Parts cleaning processes are increasingly digitised and connected

Rising quality requirements, stricter traceability demands, more customer-specific projects and shorter delivery times – the challenges faced by manufacturing companies are becoming ever-more diverse. Automation, digitalization and networking are essential prerequisites to overcome these. Ecoclean supports the digital transformation of parts cleaning processes with its innovative cloud solution Ecoclean Connect.

A company’s competitiveness and future viability depend largely on how effectively and quickly it can respond to changing customer needs and markets. These include rising quality requirements, end-to-end traceability along the value-adding chain, delivery reliability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The technical development of the machines required for production alone is not sufficient to fulfil these complex tasks. Adapted software solutions are needed that minimize interfaces and manual interventions, ensure a high degree of transparency and enable full connectivity.

Optimal acquisition of parts cleaning data

These requirements have been taken into account in the innovative cloud solution Ecoclean Connect, that is available in the following packages: Comfort, Premium and Premium Plus. Defined data generated by the cleaning system’s control unit is transmitted to the cloud in encrypted form via a secure connection. They are stored, evaluated, analyzed and intelligently linked in the IoT platform using the latest technologies and infrastructures. The digitalization tool thus creates added value in the following areas:

– Condition Monitoring:  display of system status based on online data; process visualization including pre-selections and step sequence display; operating data history; overview of key performance indicators (KPI) such as utilization and effectiveness; message archive and statistics.

– Documentation: overview of all cleaning processes performed; individual cleaning process reports, including process parameters; management of cleaning programs with version history and reporting; library for all key documents related to the system; timeline for important events.

– Production Planning: display of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) as well as availability and utilization; overview of runtime and throughput; monitoring of all machines in the system independent of time and place (fleet management); message statistics.

– Predictive Maintenance: display of system status at any time in the future; targeted maintenance forecast for pumps, heaters, butterfly valves and filters; maintenance recommendations for drawing up maintenance plans and automated maintenance instructions.

– Connectivity: connection to higher-level control structures via common interface protocols; optimized interface to Ecoclean Service; automatic email notification service. 

The data is displayed in a clear and simple way via a dashboard on a desktop or tablet.