New applications of existing technologies allow any manufacturer to use any type of equipment for production monitoring, and almost no setup time is required. #Monitoring#closeupontechnology

In the Guidewheel system, a simple current transformer (current sensor) is clamped around the power cord to sense the "heartbeat" of the machine. They can be used to detect uptime, downtime, cycle time, etc.

The important story of the "Industrial Internet of Things" (IIoT or Industry 4.0) is not just the ability to acquire, analyze, and communicate data from production systems-it also involves the rapid "democratization" of such technologies, making them usable on all scales Manufacturers, not just large companies with large budgets, large engineering teams, and sufficient training and installation time.

"Our biggest impact is to reduce unplanned downtime and speed up conversion and setup."

A new participant in this democratization effort is Guidewheel (guidewheel.com), a three-year-old San Francisco company. The company’s website states that its “mission is to enable all factories in the world to achieve sustainable peak performance. Our plug-and-play FactoryOps platform enables any factory to use the power of the cloud... an immediate victory ."

"Any factory" not only means any scale, but also includes any type of machine, new or old, continuous or circular. Guidewheel has provided services to plastic and packaging customers in all walks of life. According to CEO Lauren Dunford, a blow molder tried out Guidewheel's technology in several factories and expanded it to 17 after a few months.

"Immediately" may mean only one shift. What about those "big wins"?

Dunford answered this question with the enthusiasm of a technology entrepreneurial leader: "In an environment of increasing pressure and uncertainty, every manufacturer needs to get more benefits from the equipment they own. Now, any factory can connect all machines. , Immediately identify and take action to improve.” She added: “We strive to get manufacturers out of fire-fighting thinking and enter a proactive mode. Our biggest impact is to reduce unplanned downtime and speed up conversion and setup.”  

What makes this possible is a new application of simple technology-a current transformer, which is essentially an ammeter. As Dunford explained, maintenance engineers have used these small, inexpensive devices for decades to detect, for example, when the machine starts to consume too much power, which may indicate that maintenance is needed or even a failure is imminent.

The guide wheels use the same information to detect when the machine is running or stopping, how long it has been running, and the number and period of cycle operations. In the case of continuous operation (such as extrusion), the current consumption level may be related to productivity.

Remote support and training enable users to get the system up and running in minutes.

As Guidewheel said, FactoryOps was inspired by the simple and universal fact that every machine on the factory floor has a power cord. Clamping on any machine, Guidewheel turns its real-time'heartbeat' into a connected, active learning system, enabling the team to reduce lost production time, increase throughput, and perform better and better over time. "

Using Guidewheel's quick start package, customers can start a 1:1 video call, after which Guidewheel will send a box of sensors and a communication hub. Customers only need to clip the sensor to the power cord of the machine and install it by themselves within a few minutes. The sensor is plugged into a hub that collects sensor data and contains a router that sends the data to the cloud via WiFi, Ethernet, or LTE (4G mobile) access. Each hub can be connected to 15 machines within a 30-meter radius.

In the course of a shift, the Guidewheel system "learns" the current conditions corresponding to the machine's running, dry running and pause under load. Shown here: the current tracking of the extruder.

Remote support and training enable users to get the system up and running. FactoryOps software tracks current fluctuations in connected machines, usually a shift, to "learn" baseline values ​​for running under load, dry cycling or dry running, and stopping. Users can access (via mobile phones, tablets or computers) password-protected sites with custom operational data dashboards. Initially, the dashboard can provide availability statistics-the operating time of each machine, as well as configurable idle time and offline thresholds. By manually entering production data, Guidewheel can calculate performance statistics based on actual production and potential production (based on preset machine productivity targets and running time). In addition, manual input of good production or scrap data enables Guidewheel to calculate quality indicators. With all these availability, performance and quality statistics, Guidewheel can automatically calculate OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).

In addition, if any machine violates the preset limit of production speed or idle time, Guidewheel can automatically send an alert via text or email. This enables managers and production personnel to deal with problems as soon as they occur, instead of wasting valuable production time when the machine is idle and neglected.

Guidewheel users can access customized dashboards via the Internet and receive automatic alerts when the system detects abnormal conditions such as machine downtime or changes in operating speed or cycle time.

Dunford describes Guidewheel as targeting mid-sized manufacturers, but in reality, it can benefit almost any size store. As mentioned earlier, a blow molding machine with 19 factories has Guidewheel installed in each factory. Dunford said that her company also has customers who only monitor one or two large, high-volume machines. She said: "If you have only a few machines and can easily monitor all of them, then you may not need our system. However, no matter how many machines you have, if you are suffering from losing potential income, then we all Can help.” She pointed out that Guidewheel can monitor not only primary production machinery, but also auxiliary or downstream equipment—any equipment that would threaten the profitability of the factory if not noticed.

Here are some real examples of customers benefiting from using Guidewheel to provide runtime tracking, alerts, and real-time visibility of machine activity:

 • A factory with 30 extruders and thermoforming machines reduced production costs by 20%.

 • A plastic can manufacturer uses Guidewheel on 15 extruders, grinders and rotomolding machines. The company reduced the idle time of critical machinery by 37% to 62% and increased overall facility operating time by 18%. OEE increased by 41% in six months.

 • A packaging manufacturer uses Guidewheel on its most important machine, which has now expanded to nine locations. It identifies and eliminates 1-3 hours of avoidable downtime per machine per day.

 • Another packaging manufacturer used Guidewheel on key machines, which reduced the transition time between production runs from 6.8 hours/day to 3.4 hours/day, a 50% reduction. In addition, alerts enable technicians to respond immediately to problems, and production managers can better plan capacity across machines, thereby responding to customers more quickly.

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