Digitization from manufacturing to final product
Dunkermotoren GmbH
Initial Situation
Global networking, advances in technology, the trend towards digital services: Neither manufacturers nor products themselves can escape this megatrend. A wide range of variants, speed, flexibility and early cost estimates are what make modern requirements achievable in the first place.
Our client, Dunkermotoren, also keeps a constant eye on ongoing production and product development: what innovations are there on the market, what production requirements does the customer have and how ready is the ecosystem for deeper integration?
Goal
Novatec offers experts in various areas for digital transformation. The support starts with a structured approach and extends to its implementation. We are also involved in the product manufacturing sector – combining digital content with reality is a particularly exciting working environment for us.
Supporting Dunkermotoren was a heartfelt matter for us. Our focus was on the following question: What opportunities are there to offer Dunkermotoren’s customers even greater flexibility and even more variants at even higher speeds?
It should be emphasized that the project had to take place in the context of the OI4 – Open Industry 4.0 Alliance. OI4 promotes the development of holistic and interoperable Industry 4.0 solutions and services and is therefore a good basis for members such as Dunkermotoren and Novatec when it comes to the strategic alignment of architectures, technologies and concepts.
Approach
Due to the project’s complexity, it was important to spend a large proportion of project time on communication. After a classic introductory workshop, we first laid the foundations for a deeper understanding of the issue. To do this, we worked in production. Our next step was to hold a large number of talks: recording not only needs but also experiences and ideas from all areas of Dunkermotoren – from warehouse staff to workers and senior management – were key success factors. This allowed a large number of different roles to participate in the project in direct discussions with us.
Concepts consisted of comparing possibilities, weighing up the associated costs and concrete mapping to products, frameworks and architectures. The main subjects were:
- Integration costs
- Maintenance (e.g. small-scale & best-of-breed vs. more extensive function modules)
- Software-in-use expansion vs. vendor lock-in reduction
- Modern concepts vs. classic approaches
Results
In addition to extensive comparisons (e.g. vendor selection MES, vendor selection IT/OT gateways and software, comparing different approaches), various concept and architecture images were developed to illustrate different aspects.
In der Abbildung ist sichtbar, welche Themen adressiert wurden:
- Cloud: Neue Geschäftsmodelle und Integration in digitale Ökosysteme
- Enterprise IT: Anbindung der ERP Software
- Produktion IT: Manufacturing Execution System (MES) als Grundlage der Informationsverarbeitung aus der Produktion, Digitale Assistenz zur Unterstützung der an der Produktion beteiligten Akteure, Datendrehscheibe (Message Broker) zur Verteilung der Information
- Produktion OT: Anbindung der verschiedenen Arbeitsplätze, außerdem Integration eines Kanban-Systems
In addition, subdividing the networks (enterprise IT/production IT/OT, DMZ) was used to address security-related issues during implementation.
Internet of Things (IoT)
We provide support for your IoT project by advising, implementing and providing fresh ideas. We offer a variety of services to help you develop a digital strategy. For this, we optimize your operational processes through the use of IoT technology and expand your software portfolio with additional IoT applications. Our experts support you from vision to project implementation and help you avoid common mistakes at every stage. With a combination of in-depth experience, holistic IT expertise and a growing IoT partner ecosystem, we provide you with the right foundation for your individual IoT project.
We support you in the selection of industrial sensors, connection technologies, data acquisition and analysis, security or onboarding IoT devices – we know our “trade”. Every IoT project requires a comprehensive approach. We can provide you with a blend of our experience and expertise as well as opinions from our growing IoT partner ecosystem.
The Client – Dunkermotoren GmbH
Dunkermotoren GmbH has been developing and producing precision drives for 70 years. This drive manufacturer develops and produces brushless DC servomotors, brushed DC motors and, in addition to its motors, a comprehensive range of planetary and worm gearboxes as well as brakes and encoder systems. Its headquarters are located in Bonndorf in the Black Forest, where Dunkermotoren is the city’s largest employer.
Mit Novatec arbeiten wir im Kontext der Open Industry 4.0 Alliance eng zusammen, um die Vernetzung von Motoren mit der Cloud bestmöglich umzusetzen und zu gestalten.
Markus Weishaar
Dunkermotoren GmbH
