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The interconnection of machinery is the first step for the digitalization of the production process and allows entrepreneurs to know precisely and quickly how production is carried out. Interconnection can be of three levels, which we go into in more detail below.

Level 1 of machinery interconnection

Machinery and project management software
 integration for hyper-amortization

It allows the integration of machinery data with the production management system in order to comply with the requirements of the stability law and access the benefits of over-amortization.

The benefits of this type of interconnection are:

• access to over-depreciation of machinery
• reduction of operator errors
• greater knowledge for the entrepreneur of the working time of the machines and their efficiency
• simplifying the work of operators
• identification of production inefficiencies in real-time and therefore the possibility to intervene on downtime and improve overall productivity

Level 2 of machinery interconnection

Gathering information on various aspects of the use of machinery for preventive maintenance

It collects information on various aspects of machine operation by measuring and analyzing the data in the plant sensors.

This data is often available in the machinery and no extra costs are required to collect it.

The benefits of this type of interconnection are:

• all the benefits of Level 1 of interconnection
• possibility to analyze downtime according to its actual causes to further improve the efficiency of machinery
• understanding of the working dynamics through the integration of machinery data with the data collected by the panels for the operators
• identification of inefficiencies due to incorrect use of machinery by operators
• analysis of the alarms detected by the machines to understand if they have problems that can be solved with ordinary maintenance
• realization of PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE in a simple and effective way
• reduction of downtime of machinery connected to each other (production lines) thanks to the analysis of the data collected
• identification of the waste and costs hidden in the working method used in the production departments.
• professional growth of personnel in the use of the plants

Level 3 of machinery interconnection

Gathering information on different aspects of machine operation using additional sensors for predictive maintenance

It uses any additional sensors on the machinery to identify operating dynamics and problems automatically (e.g. LEM probes for motor currents and accelerometers for measurements of bearings and vibrating parts) in order to add analysis to anticipate production problems, reduce time and number of downtime and proactively control the quality of the processed products.

The benefits of this type of interconnection are:

• all the benefits of Level 2 of interconnection
• realization of the PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE in order to give maintenance workers the most powerful tools to better manage the work planning.
• Understanding of the problems and anomalies that can affect the quality of the products
• Achieving maximum efficiency of individual machines and production as a whole.
• Further professional growth of personnel in the use of the equipment

We are experts in company interconnection

TOOLS for SMART MINDS is specialized in the interconnection of machinery at every level.

We offer our experience and knowledge to help companies choose the most suitable solution for them, supporting entrepreneurs like you in achieving their goals.

Interconnections by the end of the year

Thanks to the modularity of our solutions and our experience, we are able to guarantee you the interconnection to access the hyper amortization by the end of the year.

Part Program Manager allows to manage from a single application all the different machining configurations for machines and articles, part programs for CNC machines and/or recipes in general also for other types of machines.

Part Program Manager simplifies and speeds up considerably the work of the operators and the machine set-up, reducing time and costs.

Different configurations for machinery referred to the same article

The particularity of Part Program Manager is the immediate sending of the operating parameters to the specific machine for a specific article to be produced; in fact, the same article can have different configurations for different machines.

Practical case is that of the production of an article divided between several machines with the same function but different from each other by manufacturer or generation: their parameters to obtain the same result will most likely not be identical. Thanks to Part Program Manager the setting will be immediate for all the machines involved in the production.

What is the Part Program

The Part Program is a sequence of instructions provided to a numerically controlled computer machine (CNC) to control its operation. CNC machine tools are used in almost every field of mechanics. The most common ones are folding presses, punching, lathes, milling machines, welding machines and sheet metal cutting machines (lasers, metal sheeting, plasma, water jet, etc.).

How Part Program Manager works

The operation within the holding is reflected in the following example. An operator reads the barcode of the item to start production from the operator. The item code is sent to Part Program Manager, which sends the setup to the machine immediately.

At this point, production could start, or the operator could decide to change some parameters directly on the machine.

In the latter case, Part Program Manager would be able to update the settings according to those modified, or create new ones.

Features

• Sending the Part Program to the CNC via remote control
• Sending the parameters per item to be produced diversified by machinery
• Creating and editing a setting file from the parameters set on the machine

Benefits

• Immediate setting of each machine per item to be produced
• Simplification of work
• Reduction of errors
• Traceability of processing and machinery settings

Factory Digital 4.0 offers a suite of tools to monitor the entire factory even across multiple locations, including alarms, process and production data, predictive maintenance controls, Artificial Intelligence to optimize global configurations, real-time data dashboards and advanced analysis, and much more. Everything with one goal: to help companies achieve high-quality standards with the best performance.

Part Program Manager is a software fully integrated with the entire suite of Digital Factory 4.0, contact us for more information.

User Guide of Digital Factory 4.0 Part Program Manager

Digital Factory 4.0 offers a suite of tools to monitor the entire factory even across multiple locations, including alarms, process and production data, predictive maintenance controls, artificial intelligence to optimize global configurations, real-time data charts, advanced analysis and much more. All with one goal: to help companies meet high-quality standards with the best performance.

