As the key support for a new round of industrial revolution and an important cornerstone for deepening "Internet + advanced manufacturing", Industrial Internet is becoming an important starting point and key driving force for manufacturing enterprises to carry out intelligent transformation and upgrading.
But just like other major technological advances, the road to the Industrial Internet cannot be the right path, smooth sailing, destined to be tortuous, bumpy, or even deep. As the basis and premise of the Industrial Internet, there are many key technologies and implementation skills in the data collection link. It is related to the success or failure of the implementation of the Industrial Internet, and is also a process of long-term exploration and experience accumulation.
Since its establishment in 2011, Surad has been committed to device networking and data collection. After 9 years of development, it has successfully implemented nearly 40,000 devices and mobile sources for more than 700 users, and has accumulated a wealth of industrial Internet. Experience, also traversed a lot of bright "pits" and dark "pits." Here, according to the three dimensions of "human-machine network", we hope to help friends who are promoting the industrial Internet.
1. Machine pits: there are pits everywhere, and the pits are different
The production equipment represented by machine tools is the main object and important basis for manufacturing enterprises to implement the Industrial Internet. There are many "pits" in communication protocols and equipment.
1. Miscellaneous system pits: different machines and machines, the transformation of "dumb equipment" is not simple
Because control system manufacturers are different, equipment manufacturers, system versions, interface forms, and communication protocols vary widely, how to connect these devices to the network is the first difficulty in implementing the system. In the workshop, these equipments are almost "Allied Powers of the Eight Powers", including Germany, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and local; both CNC machine tools, robots, heat treatment equipment, three-dimensional warehouses, measurement and testing equipment, and various types of Digital equipment such as instrumentation; both support industrial field CAN bus such as OPC UA, ModBus, Profibus, etc., and support private machine tool communication protocols such as MTConnect and FOCAS; both advanced gateway machine tools, serial communication, and even no interface Of old equipment controller.
Networking and CAN data collection of these devices is far from simple as the consumer Internet industry, because users of the consumer Internet are intelligent people, for example, as long as it is Chinese characters, hundreds of millions of people can understand and interact, and In an industrial environment, almost every device is different, and each device has different communication capabilities with the outside world, and even more are "dumb devices". These devices cannot be networked with the outside world and perform data collection to realize the interconnection of these devices Its difficulty is no less than that of bringing people from different languages in the world together for a conference, which is much more complicated than the automotive CAN bus. This field is destined to be an extremely complex process that requires long-term research and experience accumulation.
Connected to each other, there are pits everywhere, and each device may cost you a lot of money.
2. Immature agreement pit: International big manufacturers, agreement BUG hidden deep
In the past, everyone's main concern was the basic parameters of the machine tool such as accuracy and stroke. There was insufficient attention and research on the 4G networking of the device, especially the underlying CAN data acquisition. These functions are also new technologies that have just been developed in recent years. In terms of manufacturers, this is also a process of trial and error. For example, a high-end control system in Europe is ahead of the industry in terms of equipment networking and data collection. However, although the early models can collect data, there are situations where the collection is unstable and the machine tool crashes. Similarly, the control systems of some other large international manufacturers have some bugs in one way or another. When such a problem occurs, it is a great problem for the implementer. Is it a software problem? Internet problem? Control system problem or machine tool manufacturer's problem? There are too many uncertainties, and it is difficult to define the cause and the direction of solution. It is like a person in a deep hole, not knowing the direction, bumping around everywhere, which is a very painful thing.
Everyone is exploring on the road of development. The big international brands are not immortals. It is also a perfect process, but this kind of problem is very hidden and difficult to find. It requires a lot of exploration time and practical experience. According to our previous experience in the car In terms of the cooperation of the manufacturers, many are the problems of the car manufacturers.
3. Agreement free pit: free lunch is difficult to eat, macro collection is eliminated
Equipment CAN communication protocols are generally required to be purchased, but there are also free, such as FANUC, Mitsubishi, Brother, Haas and other control systems, such systems support free macro command acquisition. As long as the relevant macro commands are artificially added in the NC program, the program name, tool number, spindle speed, feed speed, processing start time, processing end time and other information can be collected through the serial port. It is free and simple, and the macro collection looks good, but when this function is executed, it is easy to cause the machine tool to run slow or even crash, which directly affects the normal production of the enterprise.
