How ACE & Siemens optimize Rockfon production

On top of that, some experienced operators retired. This threatened knowledge loss. “In the production line and in the packaging machine, a lot of things happen that we cannot see with the naked eye. Operators who have worked here for 30 years intuitively know when a part needs lubrication. But it takes years to develop such a feeling. We wanted to translate their intuition into data.”

“Our customers ask for three things,” adds head of engineering Bart Verlinden. “Quality, delivery reliability and a competitive price. If we don’t offer those, they will buy their profiles elsewhere. So efficient production is vital.”

Low-threshold digitisation via Edge controller

Rockfon took the data request to ACE, which has been building the packaging lines for them for years. “We proposed an Industrial Edge Controller,” says senior project manager Koen Aerts. “This allows us to capture data even on a relay-controlled line without PLC—such as this one. We see this as a pilot project, to see what is possible on a traditional line.”

“ACE installed a PLC in the machine,” clarifies Jeroen Pieters, account manager at Siemens. “That acts purely as a data collector: it collects all the electrical signals from sensors on the machine and transmits them to the Edge controller: an IPC with its own operating system, on which apps from Siemens and third parties can run. Rockfon uses our app, Performance Insight, to log their data and monitor it live.”

OEE from 60% to 80% after just one day

The results are stunning: after just one day, the line’s Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) increased from 60% to 80%, or 150 boxes to 200. “We immediately saw a big problem we could solve,” Niels says enthusiastically. “When the cut dies come forward to cut, they have to hit 12 small switches. Otherwise, the line goes down. Two of the ten switches were found to be misaligned, causing the line to stall much more than necessary. Without data, that was impossible to figure out.”

“We only now realise what is still possible,” says Bart. “We also see things we don’t yet understand. The speed of our line appears to fluctuate quite a bit at start-up. We will keep digging to find out why and become even more efficient. And we will install additional sensors, for example to measure the temperature of the hydraulics. In time, this will even allow us to do predictive maintenance.”

Satisfied operators

“The operators love this,” Bart continues. “They don’t want to solve downtime all the time. They just want the line to run smoothly. And that is now the case. If something does happen, they will know much better how to intervene. That saves a lot of frustration. The operators have absolutely no sense that we are monitoring them, quite the contrary. They like to see us coming.”

“The line’s output has increased dramatically, and this is just the beginning. Because Line 9 now runs so much smoother, we can operate four lines with three operators instead of two lines with four operators. So once we have digitised every line, we can run 1.5 times as many lines simultaneously.”

Towards a digital factory

This pilot project on one packaging line is the stepping stone to full digitisation for Rockfon. “From next year, we will start building new packaging lines,” Koen clarifies. “Fully electric-powered and with even more sensors, all linked via Industrial Edge Controllers.”

“Once we are fully digitised, we can use automatic reporting even better and compare lines in a standardised way,” Bart concludes. “That also means more accurate cost analysis and better budgets. And ultimately a cheaper product. Everyone gains from that.”