Papermaking Vision: Voith creates visionary design study for the paper production line of the future

With a visionary design study, technology group Voith is creating the paper production line of the future. The design particularly focuses on improved efficiency and ease of maintenance. As a full-line supplier, the company has considered all aspects of the paper production process for an integrated concept. Maintenance and operation of the facility are simplified, a higher degree of interconnectedness reduces interfaces, and an appealing design ensures a consistent overall look, while at the same time improving efficiency, safety and sustainability.
“The goal of our long-term design study is to significantly improve efficiency and ease of maintenance across the entire production line,” says Dr. Michael Trefz, President Division Projects at Voith Paper. “We are considering a wide variety of aspects, such as the degree of automation of the machine, the interconnectivity of various sections, better accessibility and greater safety as well as optimized availability. However, the materiality and an appealing design also play an important role in the concept.

Optimized human-machine interface improves ease of maintenance “The smartphone has shown how simple and intuitive communication between humans and machines makes many areas of everyday life more efficient. In the industrial environment too, the information and all relevant functions a user needs will in future be presented in one platform,” says Oliver Kunerth, Digital Product Manager at Voith Paper. As part of the vision for the future, a standardized and intuitive user interface will therefore be introduced from stock preparation through to the reeling. In this context, the human-machine interface uses a role-based operating concept to adapt to the individual task of users, which at the same time improves ease of maintenance. In the future, more efficiency will also be ensured by distinctive SmartLights on individual components of the system. They show the machine status at a glance, and if necessary, whether operator intervention is required.