Page 49 - Packaging News Magazine Jan-Feb 21

January-February 2021 | www.packagingnews.com.au FOCUS | INDUSTRY 4.0
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Ruby: Delivering data treasure
Machinery manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) has released a new Internet of Things (IoT) system called Ruby, which aims to digitise the value chain in the packaging industry.
Production data stored securely and able to be used anytime from anywhere is valuable for damage control.” — Wolfgang Hoffmann, W&H
exact machine settings and process conditions – for every product, for every process parameter. Only the most experienced operators can fulfil this task reliably. If the film quality is varying, it is often hard to figure out the reason. Was it a wrong winder setting, a missing secondary compo- nent, or an exceeded melt temperature?
Ruby Gain addresses these prob- lems. It monitors all relevant param- eters in the extrusion process. As soon as pre-defined limit values for good production are exceeded, the system sounds an alarm, then the operator can take countermeasures during production. All parameter limit violations are recorded. After production, the quality manager or process engineer can review the quality state of every single extruded roll. Ruby Gain suggests the right points to look at to identify hidden quality problems and their origin.
W&H says Ruby helps customers maximise the potential of their pro- duction data by using data to opti- mise process parameters, enabling more effectiveness though higher productivity and better quality.
According to the company, data- based error detection and alarms translate into higher efficiency, less waste and less downtime.
Hoffman said data is valuable trea- sure in production.
“Production data stored securely and able to be used anytime from anywhere is valuable for damage con- trol,” he said. “With Ruby we want to help our customers uncover their data.” ■
W&H Australia and New Zealand managing direc- tor Nigel Compton told PKN there is widespread interest in the new Ruby system coming from ANZ customers in the
converting and printing sector.
“By connecting digital data with process knowledge, W&H offers sev- eral possibilities for data-based opti- misation of the production process, from increasing productivity to qual-
ity management,” Compton said. Ruby is offered as a standard plat- form with tailor-made extensions for extrusion, printing, and converting. With the extensions, W&H offers enhancements for each specific type
of machine.
W&H says the system has a user-
friendly interface that displays all data and data services.
W&H head of extrusion software Wolfgang Hoffmann said, “Since the
‘90s, W&H has had a central, digital information system called ISP, which many customers have used to collect and display production and process data. Ruby automatically evaluates this data and is the basis for addi- tional digital services to further opti- mise these processes.”
Hoffmann said, “As an example, Ruby Gain supports extrusion lines using algorithms to evaluate produc- tion data, analyse trends and define thresholds for good production, which the system then monitors for adherence.”
Then, Ruby can link production data with quality data from the lab and downstream processes.
On a W&H extrusion line, many different film products can be pro- duced. Each of these products requires specific machine settings and precise process conditions for optimal product quality. The opera- tor needs to know and induce these
Uncovering data: The Windmöller & Hölscher Ruby system has a user-friendly interface that displays all data and data services.