Abstract

Benefits

• better material overview
• professional user interfaces enable simpler tracking
• automatic recipe transfer lowers the number of human-generated errors
• production line downtime control
• automatic data acquiring lowers the number of manual entries
• guided manual entries lowers error possibilities (drop-down lists, parameter constraints)
• easier and simpler application upgrade
• easier maintenance
• robust and stable application operation
• run-time security configuration
• no manually added source code

Problem Definition

• insufficient article tracking –key parameters such as location and handling history of the plate were missing
• dispersion of the data disabled the good plate parameters overview – some parameters were in ERP system, other crucial parameters were on the plate evidence card, which travelled with the plate through out the whole handling process
• entering data into system caused errors – the entering of false data was not prevented
• manual data entering was slow

Acroni was well aware of all troubles mentioned above and thus wanted to develop a new plate tracking system which would solve problems of the old one, be more user friendly, and enable easier maintenance, simple adding of a new functionality, and enable connection with other IT systems. The goal was to keep the application development inside the company due to extremely short time limits and very specific knowledge about plate processing.

The task was given to our department of Process Automation. We were aware of the complexity and long duration of the development which demands, beside good knowledge about the plate process demands, a high level of programming skills. Beside basic plate tracking functionality the system should support login, security management, user account management, etc., which would normally take additional time and increases costs.
We found the solution in MX-Frame which enabled us to develop the application very fast, and has built-in system functionalities such as login, security and user account management, and simple deployment and maintenance.

Solution

Our department developed an efficient system for plate tracking, aggregates operation monitoring, downtime recording, recipe management, and single plate handling history recording. The entire PDP application was developed with the MX-Developer which enables simple and repeatable application development with the help of designers without writing any source code. The learning process to start using MX-Developer was short and almost negligible due to simple and intuitive use of MX Developer. This allowed us to focus on finding the optimal solution for plate tracking and designing a user friendlier application.

Extra time in development process was saved due to a rich set of MX-Client built-in functionalites such as login, user account management, localization, application settings, security managment, user interface and report personalization, audit trail, etc. In addition, integrated diagnostic tools enabled us to quickly and efficiently remove bugs. To simplify maintenance the MX-Server was also installed. Its features such as client deployment, automatic updates and centralized system adminstration simplify the system maintenace and save our resources.

Results

In the end of 2007 we began to gradually introduce the new system for plate tracking in the Acroni's Plate Processing plant. The results were immediately seen in the following segments:

• New system enables better plant and material overview
• Plate traceability is higher. With the help of single handling plate history it is possible to determine the cause of error or root of unpredicted situation.
• Automatic acquiring of the production line parameters improves accuracy of entered data and consequently the reliability of analysis. Beside process parameters the application enables automatic transfer of created recipes to production lines.
• The number of manual entries was drastically cut. Remaining manual entries enable the end-user to select options from the drop-down lists and prevent values outside the defined parameters boundary.
• New system ensures centralized adminstration and maintenance. MX-Frame enables simple adding of new functionalities to the existing application.
• Positive effects were also showed in maintenance of production lines. From acquired data the application determines downtimes which are used to create correct strategy for preventive maintenance and production planning.
• Integrated security model allows shown setting permissions on every segment of the application without recompiling. This ensures that the application can be adjusted to the current needs of the production.
• the entire application was developed without writing a single line of source code

About Company

About Development Team

The department of Process Automation maintains PLC, SCADA and MES systems in Acroni company. Our members are familiar with Oracle database, have good knowledge of OPC technology and several PLC and SCADA systems.

Technologies