Customers worldwide rely on Voith's modular Papermaking 4.0 portfolio to individually optimize their production with the leading digital industrial applications. Based on extensive expertise, Voith is introducing OnEfficiency.BreakProtect, OnView.VirtualSensorBuilder and OnView.MassBalance, three new apps on the IIoT platform OnCumulus. The new digitalization solutions feature the highest safety standards, are quick to install and easy to use. The technologies are already successfully implemented in several plants worldwide. Due to the process optimizations and lower resource consumption, the applications often pay off in less than a year and pave the way to the digital paper mill.
OnEfficiency.BreakProtect: Detect, understand and prevent paper break causes
The IIoT platform OnCumulus has already established itself as a central hub for data from multiple sources for numerous paper manufacturers.
OnEfficiency.BreakProtect uses artificial intelligence to analyze the process data bundled in OnCumulus. Thereby, the innovative solution automatically detects various critical process conditions that can lead to breaks. This allows the development of specific countermeasures and the reliable prevention of tear-offs.
"I am always fascinated by the correlations that artificial intelligence can recognize," says Jürgen Käser, Director Process Applications at Voith. "Among other things, we were able to use OnEfficiency.BreakProtect to identify increased dirt and starch agglomerate loads – for which there is no measurement data at all – at the SpeedSizer pulper. In the past, these had repeatedly led to break-off series. A small mechanical rebuild, which prevents starch from entering the pulper in larger quantities, has permanently solved the previously undetected problem."
OnView.VirtualSensorBuilder: Calculate and visualize quality parameters quickly and easily using virtual sensors
Virtual sensors, also called soft sensors, have proven themselves in the process industry for many years. With the help of data models, the sensors calculate various quality parameters and thus reliably supplement laboratory tests. Until now, the use of virtual sensors required considerable time and, above all, data analysis skills. With OnView.VirtualSensorBuilder, Voith introduces a user-friendly app that allows paper manufacturers to quickly and easily create the virtual sensors themselves with just a few mouse clicks.
"With OnView.VirtualSensorBuilder, it only takes a few hours for a new soft sensor to be ready for use," says Maria Knauer, Global Product Manager Efficiency Solutions at Voith. "Previously, this required a time-consuming and costly process of several weeks."
Once installed, operators can use OnView.VirtualSensorBuilder to continuously calculate, visualize and control relevant quality values, such as strength values, in real time. Combined with OnCumulus.Suite, the digital application identifies critical values and provides preventive warnings, allowing personnel to make immediate improvement adjustments. The solution thus increases process stability, enables compliance with desired quality standards, reduces raw material costs and minimizes waste.
OnView.MassBalance: Visualize and reduce fiber losses in stock preparation
OnView.MassBalance maps the current stock flows in an intuitive Sankey diagram and provides information on deviations that are no longer within the standard range. If a defined warning threshold is exceeded, the application automatically highlights the relevant area in the diagram and recommends suitable action to avoid fiber losses. OnView.MassBalance thus leads to targeted process optimization in stock preparation and also enables centralized knowledge management.
With the help of OnView.DigitalEye, the accuracy of OnView.MassBalance can be increased even further. The innovation makes it possible for the first time to analyze recovered paper quality even before stock preparation with the help of artificial intelligence. The award-winning AI application OnView.DigitalEye is currently undergoing final testing as part of pilot installations at national and international customer sites and is expected to be available starting next year. Another application that will be launched in 2022 is OnView.Energy from Voith. The app visualizes and analyzes energy consumption and CO2 emissions in production. This enables significant savings potential to be identified, leading to lower energy costs, improved sustainability and competitiveness.
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