Remote maintenance of packaging machines
Secure remote maintenance of packaging machines
In today’s equipment manufacturing industry, most successful companies recognize the importance of offering customers high quality services over the entire life cycle of a machine or personalized service. Cost efficiency is possible through a modern communications infrastructure - for example via a web-based service portal and corresponding intelligent devices. After years of research and development the dedicated developers of MB Connect Line, have developed various remote maintenance solutions.
Manufacturing companies have to always respond faster to changing needs of retailers and customers. Especially in cosmetics and food manufacturing where there are consistent demands for new products, package sizes and flavors. The smaller lot sizes with an increasing number of variations require adaptable manufacturing and packaging lines. The flexibility is achieved by a high degree of automation with an increasing amount of software, but also leads to complex machines and systems. Therefore if a failure occurs the qualified support, by the specialists of the manufacturer, is particularly important. They know the equipment supplied to the last detail and can quickly narrow down the possible causes of malfunctions. By consistent use of remote maintenance, the equipment manufacturers can offer customized services throughout the life cycle of the equipment for its clients. This also includes a quick assistance on the operation, process optimization and maintenance.
Easy and Secure Web Portal
The robust portal software mbConnect24 offers a remote maintenance platform for centralized management of all end-users and systems. User rights are defined in the form of a closed user group for each individual service user rights. For remote maintenance sessions the service employees can log-in via a secure VPN access to the portal. The only requirement for this is an Internet connection. This allows the on-call dial in from home as well as the service center of a supplier. For example, if there is a particular drive to a packaging machine that is inoperable, then within minutes of the alert the plant engineers can install or repair it after establishing access with a service technician of the drive’s manufacturer. After successful authentication with certificate, username and password, the service technician can reach the machinery or system via mouse click. In addition to its encrypted VPN connection mbConnect24 is characterized by its simple administration.
Hosting on your own Server
Besides the web-based solution mbConnect24 a local server is available together with a complete pre-installed system. This is a great solution for equipment manufacturers who want to implement a service center within their own company’s network. The pre-configured server mymbConnect24 becomes the backbone of the service center and the entire connection management. They are offered in two variations: The variant "midi" as a box solution supports up to 250 users and 50 simultaneous activate connections. The variant "maxi" version is a 19" rack mount server which offers 1000 users and the possibility of 150 simultaneous active connections.
Meets all safety requirements
The architecture of mbConnect24 as a portal solution meets all safety requirements that govern the access to corporate networks. Until now, solutions based on an Internet inbound connection required substantial amounts of technical administrative resources. For example adjusting the firewall configuration for each additional unit installed. And a residual risk remains, if any unauthorized access is permitted, for example, by an incorrect configuration of the firewall. The mbConnect24 portal ensures that the connection of the service side as well as the machinery and equipment connected to the portal server are secure.
Any connection requests from the portal to the system or to the service machine are blocked in order to provide a more secure connection. The remote service portal is widely accepted by administrators of large corporate networks because no special network configurations are required.
The System Operator Decides
The mbNET Industrial routers are used to connect the system on site. After these routers are registered with the portal they are then accessible remotely. For each system you decide if the router connects to the portal automatically, or manually as needed. This connection can either be set manually or initiated by the Dial-Out button or by the system controller sending a signal to a digital input of the router. The system operator decides these mechanisms, when remote access is available to his or her system. The router is equipped with a modem so logging into the portal can also be initiated via call signaling or by SMS commands.
Universal industrial router mbNET
The mbNET industrial routers enable the system wide remote maintenance from simple drive over S7-PLC’s through to operator panels and visualization PC’s. Due to the various components in packaging machines, various models with a wide range of drivers and interfaces are available. Just over 90 different drivers are available for serial devices such as controllers and drives. In addition to the LAN interface of the router up to two serial ports can be configured via software as RS-232 or RS-485. For direct access to the S7-300 and S7-400 controllers from Siemens, the MPI-/Profibus variant have a full-fledged PC adapter that holds a transfer rate of up to 12 Mbit / s.
Scalable solution
The mbConnect24 portal is a universal solution for simple and secure connections to networks over the Internet. It is fully scalable for remote maintenance for a small packaging machine in the neighboring town or for the connection of a variety of manufacturing and packaging facilities, which require monitoring worldwide. A service technician only needs an internet connection, either via the company’s network or via a DSL connection at home. Additionally, the ability to use a UMTS modem is available. Telephone numbers and IP addresses are not needed because the connection is established via the central portal. In addition to traditional remote maintenance tasks such as assistance in troubleshooting the portal can also be used for other services. The following is a few examples: to check the inventory of raw materials, the timely disposition of the delivery and or the collection of operational data as basis for a usage-based remuneration of a factory or plant.