Smart choice

A+W SmartFactory – a new production system – has been chosen to automatically control the complex production of fire protection and safety glass at Vetrotech in Würselen, Germany.

A+W SmartFactory can also display its strengths at companies with traditional production facilities, and can even automate production if a company’s machinery is not yet digitalized, the company said. A Swedish manufacturer of insulated glass is currently piloting this variant.

Dennis Tiegs, COO at A+W Clarity, said: “What’s special about A+W SmartFactory is that it can be scaled, which helps smaller operations get larger, and large operations to automate further. Companies thus enjoy the benefit of the lean production approach from the very start.”

A+W SmartFactory coordinates the process flows for an optimised glass flow. The system can responsively control all coupled machines and software modules with the production data provided.

Machines communicate with the system via A+W SmartFactory clients, which communicates the machines’ status and capacity.

Planning is done in real time and can be adjusted to accommodate rush orders, capacity bottlenecks, machine failures, etc.

Vetrotech reported that its customers profit from improved performance and delivery reliability.

“Our customers’ experience keeps improving A+W SmartFactory all the time,” Dennis said. “That’s why we’re looking for more pilot customers to create a win-win situation: we optimize the customer’s processes, users incorporate their experiences, which helps design and further improve production systems of the future.”