Software and simulation

Plastics…increased challenges and new opportunities abound While the overall market perspective is rather robust, these days, the challenges in the plastics business are numerous. However, so are the opportunities, both for the builders and processors alike, whether they are injection molders, extruders, blowmolders or players in the supply chain to this global industry. Cost pressures, whether on materials, machinery, labor or logistics continue to demand more innovation and adaptation on the part of all the links in that supply chain. A company that built a very successful business selling one tier of the market is in jeopardy today, because the landscape of their industry has changed so dramatically. For example, our own company produced a very high quality, highly reliable line of motors, drives, HMI and other motion control components, as well as machine-to-machine and machine- to-data center communication software for many years. Today, we are faced with the same cost pressures and that challenge has produced a new paradigm in our business culture, one in which we strive to maintain the quality of our products and the efficiencies of delivery on their value to the market. When, for example, the cost of the motors and drives on an entire extruder line might reach 15- 20% of the total cost, the efficiencies in manufacturing and time-to- market become more critical for us, to remain competitive. We have responded, as have many in the global plastics market, through innovative designs, a greater commitment than ever to manufacturing efficiencies and a “practice what we preach” philosophy in achieving the digital factory. On the U.S. market, the need for UL compliance requires more documentation than ever, but we remain committed to produce the best value products for the market conditions, with an ever-watchful eye on safety and enhanced communication capability, so the products can literally “talk” to the machines via remote connectivity. Hand in hand with this trend is the need to develop products, software and especially HMI that have a user-based functionality and a high degree of ergonomic appeal. In today’s factory and soon tomorrow’s, the emphasis on higher automation, especially collaborative robots, will redirect the worker talents into other tasks, whether programming, operational supervision or maintenance. When the equipment becomes more integrated and the digital factory emerges as a viable reality at all levels of the supply chain, the workforce will need the appropriate skill sets to meet that challenge. Smart companies will take up that educational banner and carry it, working in conjunction with the academic institutions and workforce improvement sectors in the industry. Displaying this commitment ourselves, Siemens has championed numerous educational efforts for the current and future workforces, a trend that will continue. We are all in this together, as the saying goes. Perhaps the most exciting challenge remains the drive to digitalization at the plastics processing machine builder and end user factory alike. Today, a “digital twin” of a machine concept can be developed, allowing the conceptualization, runout and even “virtual commissioning” of a new machine, before the first frame is built. This development integrates the full life cycle perspective, from concept to CAD to CAM to component production, assembly, testing and actual production, even the post-install issues of machine fatigue and predictive maintenance, all in a virtual world. As a result, code can be developed by programmers before the machine is built. Likewise, operator and maintenance personnel can be trained before the machine is finished. Simply put, not only must innovation occur constantly, but the innovation cycles must be shorter, so the builders can achieve faster response times to market demand and other factors such as FDA requirements. After the actual machine is built and installed, new cloud-based data gathering and analytic modeling is a reality today and is available for builder and processor alike. Customized apps can allow an end user to prioritize their KPIs and builders can monitor their entire global install base for machine peer performance, component tendencies and operator efficiencies in use and downtime resolution. A new day indeed. Mathias Radziwill, Siemens Mathias Radziwill, Business Development Manager for Plastics at Siemens Digital Factory