The collection of macros is theoretically feasible, but it is difficult to use normally in practical applications. Surad Technology eliminated the technology ten years ago and adopted CAN bus technology, but it still sees many companies in succession. Research and application of this function, only the user "drops the pit".
4. Manufacturer streamlined pits: the face is concentric, the equipment is continuously simplified
In the Internet industry, the same computer and mobile phone will basically be installed in one go, but in the industrial Internet industry, the same equipment may also have different difficulties.
For some CNC systems, the data communication function of the equipment is an option. When users buy equipment, they often only pay attention to the quotation and basic performance of the equipment. The CAN communication protocol is often overlooked. When the data was collected, it was discovered that the function was missing, and the user had to spend additional costs again. At this time, you need to rely on SureTech to decode and adapt these CAN protocols, and obtain the original data through the bus, which greatly reduces business costs and time cycle costs.
Sometimes the hardware will be "reduced". A company from Central Plains purchased more than ten CNC lathes of the same model from a German company in three batches. The electrical wiring of the first two batches of machine tools is very standardized and clearly marked, and we have easily completed the data collection of the equipment. However, after the third batch arrived, the implementation engineer found that the electrical of the machine tool was significantly changed, some components and circuits were simplified, and the electrical drawings were incomplete, and the line identification was not clear. The maintenance master said "In order to reduce costs, Foreign companies have also started cutting corners. "
The same model, different options, different structures, different concentricity, protocol software is "intentionally streamlined", equipment hardware is "intentionally streamlined", intentionally or unintentionally, it increases the complexity of project implementation, and even brings implementation risks. Bring the "reduced pit".
5. Old pits of equipment: old machine tools that can't resist the wind and can "touch porcelain"
Even if some CAN communication protocols have been opened, even if the manufacturer has not streamlined, even if the equipment drawings are complete, when opening the electrical control cabinet of the old equipment, the engineer will often take a breath, the thick dust is in the oil It is covered with circuit boards under the package. If you do not pay attention, the loose circuit boards may cause machine tool failure due to poor contact.
In the factory, there are many such old equipment, and even account for most of them. Engineers are like doctors who perform surgeries. In the face of the weak old man, even minor surgeries can cause big problems. What is more worrying is that many of these old equipments are still likely to be "single seedlings" equipment. The entire factory is just such an equipment that undertakes an important process processing task. In case of problems, it is likely that even spare parts will not be found Arrival and unavailability, the responsibility is heavy.
For this kind of old equipment that can "touch the porcelain", it requires engineers' superb technology and rich practical experience.
Second, the network pit: the network is the foundation, reliability is the premise
1. Wiring amateur pit: different commercial networks in the industrial network, the same network is very different
The complexity of the industrial environment and the high reliability of the use process determine the need to attach great importance to such auxiliary projects as network wiring.
The workplace of the Industrial Internet is different from the office environment. It is often in a workshop environment with strong interference, strong electromagnetic and noise, oil pollution, and vibration. This requires the network to have strong anti-interference ability, which can effectively avoid garbled characters in communication, Hidden security hazards such as packet loss and transmission errors can achieve stable and reliable system operation. In terms of network cabling, the industrial Internet network is also different from common office networks. It is necessary to use super-category five or super-category six network cables with metal shields, and stay away from strong interference sources such as power lines.
In order to reduce project costs, an enterprise in Northeast China insists on using the network that has been previously deployed. However, this kind of network did not take into account the problems of strong interference in the workshop. Packet loss occurred during the subsequent transmission and processing procedures, resulting in the scrapping of critical parts and huge losses. Later, it had to be carried out again in accordance with the standards proposed by Su Ruide Technology. wiring.
A unit in southwestern China chose a low-cost network company to implement when deploying the network. During the joint debugging of the system, it was found that the network not only suffered serious packet loss, but also that some networks were completely unavailable, and the network had to be redeployed. This problem is very common in the field of network communication, but it is only for the industrial Internet. Failure to make products in accordance with the requirements of higher vehicle regulations and military regulations is a waste of time and an increase in costs.
