Initial Situation
Goals and Challenges
ABF's Solution
As part of an overall project duration of six months, the pickling plant was comprehensively renewed on behalf of partner Steuler, and the control logic was re-implemented. ABF electrically rebuilt the plant and replaced the old Simatic S5 with a Simatic S7-1500F, thereby creating a stable, future-proof foundation for plant operation.
With a comprehensive WinCC visualization, it is now possible to track materials in the pickling line in real time. At the same time, individual treatment programs can be created directly from the ABF application, replacing fixed pickling programs and allowing the plant to react much more flexibly to different product requirements. In addition, the P&ID diagram for plant monitoring was visualized, the chemical area can be operated from the control room, and can also be controlled via a WinCC WebNavigator.
Beyond the original goals of plant renewal and efficiency improvement, a connection to the SAP ERP system was also implemented to transfer material data and achieve better consistency of information between Manufacturing and IT.
Result and Benefits
Through modernization, DWK can now realize Manufacturing with lot size 1, which represents a decisive competitive advantage in an environment with very diverse customer requirements. At the same time, throughput has been increased and the error rate reduced, which is directly reflected in higher availability and more stable processes.
Even in the event of unscheduled occurrences, operations benefit from higher efficiency, as automatic programs help to react faster and more safely. The project manager on the ABF side, Raphael Brunnthaler, emphasizes the particular success factor of time: despite enormous time pressure, the conversion was completed on schedule, so that Manufacturing could resume as planned.
