. Alternatively, these actions can also be permanently integrated into the respective tag so that the actions are triggered directly by scanning the tag. This would eliminate the need for an intermediary portal. Of course, this method only enables limited communication and is therefore primarily suitable for process optimization and supporting the machine operator. Depending on the objectives of a specific Industry 4.0 scenario and the degree of intervention in software or hardware that is permissible, this can certainly be considered as an easily implementable alternative without any modifications.

Practice requires a combination

Whether the machine communicates with the cloud via modified control software or corresponding hardware components depends primarily on the respective conditions in the existing machinery. In terms of the result, both variants enable the same degree of integration of the machine into the smart factory. In practice, a combination of both methods is usually required: many companies have different generations of machines with different levels of intelligence in use at the same time. Some of the machines can therefore perhaps be integrated on the basis of software control, while others require hardware modifications. In any case, the respective solution approach must be tailored to the individual case - and the integration of non-smart machines must always be understood as an individual customer project, never as a ready-made off-the-shelf solution.

Author:
Christian Leopoldseder is Vice President Operations at Asseco Solutions.