High-tech company Trumpf presented a new software package for production scheduling and control at its recent Digital Summit in-house trade fair. Companies can use the new “Oseon” software to create significantly leaner production processes and make major gains in productivity.

The software includes a range of new options for managing the transportation of materials in a flexible and automated fashion. Oseon also offers production workers a clear display of all relevant production data directly within their work environment.

Trumpf product manager Wolfgang Liertz, said: “Oseon once again demonstrates our market-leading position as a solution provider for digitally connected manufacturing. As well as reducing downtime and non-productive time, the software also makes a better use of machine capacity and makes life easier for operators. The resulting productivity gains can be as high as 20%. The software is easy to use in any sector thanks to its open interfaces.

The software allows users to fully automate the flow of materials on the shop floor, potentially eliminating the need to invest in a large-scale storage system. Mr Liertz said: “Oseon lets users synchronise material flow with their production schedule, enabling them to respond even faster and more flexibly to unexpected events such as rush orders, as well as processing more orders in less time.”

Logistics processes
Once the user has loaded their production schedule into Oseon, the software takes over the task of managing many of the factory’s logistics processes. The software receives continuous process data updates from all the production machinery. As well as the data from the production schedule and machines, the software also holds information on batches, material stocks, the locations of each cart and trolley, and the parts that are required on the shopfloor.

The Trumpf developers rely on a combination of barcodes and smart docking stations to efficiently manage the flow of materials. Each pallet transported by cart or trolley has a barcode. After placing the machined parts on the pallet, the worker scans this barcode with a hand-held scanner, thereby “wedding” the pallet to that particular batch.

Next, the worker pushes the cart into a special docking station developed by Trumpf that includes various built-in sensors. Alternatively, this journey can be made autonomously by an automated guided vehicle (AGV) controlled by Oseon. As soon as the cart or AGV has successfully docked, the docking station sends all the information to Oseon. Now the software has all the data it needs to efficiently organise the transportation of the materials.

As well as automatically selecting the right sequence for transporting materials, Oseon also automatically sends transportation orders to free AGVs and to workers with carts. In this way, it ensures that the materials are always in the right place at the right time.

Minimises non-productive time
If the company receives an urgent order, Oseon can easily adapt to the new situation by modifying the material transportation schedule. This minimises the non-productive time of waiting for a machine to be unloaded or for more raw materials to become available. Oseon also makes life easier for production workers — using a tablet, they can see all the relevant information on a job without leaving their work environment.

Mr Liertz explained: “Production often comes to a halt because the workers don’t have the information they need on the current job. In normal circumstances, it is a hassle to search for the relevant routing slip or look up the details in the production scheduling program. But with Oseon, all the data they need is immediately and clearly visible on the screen. That prevents mistakes being made and saves time.”

Oseon also lets workers simply tap their tablet screen to get user-friendly instructions on every step in the manufacturing process. The software guides them through all the upcoming tasks, from loading the machine with raw materials to removing the finished parts.

To help companies harness their machine data to improve production, Trumpf also offers access to its new Condition Monitoring service. Trumpf’s Predictive Service Center receives up-to-date condition data from all the digitally connected machines on a customer’s shopfloor, such as data on the temperature or pressure of individual machine components.

Whenever Trumpf detects an anomaly that could mean a potential malfunction or downtime, it informs the customer proactively and sends them recommended solutions. These are communicated by email, through a notification in the service app, or in a phone call from a technical expert. This allows the customer to solve problems before they result in unexpected downtime or cause the machine to produce unusable parts.

Oseon is designed to be used on shopfloors where digital connectivity is still in its infancy as well as in fully-fledged smart factories, and it delivers real benefits whatever the size of the company. Thanks to its open interfaces, the software is also suitable for users that want to integrate machines from other suppliers into their fully networked production, in addition to Trumpf machines.