Intelligent Data Use With The Iot System Ruby

With the W&H IoT system RUBY launched in 2019 the value chain in packaging production can be digitized. RUBY combines collecting and monetoring data with W&H process knowledge in order to optimize the production process in all three focus areas of W&H: Extrusion, Printing and Converting – from productivity increase to quality management. But how exactly does it work?

RUBY GO – THE PLATFORM TO START WITH
RUBY is based on a platform that can be expanded with various extensions for Extrusion, Printing and Converting machines. The platform, called “RUBY Go”, collects all machine data and visualizes them on an interface. Put simply, RUBY Go provides a view into the machine on a data basis and all further extensions are based on this.

RUBY GAIN TO SUPERVISE RELEVANT PARAMETERS DURING EXTRUSION PROCESS
RUBY Gain was presented at the K show 2019 as the first extension for extrusion lines. On a W&H extrusion line many different film products can be produced. Each of these products requires specific machine settings and precise process conditions for optimal product quality. The operator needs to know and induce these exact machine settings and process conditions – for every product, for every process parameter. Only the most experienced operators can fulfill this task reliably. If the film quality is varying, it is often hard to figure out the reason. Was it a wrong winder setting, a missing secondary component or an exceeded melt temperature?
RUBY Gain addresses these problems. It monitors all relevant parameters in the extrusion process. As soon as pre-defined limit values for good production are exceeded, the system sounds an alarm, so that the operator can take countermeasures already during production. All parameter limit violations are recorded. After production the quality manager or process engineer can review the quality state of every single extruded roll. RUBY Gain hints them the right points to look at to identify hidden quality problems and their origin.

RUBY CHECK TO MONITOR AND COLLECT ERRORS AND MINIMIZE WASTE
RUBY Check facilitates the work of the quality manager in the printing process by identifying errors that occur during the printing process. Today, machine operators manually mark their print roll when they detect defects with the help of the VISION-Check inspection system. In the end the operator has to decide whether the printing roll is to be processed further despite the defects. If too many errors occur, the printed roll is unwound and rewound again with the help of a slitter rewinder and the printing errors are cut out at the marked points. This process requires an experienced operator and costs additional time. RUBY Check simplifies this process: With RUBY Check, the quality manager can easily read out the inspection data from the W&H VISION print inspection system in his office and decide whether a roll is ready for sale. If faulty print images have to be cut out, the roll error log created in VISION Check can be marked by the quality manager in the RUBY Check interface and transmitted directly to the winder. The slitter then automatically knows where to cut and stops accordingly. In addition, RUBY Check compares the inspection log with machine data. Using an interactive graphic that superimposes machine data and error log along the linear meters, the quality manager can determine the cause of certain errors. If, for example, print defects indicate drying problems, the quality manager can display the course of the drying temperature and blowing speed. With the help of RUBY Check, he can reconstruct the situation in which an error occurred and trace the origin of the error.

RUBY TRACK TRANSPARENTLY SUMMARIZES KPI’S FOR DEEPER ANALYSIS
Among RUBY Check the new extension RUBY Track was presented at W&H’s first virtual EXPO in 2020. RUBY Track is currently only available for paper sack lines but will also be available for printing presses soon. RUBY Track condenses important KPI’s in the production process, such as reject rates, production speeds, make-ready times, downtimes and OEE (“Overall Equipment Eciency”) figures on clearly laid out dashboards and offers in-depth analysis options. This high level of transparency enables W&H customers to further optimize their production processes and fully exploit their previously unknown potential. Benchmarks and weak points are identified and highlighted so that appropriate improvement measures can be taken. RUBY Track includes a user interface on the machine to record the data and an interface in the office for the production and operations manager to analyze the data. At the machine interface, RUBY Track remembers, for example, a machine shutdown and either automatically recognizes the reason for it or asks the operator for the reason for the downtime. The system learns from the answers. This way, it becomes clear which error sources occur particularly frequently and where there is still room for improvement.
MORE EXTENSIONS TO COME IN 2021
Further RUBY extensions are already planned: In 2021 RUBY FLOW will be launched – an extension that will digitize the manual order entry process into the press. The RUBY IoT System with its extensions can be easily connected to all new W&H machines. Existing machines can also be retrofitted with the system.