Data management for zero-defects manufacturing

Modern manufacturing industries essentially have three goals: guaranteeing high product quality with low variability; arranging short production cycles that allow simple reconfigurations of the production line; and taking advantage of lower manufacturing costs.

To help, companies are increasingly using data analytics to set up and adapt manufacturing processes through simulation tools that, linked with measurements, can allow real-time control. 

In particular, the simulation models can forecast the quality of products depending on several parameters (such as dimensions and materials) accounting for variations in supply of the components. The models leverage actual data from real-time measurements to predict the quality of future products, allowing control of the production line in real-time, by adjusting to design specifications or changing them to produce custom batches.

This is the goal of the EU project STREAM-0D (Simulation in Real Time for Manufacturing with Zero Defects). The project, funded by the European Union within the Horizon2020 framework under GA 723082, aims at creating an innovative control system integrated in production lines which is able to reduce product variability, increase the line flexibility, and eventually achieve a zero-defects manufacturing (ZDM) process.

The project consortium consists of 10 partners from seven European countries: three research institutes and universities, four SMEs and three end-user companies active in the automotive sector. The consortium is assorted to reflect the many contexts in which the project results could be applied, involving experts in different fields of the industrial development chain.

Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) is a global innovator in sustainable analytics for the built environment, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, but with a dedicated R&D division in Dublin. Within STREAM-0D, IES are leading the activities relating to cloud-based technologies, particularly focusing on cloud storage and computing, data acquisition and cloud-based communications for the interoperability of the different tools. They are responsible for the creation of a high-performance computing cloud and web-enabled database platform, providing secure collection, storage and accessibility of the data to continuously update the simulation models developed by the project partners.

The platform is an adaptation of IES’ existing iSCAN tool, which aims to optimise the operational performance of buildings. iSCAN allows users to centralise any time-series data from different BMS systems, utility meters, sensors and portable data loggers in one platform, making it possible to organise and analyse the data to uncover hidden insights and improvement opportunities. 

Through STREAM-0D, IES have adapted iSCAN so its capabilities could be applied within a manufacturing environment. While buildings tend to be much more static than a typical production line (where a component run may take less than 60 seconds), the challenge for STREAM-0D is to facilitate data collection and analysis under extremely time critical conditions. It is to this end that IES have adapted iSCAN to be able to gather data from the production lines down to one-second time steps to provide the high level of data visibility required.

The measured data from iSCAN enables the creation of the multi-physics simulation models and algorithms for ongoing calibration, optimisation and adaptive control of the production lines, to prevent defects and meet exact design specifications. 

The technology will address a number of pain points for the manufacturing industry, particularly in terms of increasing efficiency and minimising waste. By providing a standardised method of data collection, which enables visualisation and analysis in real-time, STREAM-0D will make it possible to access and interrogate data, previously inaccessible, through bespoke dashboards and facilitate near real-time control from anywhere in the world.

While STREAM-0D has focused on the automotive industry, the processes and technology developed could be applied to any manufacturing environment in the world. Certainly, in Ireland where global companies in the life sciences, ICT and engineering sectors have built Ireland’s reputation as a centre of manufacturing excellence, there is huge potential for STREAM-0D to have a significant impact.

For further information visit: www.stream-0d.com/