5G Factory Upgrades Smart Manufacturing

At the Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd.'s (TMT) innovation center's 5G factory, a high-efficiency sandblasting machine works automatically, mechanical arms deliver workpieces to designated stations with slick precision, while the facility's operation parameters, material delivery status and quality inspection data are updated in real time.

The cutting-edge factory was recently selected as one of last year's 5G Factory Typical Application Practices by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

With 5G as the core of the network infrastructure, TMT has established an integrated collaborative system featuring edge-side sensing and execution, real-time edge computing and cloud-side global decision-making. This enables end-to-end connectivity and intelligent collaboration across devices, data and services, according to Peng Chaoyi, deputy general manager of TMT.

Enhancing efficiency

Sandblasting is a crucial link in the process of metal-rubber composite element production, as the metal and rubber can bond firmly only after the metal has been sandblasted.

The factory introduced a high-efficiency sandblasting machine which can precisely control the path of the moving spray gun, as well as the angle and distance between the spray gun and the workpiece surface to be sandblasted. This ensures a 100 percent sandblast cover rate and improved roughness stability of ±10 microns.

Zhao Bin, deputy chief engineer of TMT's rail transportation department, said the sandblasting machine provides high-quality base material surfaces for the succeeding rubber coating process. It also increases blasting efficiency by 65 percent and the yield by 15 percent, saving substantial costs.

In addition to the cutting-edge sandblasting machine, almost 80 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) of different types form a logistics network in the factory. Some fetch materials from warehouses, or shuttle through connecting corridors, while others interface with vulcanizing machines, enabling unmanned and precise material delivery for production lines.

The optimal routes are calculated with the help of the intelligent route planning function, updated in real time to deal with unexpected situations.

According to Zhao, the AGV's delivery on-time rate is as high as 99 percent, reducing line-side inventory by 30 percent and shortening changeover time by 40 percent.

Connecting data in real time

The private 5G network and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platform also play an important role in the smooth operation of the factory.

The factory has deployed industrial communication gateways covering every piece of equipment and electricity meter in the workshop, which can collect key production data like temperature, pressure and vulcanization time during the manufacturing process.

The data is then uploaded to the industrial IoT platform via the private 5G network. The coordination among these three parties can realize real-time, stable transmission and storage of data.

Relying on the "nervous system" built by the private 5G network and industrial IoT platform, the factory can connect the equipment used in the rubber preforming and vulcanization processes.

Yin Jinyun, deputy general manager of TMT's rail transportation department, said that in the past, material requests and rubber extrusion relied entirely on manual operations. Now, vulcanizing machines can directly initiate material requests through the manufacturing execution system.

Once a request is issued, the system automatically checks the operating status of the extruders and rubber inventory levels, then sends extrusion instructions to the designated extruder. At the same time, it can automatically submit delivery requests to AGVs, which promptly transport the retrieved rubber materials to the corresponding vulcanizing machines. Requesting materials, rubber extrusion and delivery are now completed in one seamless process, Yin said.

Cloud 'brain' optimizes decisions

A smart "brain" is indispensable to the running of an intelligent factory. By building a private cloud platform, a centralized data platform and an Enterprise Service Bus, the 5G factory's cloud-based "brain" can consolidate high-performance computing and storage resources, gather data across the entire business chain, and integrate management systems across different operational segments.

The cloud-based "brain" enables the real-time sharing and full-scale visibility of data information from different sides, including process parameters from the production side, inventory data from the storage side, and test records from the quality inspection side.

Taking warehousing operations as an example, the factory operates a smart warehouse with more than 25,000 storage locations. Supported by a warehouse management system, it achieves the automatic, transparent and intelligent full-lifecycle management of material inbound, storage and outbound processes. Algorithms precisely position materials and dynamically manage storage locations, improving space utilization.

Rong Jigang, deputy general manager and chief engineer of TMT, said functions such as automated inventory aging analysis in the warehouse management system can not only identify materials nearing expiration and reduce unnecessary losses, but also help procurement managers make more informed purchasing decisions through data sharing.

Source: Science and Technology Daily