Industrie 4.0: KUKA helped Voith with self-controlling systems at their plant in Garching

Industrie 4.0: KUKA helped Voith with self-controlling systems at their plant in Garching

AUGSBURG, 09-Aug-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — For production systems in the age of Industrie 4.0, it is important to have information available in real time. This is now a reality in the manufacture of carbon fiber-reinforced (CFR) components at the company’s plant in Garching, Germany. To achieve this, Voith relied on the expertise of KUKA: the Augsburg-based automation specialists helped with the horizontal networking of the system via OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) as well as dedicated machine maintenance.

Overview in real time

Self-controlling systems – in other words, machines that communicate and exchange data with one another in real time –are the basis for production in line with Industrie 4.0. With help from KUKA, Voith has now laid the groundwork for this at its plant in Garching. The system for CFR components forwards information concerning the pressure, paths, temperature, humidity, pressing force, etc. to the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) via OPC UA. This allows employees to have an up-to-the-minute overview of the data at all times. Voith thus distinguishes itself from the carbon-component production of its competitors. Networking of this form is not yet commonplace in this industry.

KUKA.Remote: remote maintenance and remote control software

Access to data from anywhere and at any time: this is now an option at Voith thanks to KUKA.Remote. The software for remote maintenance and remote control enables the system, including the KUKA robots, to be continuously monitored and also allows interventions, if necessary. Processes can thus be optimized since the data from prior scenarios can be evaluated and improvement potential can be identified and tapped.