Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the very latest, digitalization has become a much hotter topic than ever before. Companies in the digital sector that specialize in this area are currently inundated with inquiries.
But what about industrial manufacturing? Digitalization in a continuous casting line sounds far-fetched—or does it?
Customer Requirements:
The digitization and automation of many processes—from order placement to the actual start of production—has already become commonplace in many areas. However, in most plants, continuous casting lines are still maintained through labor-intensive manual work.
During such maintenance, the position of each roller body in a segment is checked relative to the casting radius. If the distance is outside the tolerance range, the roller body must be repositioned so that it falls back within the tolerance range. The more precisely the roller body fits, the higher the quality of the steel produced.
In many production facilities, this inspection is still performed using the traditional method of checking with a feeler gauge. This means that a team applies a template—sometimes weighing several hundred kilograms—to the segment. The distance between the roller body and the template is checked in one dimension.
Inaccuracies in the measurements can arise here, for example, from the way the template is applied. But the results of visual inspection can also vary from employee to employee.
Similarly, the template itself can develop a curvature due to use and storage that is not visible to the human eye. This, too, ultimately affects the measurement result.
The greatest challenge, however, remains the physical labor involved and the associated risk of accidents. Although a crane is used in most cases, workplace accidents still occur time and again during the transport and measurement of large templates. The task was to solve this problem.
Challenge:
sigma3D GmbH subsequently developed HD LASr on behalf of SMS group. This is a digital and innovative software solution that guides the user through the measurement process with minimal training required. The software was specifically tailored to the user to provide the best possible guidance during the measurement process, thereby improving the overall quality of the entire system.
This requires a laser tracker with the appropriate measuring sphere, as well as the software. The software guides the user through the measurement process and indicates which part of the segment should be measured.
After the measurement, the user no longer has to record the data manually, as was previously the case, but instead receives it immediately on the screen of their measurement laptop and can thus adjust the roller bodies right away.
This not only saves time but also allows employees to work with significantly greater flexibility and independence. In addition, all data is stored in real time in a database and can thus be accessed at any time.
HD LASr requires a slightly longer training period compared to the traditional measurement method, but this is often necessary to become familiar with the laser tracker technology. The software itself, on the other hand, requires only minimal training.
The cost of training for companies is always a matter of investment. In addition to the benefits of workplace safety and measurement flexibility, however, there is also the issue of quality.
For this reason, the data collected using the traditional alignment method was remeasured with HD LASr and compared. The results showed that alignment with HD LASr leads to an improvement in accuracy of several tenths of a millimeter. For companies, the short-term costs associated with training are thus offset in the long term by the higher quality of the products.
Solution:
With traditional methods, companies can usually meet these increased quality requirements only through significant investment, such as retrofitting equipment.
With HD LASr, sigma3D and SMS group have now succeeded in creating an application-oriented and innovative solution.
This allows existing plants to effectively improve their quality, enabling the company to once again meet market demands.
A solution that is becoming increasingly important—not only in the age of digitalization.
In addition to HD LASr, sigma3D manages and develops other software projects and continues to expand its software development division. The focus is on simplifying and streamlining work in the surveying industry. As an engineering firm with more than 20 years of experience in the field of 3D industrial surveying, the company understands the importance of custom software development and is constantly advancing this area internally.
To this end, the company relies on modern software technologies and agile development methods. The team, spread across three locations, implements custom software solutions for clients, including those in the steel and automotive industries.
Please feel free to contact us personally to discuss this further!