The industrial environment is different from the commercial environment. Although the wiring is inconspicuous, it has its own set of professional specifications. After installation, you must test the signal. Do n’t ignore it. If you fall into the amateur wiring pit, saving money is often a waste.
2. Wireless communication pit: pursuit of advanced nature, losing stability
There are two types of industrial Internet systems: wired and wireless. Wireless networks and wired networks have their own advantages and disadvantages. They should be based on actual needs and not blindly pursue advanced.
The advantage of wired is that it is more convenient to use and the cost is lower. It is more suitable for smaller equipment and the control panel of the machine tool does not move. But its shortcomings are heavy wiring workload, long construction cycle, many node modules, high failure rate, and difficult maintenance.
Wireless is more flexible, more convenient to use, less wiring work, shorter construction period, simple maintenance, etc. Especially for large equipment, the control panel of the machine tool moves with the workbench, it is more reasonable to use the wireless solution. However, in the case of multiple interference sources and multiple occlusions in the workshop, the wireless network also has a small coverage area, weak anti-interference ability, and data loss. And in security units such as military industry, it is generally prohibited to use wireless networks.
Some users always like to pursue new technologies, hoping to use wireless technology, even the best is 5G technology. For most enterprises, if the equipment is not very large, the wiring is not very difficult, and the position of the equipment does not change frequently, Soretech still recommends the use of a wired network. Because for the industrial Internet, stability and reliability are the first priority, the wired network is still tested in terms of transmission speed, stability and reliability.
Between wired and wireless, we should choose different solutions according to the scene, and stability is overwhelming. The foundation of the industrial Internet is stable and reliable, and do n’t give up.
3. Scourge and rat pit: struck by lightning at the top and gnawed at the bottom
In addition to its own stability and reliability, the Industrial Internet system has many unexpected things happening.
A unit is located in the southwestern third-tier area of Yuduo Leiduo. One summer, the unit was anxious to let our engineers go, saying that some machine tools could not collect information. After an on-site investigation by the engineer, it was found that the user was located in a mountainous area. The optical fiber transceiver between the workshops was struck by lightning. Finally, the wiring was rewired and a lightning protection device was installed.
Another user reported that a machine tool had unstable acquisitions, and it was very strange. Suretech engineers have repeatedly found no problems in the software system and machine tool end. In the end, it was found that the network cable in the trench was bitten by a mouse, resulting in poor contact, and the system appeared to be on and off. Similar to this situation, it can be described as unpredictable, but these can be protected by means of network wiring, adding network cable protection tubes, and medicine and rodent control.
Industrial Internet, the network is the foundation, anti-sky (lightning strike), anti-ground (car rolling foot), anti-rodent (chaos).
3. Human pit: people-oriented, be careful of being pitted
Regardless of any system or technology, people will always be the main body. If there is no human cooperation, even if there are artificial restrictions or sabotage, no matter how good the system is, it will not produce value.
1. Manufacturers set up pits: only in China, the collection function is limited
Some systems have network communication functions, users can open it as long as they spend money, and they can carry out data communication and collection. However, some equipment's communication protocol can not be bought with money. A large Asian brand CNC machine tool, the data collection function developed by the manufacturer itself is very powerful, and is open to third-party software and hardware companies such as Europe and the United States, but only in China, the gateway CAN bus data collection function is limited, and real-time data collection is not possible. Able to export data for a limited number of times, the value of this non-real-time data collection is greatly reduced. For this reason, Su Ruide has appointed a chief R & D engineer to decode and adapt the original gateway CAN bus data protocol on site.
This is artificially differentiated, manufacturers set up pits, and third-party service providers (sales companies) are powerless.
2. Man-made wire pulling pit: fear of being monitored, "smart failures" occur frequently
The purpose of the Industrial Internet is to collect data on a real-time bus to gain insight into process abnormalities and optimize management decisions. But many people, especially first-line machine tool operators, often think that the purpose of implementing the system is to monitor themselves, often with strong resistance.
