Electricity and Control August 2020

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT

Using digital data to optimise toolmaking

Anja Moldehn, Dipl.-Ing. Phoenix Contact, Blomberg, Germany

At Phoenix Contact, the in-house tool shop has been leading the way in highly automated and Industry-4.0-compliant processes. The consistent use of data plays an important role here, because it

creates transparency in the organisation of the global network. In operations, the digital twin opens up potential for optimisation in various ways – from work preparation and the production of injection moulding tools through to their quality control.

T he Phoenix Contact Group produces its own screws and plastic and metal parts for all components it offers in connection, interface, and automation technology. It also makes the assembly, punching, bending, and injection moulding tools required for these in-house. Complex injection moulding tools are used to manufacture plastic parts, which need to be ready in ever- shorter timeframes due to the increasingly customised nature of the products and the small batch sizes involved. The sophisticated end products also require high-precision tools. As such, the ripple is in places just five micrometres on three-dimensional contours. The work performed by the 300 or so tool shop employees in Germany, China, India, and Poland is coordinated from Phoenix Contact’s

Displaying up-to-date information on digital boards means decisions can be made directly in the working area. headquarters in Blomberg. In order to do this, all sites are networked with each other via information and management software that was developed internally by the company. Informing decisions Throughout the process chain, the data relevant for the individual steps must be provided at the right time and the right place. To achieve this, the tool shop uses an information system that represents all projects transparently on a global scale. In Blomberg, the digital boards are a core element of the daily ‘Gemba Walk’. The idea behind the Japanese term Gemba (actual place) originates from lean manufacturing and means all challenges are visible and opportunities for improvement are identified and developed directly on site.

6 Electricity + Control AUGUST 2020