Technology
IIoT in automation from machines to the cloud and back ADVANCING DIGITALIZATION OFFERS NEW possibilities for optimizing production processes. Use of state-of-the-art components to connect a controller to a cloud system can increase productivity and thanks to extended maintenance intervals provide for an uninterrupted production, leading to a significant competitive advantage for the enterprise. Digitalization is changing today’s production and business processes of modern companies more and more. The increasing availability of data and advanced Industrial Internet of Things systems provide greater opportunities to optimize the production process throughout the entire chain by skillfully analyzing the data. In doing so, the maintenance intervals of the machines used can be extended and unplanned downtime be avoided. After connecting a machine to a cloud system, for example, data on the motion sequence can be transmitted to it and comprehensively analyzed there. In case of deviations from the set point, the failure of the machine can be predicted from the absolute deviation as well as from the rate of change. As a result, maintenance intervals based on the analysis result from the data can be planned dynamically and precisely. This approach is called predictive maintenance and represents a major use case for using cloudbased systems.
SOURCE: SIEMENS
Use of digitalization offers new possibilities for optimizing manufacturing processes by leveraging data analytics through cloud-based systems. New communication methods for automation systems via standardsbased open protocols such as MQTT is helping users fully integrate components regardless of manufacturer.
Apps
Cloud Server MQTT Broker
SIMATIC HMI
MES
MQTT Publish
SIMATIC S7-1500
Use of MQTT
For the integration into modern cloud-based systems, the open standard protocol MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is often used. It is a simple protocol based on the client/server principle, where the participants (clients) communicate as MQTT Publisher or MQTT Subscriber via an MQTT Broker (server). Devices only wanting to send data to a cloud system use the MQTT Publish function. In the context of digitalization in the company, the opportunity presents itself to employ a system such as MindSphere, the cloud-based, open IoT operating system from Siemens, which makes it possible to analyze data from a machine by means of special apps in order to determine the optimal maintenance time for the machine. However, it is very important for the user to identify
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Sensors and actors
Industrial Ethernet Data transmission communicates from an automation system to a cloud system for the further analysis.
in advance the data to be transmitted to the cloud system. It is advisable to proceed frugally here, since an optimal data selection not only leads to better clarity in the cloud system, but also optimizes the data load in the network. In addition, the data volume in the cloud system is reduced (saving money). The heart of a machine from which data is to be transmitted to a cloud system frequently
consists of an automation system of the type SIMATIC S7-1500, which ensures the proper process sequence within the machine. By using appropriate sensors to record, e.g., temperature, vibration, or rotational speed of axles and motors, deviations can be determined over a longer period and downtime be planned much more precisely, or unplanned downtime be detected earlier.
in d u s t r ial et h er ne t b o o k
4.2020
