Extrusion International USA 2-2020

49 Extrusion International 2/2020 tomer and temporarily access their data in a defined subarea of the sys- tem. Users profit from interchangeability Among manufacturers, a further consequence of the open system ar- chitecture is discussed with under- standable controversy: Open systems with unified network protocols and standardized interfaces allow the substitution of the components of a system. For example, the company operating the system or the machine manufacturer can easily replace a sensor with an identical sensor of another manufacturer - a benefit for users, but a double-edged sword for the manufacturers. Providers of engineering services, who integrate third-party components, can find an additional field of occupation here. Remote maintenance is a matter of trust The open architecture of a system al- lows not just data analysis for status monitoring of machines and devices, but also preventive maintenance and rapid aid in cases of fault – the ben- efits of remote maintenance are usu- ally uncontested. However, there is often a contradiction in the require- ments for availability from the point of view of production and security from an IT point of view. tem, which continuously records this value. Predefined values could be used as indicators influencing the process or production and allow predictive actions, such as predictive mainte- nance or condition monitoring. The drive itself is of course protected by self-diagnostics. It now barely needs to be regarded as a source of errors. As a reminder: IIoT keeps its focus on the application and not the subcom- ponents. But the journey continues: If we do not know the indicators, then the question arises of the occurrence and correlation of problems and causes, which allow conclusions to be made about production. If, for example, the web tension is monitored, then, when observing un- desired effects, such as web tears, the entire available data record could be reviewed for outliers. Large volumes of data become smart data. Here, the technologies from the field of “deep learning”, a subsection of automatic learning, will help us. To remain in the example: This allows determina- tion of whether web tensions were chosen incorrectly or the penetration of the web with moisture has led to changes in the e-module. This is only possible thanks to an open architecture. How can data security be maintained in spite of this? If remote access now also comes into play, with which the manufacturers of components and systems can offer rapid support during commissioning, maintenance or troubleshooting, then the operators of production facilities worry about the security of their data. The risk appears to be too great that the open architecture gen- erates unwanted transparency and, in extreme cases, opens the door to industrial espionage or sabotage. To rule this out with absolutely cer- tainty, special coupling software is used with secure hardware switches. In this way, for example, a supplier of automation technology can perform remote maintenance for their cus- Manufacturers are keen to take this subject seriously and offer solutions. “Remote maintenance is a matter of trust,” explains Dirk Schröder, Head of Sales for the Printing/Film division at Erhardt+Leimer. The company is a global leader in the manufactur- ing of automation technology for web guiding, web tension control and web inspection. Schröder knows what he’s talking about: “For many of our customers, the open architec- ture of their automation system has a high priority. Our new product gen- eration of sensors, controllers and drives for web automation fulfils this requirement. At the same time, we also have to guarantee the security of our customers’ data. If, therefore, a machine is to be connected to the Internet for the purpose of remote maintenance, for example, then we can offer a solution that takes into account both the requirements of production and also IT.” This also en- sures that devices already installed on customer premises can be kept at the latest security level, thanks to au- tomated updates. Erhardt+Leimer GmbH Albert-Leimer-Platz 1, 86391 Stadtbergen, Germany www.erhardt-leimer.com