Expert on Demand: The digital solution is that simple

Foundries generally make use of robust materials, machines and equipment which, provided they are regularly maintained, will perform their duties for a long time. Nevertheless, service cases can still occur – and here, as a plant operator, you naturally want to keep failures and downtimes as low as possible. Expert on Demand (EoD) is a digital service tool from ABP Induction that uses Augmented Reality (AR) to provide rapid remedy in service cases.

When does Augmented Reality become relevant as a tool? A typical case scenario: The digital tool ABP Intelligence has been set up at the customer’s premises to connect their machines and systems. In the event that the system detects a deviation from normal operation, it triggers an alarm and creates a ticket in the “MyABP.com” portal. The ticket contains all information concerning the case and the plant. Should the customer’s employee requires assistance, the ABP Expert on Demand (EoD) is just one click away. A service request is quickly set up and scheduled – if desired, at such short notice that the service case can also be resolved directly.

Request a demo video: Simply mail to Markus Fournell

During the scheduling process, a virtual connection is established between the employee on site and the ABP expert. The employee on site can use their smartphone, a tablet or even augmented reality glasses. It goes like this: On their monitor, the ABP expert can see what the employee on site sees – thanks to the camera in the smartphone, tablet or AR glasses. This means that he can take a direct look at the faulty system and identify where there could be a problem. ABP effectively guides the employee at the plant remotely, so to speak.

What are the interaction possibilities between employees and ABP experts?

How do employees and ABP experts interact? Since the ABP expert sees everything, he can guide the employee on site step by step through a repair or maintenance. The hands of the employee become the hands of the ABP expert. He can give him audio instructions or provide him with visual information on the display of the respective device. These can be warnings, work instructions (e.g. in which direction tools are to be turned) or affirmative remarks in the form of common symbols (e.g.  a thumbs-up), or text inserts such as operating instructions or schematic drawings.

The employee is relatively free to choose the device, but it should be noted that augmented reality glasses in particular allow employees to work hands-free – and this one of the biggest advantages of working with augmented reality in the technical service environment. We recommend testing various devices at the beginning in order to find the optimal working environment for employees. But regardless of whether customers choose smartphones, tablets or augmented reality glasses – they will definitely benefit from the advantages of the ABP digital solution “Expert on Demand”. And if reception at the foundry is not good enough, we have immediate help at hand with our repeater case solution. This solution makes it possible to set up a fast, local Wifi network immediately.

Keyword knowledge management

Keyword Knowledge Management: The ticket system ensures complete documentation of the service case, which is essential for similar service cases that may occur in the future. For the ABP technician, this means that there are no travel costs or CO2 emissions resulting from travel, and even the sometimes annoying VISA issue is no longer a concern. In addition, the user can choose different languages. Further benefits: Processing and resolution time is exceptionally fast, and production can be resumed much more quickly – all this saves time and is also better for the environment.

Request a Demo Video

See Expert on Demand in action! You can request free access to the video simply by sending an e-mail to
Markus Fournell, ABP Induction Systems GmbH 
VP Global Service & Digital Products
Phone: +49 231 997 2357
Cell: +49 172 9578531
markus.fournell@abpinduction.com

Perfect conception, dimensioning and planning of melting plants

“How large does our melting plant have to be?” “How can I increase productivity?” “Which extensions pay off fastest?” – These are questions that foundry operators often ask themselves. And these are important questions, as they often mean high investments or can lead to an increase in yield. ABP has developed the Meltshop Designer to design, dimension and plan a melting plant to perfection.

With this ABP proprietary development from System Engineering, we determine which solution is the best for our customers when it comes to the flow of material in the foundry. Our experts can develop simulations for different foundry situations, show variations in furnace design, and include different configurations from ladles to the filling of the molding line. Whether the customer is interested in the current production environment or the variations for future melting processes, the fundamental goal is to find the bottleneck in the simulated environment that could disrupt production – in other words, to optimize processes and operations.

Best practice

A practical example: a melting plant is designed for a production of 10 tons per hour, but only reaches 8 tons per hour. With the help of the Meltshop Designer, we at ABP were able to simulate the actual condition – and found that the ladle transport did not meet the required production volume. Based on the simulation, we were able to give the customer advice on how to improve his production environment.

A further example: a customer was planning to buy three furnaces. We were able to simulate via the Meltshop Designer that he would already achieve the desired production quantity with a tandem furnace and that he should plan the third furnace better as a potential extension so he could save these funds for the time being.

What makes the Meltshop Designer so valuable is its variability. We can simulate all materials by accessing a large database or by incorporating new materials. It is also possible to simulate various one-off or periodic events, such as the limitation of the power supply, a fairly common problem where energy providers reduce the power supply at certain times when more power is being drawn from other parts of the grid.

Evaluation of our simulations

Initially, the evaluation from our simulations consists of many numbers. How high is the energy consumption? What quantities were produced? Of course, we can also provide these bare figures to the customer, but the actual added value only arises from the analysis by our ABP experts, who analyze the information from the  data. When they set up the simulation, it always includes a presentation for the customer, from which recommendations for action are then derived.

Of course, the Meltshop Designer is constantly subject to further development. It is currently available for the foundry market, but also for the steel market in the future. The adjustments for this are already being planned. Further plans are also underway to include other plants in the simulation, even competitor furnaces, always with the aim of achieving the best results for the customer.

Info

Please contact us if you have any questions:
Patrick Lück, ABP Induction Systems GmbH
Sales Engineer Liquid Metals
Phone: +49 231 997 2300
Cell: +49 151 22610238
patrick.lueck@abpinduction.com