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Whitepapers

Smart Retrofitting by Design Thinking applied to an Industry 4.0 migration process in a steel mill plant

Abstract 

 

All the features and components of the Internet of Things and Industrial Internet of Things are driving the transition to the Industry 4.0. New Enabling Technologies, Big Data, Sensor Networks, Embedded Computing, Machine Learning are changing industries, company processes and people. For companies it is important to be flexible to perceive these changes and be ready to upgrade their structure and process. In this paper we propose a retrofitting methodology based on Design Thinking in a steel mill plant, and highlight how the retrofitting activity is important to allow even more companies to migrate to Industry 4.0, reducing the gap between SMEs and Large Industries for participation in the 4th Industrial Revolution. The solutions implemented will be described mostly in regard to machinery interfacing by OPC for data acquisition, image processing for anomaly detection, and information visualization for human-machine interaction. This paper stresses the need for cooperation between the operators in the design process and the synergy between machineries-things-people inside the production plant.

 

The main contribution of this work makes evident how a XX century production machinery can be upgraded by solving specific problems, how this can be done with a viable financial investment and with an improvement in the experience and involvement of workers. The final upgrade will allow the plant to increase efficiency and decrease machinery fault, which was causing a loss in terms of human experience and financials costs.

 

Keywords— Retrofitting, Design Thinking, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things

 

 

SECO products featured in this Whitepaper

 

UDOO X86 II is a Single Board Computer and an Arduino™ Leonardo-compatible platform, all embedded on the same board. [Fig.1]

 

UDOO X86 embeds two processors:

  • a Quad Core 64-bit new-generation x86 Braswell 14nm processors, designed for the PC domain (The N-Series Intel® Pentium® / Celeron® and x5-Series Atom family of System-on-Chips (SoCs) formerly coded as Braswell is a series of Quad Core SoCs with 64-bit instruction set and very low TDP.)
  • the Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR microcontroller, the same of Arduino® Leonardo.

 


 


                                         Fig. 1 UDOO X86 II

 

The SBC-C23 [Fig. 2] is a Smart Edge Compute Unit, built on NXP i. MX 6SoloX Processor, enables multi core edge computing and networking, while ensuring wide connectivity.

 

As far as memory is concerned, the device features a 32-bit DDR3L memory soldered on-board, up to 1 GB. When it comes to interfaces the board is plentiful: networking interfaces - such as 2x Fast Ethernet RJ-45 ports, Wifi, BT LE combo module with on-board antenna - but also other interfaces like 2x CAN port, 4x analog inputs, I2C, 2x PWM and many others.

 

The device is indeed a multiprotocol bridging for industrial PLCs and smart factory devices. Fields of application include Home Automation, Industrial Internet of Things and Surveillance among the many.

 

 

                                        Fig. 2 SECO SBC-C23

 

 

Antonio Rizzo

University of Siena, Siena, Italy

rizzo@unisi.it

 

Giovanni Burresi 

giovanni.burresi@unisi.it

 

Sara Ermini

sara.ermini@unisi.it

 

Dario Bernabini

dario.bernabini@unisi.it

 

Martino Lorusso

martino.lorusso@unisi.it

 

Federico Gelli

f.gelli@fonderiagelli.it

 

Davide Frustace

d.frustace@fonderiagelli.it