I remember that after implementing the networking of a certain unit, the user leaders complained angrily that the data collected was inaccurate and the data was often not collected. After going to the scene, Suretech engineers found that the system was operating normally, the described problem could not be reproduced, and the work did not progress for a few days. After getting familiar with the operator, the operator said that it was the network cable he unplugged.
The core of lean production is to identify waste and continuous improvement. The main purpose of enterprises to implement the Industrial Internet is not to monitor workers, but to scientifically analyze data after real-time data collection, locate the cause of low equipment utilization, and improve the consistency of equipment utilization and product quality by reducing various waits through improvement. Not only help the enterprise, but also help the operator, because after improving management through collaborative preparation and other measures, the labor intensity of the operator will be greatly reduced, the production efficiency will be significantly improved, and the operator will naturally earn more remuneration.
People-oriented, helping the enterprise and the front-line employees with altruism can effectively reduce the resistance of the front-line employees. Otherwise, the people's "wisdom" is endless, and the failures will be "intelligent". Even the best system will be difficult. Use it.
Heaven and earth are not as good as humans, and system intelligence is not as good as humans, and they must avoid falling into artificially dug pits because of simple management.
3. Big data pit: blindly seeking more data, redundant and inefficient
A user in East China reported after two years of operation that the system is running slower. After analysis by developers, during the project implementation, users are affected by concepts such as big data, and believe that the more data they collect, the better, and insist on collecting as much data as possible, so that each site collects about 60,000 variables. In the case of this huge amount of high-frequency data collection, the system has stored a large amount of useless data for a long time, and the performance of the system for data collection, storage, and analysis has been significantly reduced, resulting in a greatly reduced user experience.
After repeated communication with users, based on real needs, combined with user professional characteristics and actual management needs, streamlined nearly 80% of the collected data types and optimized the system. Although the amount of data has dropped, the quality is up. In addition, the use value and user experience for users have also greatly improved.
4. Party A dropped the pit: not being cautious in the early stage and being treated as a mouse
The above is from the perspective of the implementing party, summarizing some "pits" of the implementation process of the Industrial Internet. For the end user, choosing a professional supplier, these "pits" can be effectively avoided. But the biggest pit is to take the initiative to drop the pit.
Some manufacturing companies do n’t know much about the Industrial Internet and have insufficient understanding of its industrial attributes. They think that the Industrial Internet is a set of software systems, which looks similar on the surface, or is influenced by Internet thinking. The supplier's commitment to take a chest, plus the price and other reasons, chose some so-called "new company", "new technology", "new product", "new price", I wonder, this is likely to fall into the pit.
The industrial Internet system is a typical industrial software, which is completely different from the general IT system. In addition to technical principles, architectural design, development capabilities, stability, etc., the Industrial Internet is also a set of containers, injecting a lot of industrial experience and implementation know-how. It needs to do a lot of projects and long-term precipitation. Like the automotive industry, software has only great wisdom, no little wisdom, only continuous improvement, and it is difficult to have a complete subversion. A mature system requires a long time to polish and practice test, there is no shortcut. There is no need for manufacturing companies, and there is no obligation to accompany suppliers to explore on their valuable equipment for a long time. Time is money and time is cost.
If you choose an immature system because of the cheap price, it is very cost-effective. The small cost saved by the software is insignificant in front of the equipment with a total price of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, and the system is unstable. Data is inaccurate, management is worthless, and serious consequences include equipment damage, product scrapping, and personal accidents. For the Industrial Internet, system stability, rapid implementation, equipment security, and effective management are the most critical.
4. Conclusion
The Industrial Internet is not smooth, and there are pits everywhere. Machines have pits, nets have pits, people have pits, scientific planning, reliable landing, don't be pitted by machines, nets, people by pits!
Finally, I adapted the theme lyrics of "Journey to the West" and sent it to friends on the industrial Internet who are seeking up and down: "Filling the deep pit into a avenue, and starting the battle pit again. After a lot of spring and autumn, winter and summer, a lot of sweet and bitter; 'Where?' Pit 'is at your feet! "
