The state of the art lays on the Model Predictive Control algorithm based production controls (MPC). These products have several limitations and WORKSHOP 4.0 overcomes all of them: Limited options to choose the model, lack of methods to validate the prediction systems, difficult formulation of the controller, no statistical efficiency is addressed, major problems to adapt the models to the changes of the manufacturing process, no major advances in the generation of hybrid MPC systems that are able to work with both discrete and continuous variables simultaneously, no method to determine if the gathered data is fully representative of the process summarizing, the employment of non-linear predictive models is still in the beginning and with inefficient feedback to the plant.
The main economic benefits for the users of WORKSHOP4.0 come for three sources: reduction defective products, reduction of productions costs, and improvement of quality of products. In addition, WORKSHOP 4,0 is fully integrable into existing ERP in the company and can be used as an advanced management system to analyse trends in key processes, indicators and identifying root cause of any deviation. As well, the use of these systems has been identified as a powerful instrument to reduce indirect costs due to the simplification of data capture and management.
Anyway the best application of this system has been identified in the two market niches (iron foundries and aluminium HPDC) for the defective reduction. WORKSHOP 4.0 will help the customer to optimize their production and reduce their defective product in a range between 50-60%. Performed calculation with potential clients have shown manufacturing costs saving potentials than allow a product pay-back of less than one year. The case of the first demonstrator located in a Spanish cast iron foundry is especially significant. This company in addition to benefit from reduction of defective products and reduction of processing costs, has used WORSHOP4.0 to manufacture cast iron pieces of exceptionally high quality of material. The obtained mechanical properties have been high enough to substitute steel in certain application like train bogie parts, being these 30% more expensive. Now, this foundry is unable to cope all the demand to substitute steel products with high quality iron ones, and the estimated economic effect is:
- Internal rejection: Reduction from 12% to 6% (50%) which it translates into 300,000 €/year
- Reduction of production costs: 4%. 150,000 €/year
- Increase in demand: +10% additional incomes of 200,000 €/year
- This makes an average profit increase of 650,000 €/year.
The objective is to achieve in a medium term a global leadership position in providing the ferrous castings and aluminium HPDC with the Workshop 4.0 solution obtaining a significant share in the market, which will allow VEIGALAN to position in the edge of the sector worldwide.
