Everyone is talking about "networked systems", "Internet of Things" or "Industry 4.0". The possibilities for automating processes, saving time and costs and conserving resources are theoretically almost unlimited.
But the reality in foundries is often quite different, as analysed by the weighing technology expert EHP. For over 40 years, EHP has been developing and manufacturing crane scales that are heat-protected for use even in the toughest foundry operations.
"Often, weight values are still read from the crane scale display and then have to be entered manually into an IT system by the employee. During casting, for example, there is no time for such superfluous work," says Jan Friedmann from EHP. "With our IoT box, we enable the customer to significantly simplify and automate the weighing processes."
"The IoT box has a radio range of up to 500m and can control 16 EHP scales at the same time if required. Commissioning is very simple: connect the power and Ethernet connection and integrate the pre-configured GSDML file. All scale data and functions are already integrated in the customer's PLC system!" explains EHP project manager Timo Oberle.
Networking of data using the example of Casper Guss
From now on, the possibilities are almost unlimited in the foundry reality: automatic transmission of the weighing data into ERP/CRM systems, networking with other PLC participants or evaluation of the measurement data via end devices such as tablets, smartphones, etc. are easily possible.
This was also confirmed by Malte Lüking, Technical Business Manager at Casper Guss. "We rely on a continuous networking of our systems. With the IoT box, we were able to integrate the crane scales into our IT infrastructure quickly and easily. This networking helps enormously to further optimise our foundry processes. We transmit the weighing data to our ERP system at the touch of a button. Each casting can be analysed and improved in detail. This saves us time, costs and saves resources."
Would you like to learn more about EHP's weighing solutions? Contact them by e-mail at info@ehp.de to improve your weighing process significantly.