Remote Access meets Edge Computing

Digital roll –
The easy way to your own Service App

WP Kemper produces machines and plants for large bakeries which cover the entire process from dough production to the finished products. Since 2015, the WP Group has been using the industrial router mbNET for remote access of its bakery machines. Due to the positive experience with remote maintenance, WP Kemper has decided to implement a comprehensive digital machine monitoring system based on the IoT modular system from MB connect line.

As a provider of turnkey systems for industrial bakeries, WP Kemper aims to ensure the success of its cus-tomers with comprehensive digital services. As a first step, a PANE dough banding machine was equipped with a comprehensive data acquisition system as an example. The service team should have a quick and complete overview of the machine condition at all times – as well as details of the individual areas and work steps. In concrete terms, this includes, for example, sensor values such as the current consumption of mo-tors and the position of controllers as well as the condition of the safety circuits.
The transparent display is intended to enable different groups of people such as maintenance personnel, operators or plant managers to view the relevant data individually – in line with the respective task areas. The main focus is on a better overview of production figures and process quality, better diagnostic options in the event of a malfunction and shorter downtimes.

„We will be pioneering our industry with digital services and further extending our lead.“

Dr. Michael Euler, CEO WP Kemper

Thanks to the mbNET.rokey industrial router, which can be expanded to a powerful IoT gateway with the mbEDGE extension, WP Kemper has opted for a secure, future-proof and flexible solution. Flexibility is ensu-red by common tools and protocols such as Node-RED and OPC UA.

The control and sensor data available in the machine network are read in by the control and the HMI via OPC UA – and further processed via Node-RED.
As a user interface, extended dashboards were created as service apps. This app visualizes the data and enables direct interaction by the operator on site. If required, the operating personnel can contact WP Kemper Service directly from the service app. The relevant data for identifying the system, such as customer number, serial number and other selected machine information, are also transmitted – WP Kemper Service can immediately start troubleshooting via remote maintenance. Time-consuming coordination by telephone or e-mail is a thing of the past.

With mbEDGE, WP Kemper gets an integrated solution from a single source. All sensor and control data can be recorded, evaluated and displayed in a user-friendly way. The customer receives the relevant data individually prepared and WP Kemper Service has a complete picture of the machine condition at all times. The service team can intervene at any time via remote maintenance in order to eliminate faults themselves – or support the operating personnel in this. The service app is an ideal tool for developing additional digital services to offer customers even more support.

The tight schedule for the presentation at the „Südback 2019“ trade show in Stuttgart was met – thanks to the close cooperation between MB connect line and WP Kemper in the hot phase. The solution was imple-mented within a few months and presented to the public at the trade fair. Due to the positive feedback from customers, the PANE dough banding machines will be equipped with the service app in future – and existing systems will also be retrofi tted. In addition, WP Kemper is taking the next steps to apply this concept to other series.