Digital Factory 4.0 Suite

Digital Factory 4.0 is characterized by a modular structure that makes it highly adaptable to progressive expansions - additions of machinery or other communicating software - or integrations with third-party platforms such as MES, ERP, or analysis systems: locally or in the Cloud.

The Digital Factory 4.0 suite consists of the following programs:

• Digital Factory 4.0 Kernel · The core of the Suite and data processing center - Essential for operation
• Digital Factory 4.0 Frontend · Data Display Center - Optional for operation
• Settings Manager · Configuration management - Essential for configuration
• Digital Factory 4.0 Configurator · Image Configurator - Optional for operation
• Digital Factory 4.0 Alarms · Alarms management - Optional for operation
• Digital Factory 4.0 Calendar · Company calendar for plant monitoring - Optional for operation
• Digital Factory 4.0 Part Program Manager · Part Program Management - Optional for operation

Digital Factory 4.0 implements various functionalities including the real-time display of the status of all machinery and all process and production information, in text or graphic form. It activates, by choice, the switching on of sirens, the sending of emails to a list of recipients, the activation of a telephone switch.

With the Calendar extension, it is possible to set the activation of actions during or after working hours; this makes the reporting of anomalies more effective. For example, the activation of a siren for an electrical fault may not be effective if the company is closed, while sending an email or a call allows keeping the system under control even from remote locations.

Also, thanks to the possibility of combining technical documentation relating to a machine, department heads or maintenance technicians can consult the necessary information at any time, quickly and easily.

Digital Factory 4.0 is the only platform of its kind that provides the possibility to make data analysis for predictive maintenance and plant optimization with the support of Artificial Intelligence, i.e. machine learning algorithms able to find hidden patterns and optimal global settings from parameter and setting data and physical environmental or machinery conditions.

The features available with Digital Factory 4.0 are countless, to know all the possibilities useful to your company contact one of our experts (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 KERNEL

DATA PROCESSING CENTER

It takes care of data transfer and bidirectional communication, as well as the creation of alarms and associated events. All information from third party machinery and software such as management, MES or ERP, first passes through here, where it is analyzed and sent to Frontend for visualization.

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 FRONTEND

DATA VISUALIZATION CENTER

It shows all the information coming from Digital Factory 4.0 Kernel in real time, including the results of machine learning and predictive maintenance algorithms in operation.

SETTINGS MANAGER

UTILITY FOR CONFIGURATION

It allows the configuration of some parameters of the program and the management of users, passwords, licenses and backups. 

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 CONFIGURATOR

IMAGE CONFIGURATOR

It allows you to configure the images shown in Frontend and to set up new production lines independently.

» DISCOVER CONFIGURATOR

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 ALARMS

ALARMS MANAGEMENT

It shows in a single panel all the alarms with the necessary information to solve them.

» DISCOVER ALARMS

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 CALENDAR

CALENDAR UTILITY

It allows you to create a calendar of company working hours on which Digital Factory 4.0 will base the actions to be taken.

» DISCOVER CALENDAR

DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0 PART PROGRAM MANAGER

PART PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

It allows to manage from a single application all the different machining configurations for machines and articles, part programs for CNC machines and/or recipes in general also for other types of machines. 

» DISCOVER PART PROGRAM MANAGER

SOFTWARE STRUCTURE

The programs essential to the operation of Digital Factory 4.0 are Kernel, which takes care of data processing, and Frontend, which allows its visualization.

Below is shown an explanatory diagram about the communication of the various programs of the suite, both among themselves and with external systems, such as databases or management, and data collection.

View the video or the diagram below to see an overview of the solutions and how they communicate with each other.

Data flow diagram from production lines to Digital Factory 4.0 solutions, third-party solutions such as management, MES and data analysis systems

Available as part of the Digital Factory Suite 4.0, our Frontend images and Alarms configuration tool allows you to easily configure all the machines and alarms in the factory.

Digital Factory 4.0 Configurator offers a range of tools and intuitive wizards to configure the entire factory including display areas, machine locations, colors for machine states, and more.

Advantages of a configuration tool

You have everything under control. It only takes a few clicks to make all the configurations at will, the result in Digital Factory 4.0 Frontend is immediate.

You can save time, if:

• You are configuring new machinery for the first time
• You want to add new alarms
• The status of existing machinery is being updated
• Configuration is being modified to meet changing business needs
   

Configurator Interface

Factory Digital 4.0 offers a suite of tools to monitor the entire factory even across multiple locations, including alarms, process and production data, predictive maintenance controls, Artificial Intelligence to optimize global configurations, real-time data dashboards and advanced analysis, and much more. Everything with one goal: to help companies achieve high-quality standards with the best performance.

Configurator is a software fully integrated with the entire suite of Digital Factory 4.0, contact us for more information.