How does digitalization work at a smaller company when the owners are on a low budget but not just the costs count? With a touch of Industry 4.0 and an innovative solution, ASBrake is getting on the track of data-driven production.
Haris × ASBrake
In the gate of Industry 4.0
Using the power of digitalization and Industry 4.0 is essential in all fields of today’s industry. It is not only about data collection and analysis, but the communication between different devices all around the factory. Even if it sounds strange at first, finding the best solution is not necessarily a troublesome process. The main goal of Haris Digital’s solution is to eliminate stress from the implementation of a process monitoring system and offer an easy-to-use device for several industrial applications.
Let’s have a short overview of one of the customer’s case studies: ASBrake, a Hungarian company uses Haris Digital’s special smart sensor and OEE Operator app to track the production.
About ASBrake
ASBrake is a small family-owned Hungarian company that produces brakes, tools, friction pads and works with metal sheets for the automotive industry. With a wide+ range of machining tools and more than forty years of experience, the small firm offers high-quality products and services for its partners not only in Hungary but all across Europe.
It all started at a conference
Pál Agg, the CEO of ASBrake first saw the easy-to-implement solution of Haris Digital at a conference in the end of 2019. After the presentation, he had a chat with András Pfeiffer and Péter Perecz, and got an offer for a month-long trial period to use the sensor and the app.
At that time, he had already started some kind of digitalization progress at the company: he had been developing a production management system for their custom manufacturing processes. He was thinking about taking the first steps towards Industry 4.0 and digitalization, and Haris’s sensor option was a perfect application to start with.
“We are on a low budget, but with Haris OEE Operator we have found a high-quality solution to cover our needs. Another advantage of the product is versatility: we can use the sensor with different machines and applications to measure diverse manufacturing parameters. Besides, the implementation of the sensor is not only easy, but time-saving too.”
– says Pál Agg about the first steps.
Tracking manufacturing processes
“We have attached the sensor and connected the software to hydraulic press brakes to monitor the downtime of the machines. First, I had some issues with finding the perfect place for the sensor, but after some tests, I placed it on the AC motor of the machine. At this spot, the sensor can measure the differences between the frequencies (based on the movements of the tool) and provides data to evaluate the manufacturing times.”
– says Pál Agg.
Due to the usage of the sensor and the visualization of the data, ASBrake’s manufacturing performance improved by 10-15% on the selected press brakes. “After the installation, all the operators and workers became more productive, thanks to the feedbacks coming from OEE Operator.” – adds Pál Agg. The sensor and the connected app detected that 60-70% of the time the selected machine tools are unutilized. “That recognition confirmed we need some proper data collection and analysis to improve our processes.” – says Pál Agg about the production.
“Now, we are using the sensor in two different manufacturing processes, and we are working on the implementation of two others. The only difficulty is managing this project within the company. Since I am responsible for the whole project and it is not the only one for me, I do not have much dedicated time for that. Fortunately, we can rely on the support provided by Haris. Although it took us a few weeks to find the perfect spot and the best parameters to describe the process, with a dedicated person it would take only a week or 3-4 days.”
– says Pál Agg about the installation.
Basic solution for not just the basic needs from real professionals
The Basic application of Haris Digital is for simple monitoring of the production processes. The installation and the connected app are not too complicated, the observed process could be though. Based on the needs, customers are able to keep an eye on their wide range of applications and handle all the collected data in a cloud service. The smart sensor can be placed on various machines, even on older ones without PLC or PC based control panels. Haris Digital’s experts are currently working on finding the best measurement spots on different kind of machines and manufacturing devices.
“After we first met at the conference, we didn’t only get the sensor and the app, but all the required support and help to make the device useful in our factory. Zoltán Néder and András Pfeiffer helped us in choosing the best tablet to communicate with the sensor and finding the best spots on the machines. Now we are working together on their next two installations.”
– says Pál Agg about the support coming from Haris and he continues:
“All employees at Haris are helpful and experienced at real industrial projects. It makes the installation and the implementation much easier and the whole service more convenient. The data collection has proved useful so far and in the next few months we will manage some improvement in our production based on the results.”
If you are interested in trying the Basic solution or you need a more complex data-collection method, do not hesitate to contact us for more information about our sensors and application!
