Barku has been manufacturing high-quality plastic parts for over 30 years, processing more than 7,000 tonnes of raw material per year in production. In order to better control the amount of energy used in injection moulding and extrusion, the company used the introduction of a manufacturing execution system to establish comprehensive energy management in production. The information collected is also used for plant maintenance.
Barnstorfer Kunststofftechnik GmbH, or Barku for short, has been manufacturing high-quality plastic parts for over 30 years.
After the company was founded in 1977 as a subsidiary of Lubing Maschinenfabrik GmbH, the plastics processing specialist quickly developed into an independent and autonomous company. Today, Barku processes more than 7,000 tonnes of raw material per year. In addition to precision parts using the injection moulding process, the Lower Saxony-based company also produces profiles and pipes using the extrusion process. Customers receive everything from a single source – from the development of product solutions and design to series production and further processing. The plant at the headquarters in Barnstorf now covers an area of 24,000 square metres. Production takes place here in three shifts using state-of-the-art technology.
Desire for a Better Overview of Energy Consumption
Due to the dynamic order situation, Barku repeatedly encountered extreme planning difficulties and scheduling problems. The company therefore wanted to comprehensively visualise, analyse and improve its planning and production processes. The main goal was to use a planning tool to achieve the best possible planning of orders, to be able to react more quickly to modifications in the order situation and to meet the target delivery dates. At the same time, production and machine data was to be automatically recorded and stored in order to bring more transparency to production. To achieve this, Barku Managing Director Stefan Hintze opted for the implementation of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) with an integrated planning tool. In the meantime, it is now possible to record and store precisely the data required for meaningful post-calculation and thus a high level of transparency in production. In 2010, Sebastian Bähr was brought on board as project engineer for the necessary reorganisation of the planning and production processes, taking into account the requirements of the MES. After several providers were examined, the decision was made in favour of the modular MES system FASTEC 4 PRO from the Paderborn-based company FASTEC at the end of 2010. “The deciding factor was the flexible connection concept, which promised fast and cost-effective implementation,” explains Sebastian Bähr. This concept is based on a flexible and modular input/output system (I/O) that can be adapted to the production situation. Twenty-two injection moulding machines, four assembly lines and eleven extrusion lines were connected with comparatively little hardware and wiring effort. In addition, electricity meters with a digital pulse output were installed at the individual injection moulding machines in order to identify the specific energy consumption. This was intended to create a database to identify and analyse what quantities of energy are consumed where.
Precise Data Indicates Problem Areas
The prerequisite for targeted energy management is that the necessary data is available. To this end, Barku records and permanently stores the exact consumption for all injection moulding machines via the corresponding measuring points on the I/O modules. The respective power consumption and the total energy consumption of all 22 injection moulding machines can then be automatically determined in the production-related IT system. This data can be filtered for individual machines, peripherals, the entire hall and even the installed solar system. In addition, the specific energy consumption during the processing of individual items, orders or set-up processes within the injection moulding department can be reported. If a machine suddenly consumes more energy, the employees know immediately that something is wrong and can react immediately. For example, a defective temperature control unit could be quickly detected based on the excessively high power consumption and replaced immediately. “Without the energy measurement with FASTEC 4 PRO, the defective appliance might have remained unnoticed for months,” says Sebastian Bähr. “Out of interest, we estimated how many kilowatt hours would have been consumed: at least 6,000 kilowatt hours!”
Detailed Scheduling Helps to Keep an Overview
In the Barnstorf-based company, the individual Production orders are now scheduled to the available resources using the Detailed Scheduling function of the Manufacturing Execution System. At the same time, the production processes are comprehensively monitored and analysed with the help of the production-related software. The planner thus has an overview of the status of the individual machines, order progress, specified completion dates and quantities at all times. This allows them to react quickly and flexibly in the event of unforeseen modifications. If, for example, the completion of an order is delayed due to disruptions in the production process, such as a machine coming to a standstill, the system takes this into account for subsequent orders. The individual operations of these orders can then be postponed, interrupted or cancelled. By storing the Process data and the comprehensive evaluation options, the production processes can be analysed retrospectively and then optimised by taking appropriate measures. “Before the introduction, we often had to produce at 160 per cent capacity. In 2012, we almost doubled our output quantities in extrusion. Thanks to Fastec, we were able to keep track of our planning,” summarises Sebastian Bähr. At the same time, customer satisfaction has been significantly increased thanks to more flexible and faster planning on the one hand and the precise monitoring of fixed delivery dates on the other.
Tapping Into Long-Term Savings Potential
Bähr sees savings potential in the energy sector, particularly in the peripheral devices and how these are utilised by the machine operator. Precise recording of Process data also makes it possible to uncover waste, such as machines in standby mode. Detailed energy management now also helps with investment decisions. By comparing the energy consumption of old and state-of-the-art injection moulding machines with eco-drive motors, it quickly becomes clear how much energy can still be saved. The topic of energy therefore remains relevant for Barku even after one and a half years of using the system.
