Schubert dodges COVID-19 production curveballs with online maintenance optimizations

05 Nov 2020 --- Automated packaging machine specialist Schubert is adapting and developing its services in the face of new production challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is making on-site services increasingly difficult and driving up the need for improved digital and virtual support – a challenge Schubert is capitalizing on.

The company says it can “exploit a major advantage” by providing online manufacturing support.

“Manufacturers produce 24/7 and any standstill in the packaging process can result in the spoiling of food. This unacceptable waste of valuable resources alone must be stopped,” says Uwe Galm, director of customer services at Schubert. 

During the lockdown the company successfully carried out commissioning of its systems via virtual means. This included supporting a customer in Asia through the internet to assemble a new machine system without a single Schubert technician being physically present, says Galm. 

Schubert is announcing it will build on these successes in anticipation of a permanently changing industry landscape. 

Online machine analysis
In 2018, Schubert launched a digital network for its production systems called GRIPS.world. The network is designed to enhance efficiency and productivity remotely. 

All machines produced by Schubert contain an industrial gateway that collects machine information. This can be connected to the network at a customer’s request and enables technicians to aid production processes or fix technical issues. An industrial gateway is built into Schubert's machines before leaving the factory.

Schubert’s subsidiary company Schubert System Elektronic is providing services through this platform once customers make their data available to the company for analysis.

Technicians can then provide maintenance for ongoing problems and give “predictive maintenance” to foresee and prevent impending technical problems in the machines remotely. 

Schubert indicates connecting to their online servers through an app is also conceivable in the future for companies wishing to connect via their own platforms. 

3D printing 
Another major element of Schubert’s online services is 3D printing. All the company’s products now contain parts created by 3D printing technology, mainly robot tools. 

Customers are able to download and upgrade machine parts through Partbox, a “digital warehouse” containing designs for manufacturing tools. 

The platform can also contain other resources such as stock overview and reorder options. 

“Digital twin” Titan 
Schubert has also created a “digital twin” named Titan to accompany machine processes by simulating them into moving images. This can help improve efficiency and safety in configuration of the machines.3D printing makes machine maintenance possible from afar.

“Commissioning can be simulated in advance, which makes virtual factory approvals even easier. Once real machine data has been incorporated into the digital twin, it will be possible to make even more precise forecasts of upcoming service intervals or to program alarms for deviating values. There are no limits to the imagination here,” the company envisages.

Schubert adds this is especially important for the food sector. Given the potential for spoiled produce and the need for 24 hour support, a digital system can provide assistance that human maintenance cannot. 

“Even insidious changes such as unnatural heat generation or rising motor currents in a system can be detected and eliminated so early that major downtimes are reduced to an absolute minimum,” Schubert explains.

“The distinction between mechanics and electronics, which is somewhat complex for customers, is no longer necessary, as both areas are inseparably linked in the systems.”

Automated production 
Last year, Schubert created fully automated technology for a cosmetics company. Robots were designed to handle all mechanisms in the production process, enabling a rapidly changing industry. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a major role in changing the packaging industry. Analytical tools allowing for a better match between demand and supply and AI production technology optimizing output are rapidly improving the packaging landscape. 

By Louis Gore-Langton