Case 75
Polytron’s PolySimSM three-dimensional animated simulation case study
https://polytron.com/resourcesinsights/bottle-lines-bottlenecks-and-bottom-lines/
Mar 2019
There was pressure to make upgrades and improvements to meet growing market demand in bottling lines of a global company. The increase production has to be 50 percent.
Prior to Polytron’s engagement with this company, the proposal was to install a new machine on the line with the capacity to run at 300 bpm.
Polytron was hired to give consultancy in this regard. Polytron’s engineers did a comprehensive line audit,and were able to observe and assess the line and collect baseline performance data. Then, an exact 3D simulation model of the production line reflecting the existing conditions was created. This digital twin allowed the testing of scenarios. The simulation also suggested some surprising and even counter-intuitive insights.
Counter-Intuitive Insights
Polytron’s PolySimSM is a three-dimensional animated simulation of a line.
• Each machine on the line was operating as an “island of automation,” being stopped and started arbitrarily based on line faults and back up conditions governed more by the instincts of the operators and less by good information.
• The new machine could run at 300 bpm and would increase the overall pace of the line. But the filler could be set at 250 bpm. Machines downstream of the filler needed to be set at progressively increasing bottling rates, with the capability to modulate speeds based upon bottle population. The engineers suggested adding two minutes of bottle accumulation post-filler. This would buffer downstream hiccups and keep the filler, the line constraint, running optimally.
By adding two minutes of buffer to the line, integrating machine, conveyor controls, and modulating machine speeds around a target filler speed of 250 bpm, the client could achieve twice the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and a much higher output of the line – more than two times what they were achieving.
It was a surprising simulation output. The client’s global engineering team were surprised to realize that slowing the line down increased output.
The increase in production anticipated in one line postponed the need for a multi-million dollar capital expansion in other lines.
Creighton Fearrington, PMP
Creighton Fearrington, PMP, is a project manager at Polytron Inc. with 20 years of electrical engineering experience in all phases of manufacturing project management, leading teams to innovate and implement solutions in the consumer products, pulp and paper, beverage bottling and medical device industries. He has been with Polytron for 10 years and has a BSEE from North Carolina A&T State University.
https://www.profoodworld.com/automation/software/news/13279620/line-simulation-ids-oee-improvement-opportunity
https://www.automationworld.com/factory/plant-maintenance/article/13319685/line-simulation-ids-oee-improvement-opportunity
https://www.plantengineering.com/articles/clear-constraints-on-bottling-lines-using-simulation/
Polytron’s PolySimSM three-dimensional animated simulation case study
https://polytron.com/resourcesinsights/bottle-lines-bottlenecks-and-bottom-lines/
Mar 2019
There was pressure to make upgrades and improvements to meet growing market demand in bottling lines of a global company. The increase production has to be 50 percent.
Prior to Polytron’s engagement with this company, the proposal was to install a new machine on the line with the capacity to run at 300 bpm.
Polytron was hired to give consultancy in this regard. Polytron’s engineers did a comprehensive line audit,and were able to observe and assess the line and collect baseline performance data. Then, an exact 3D simulation model of the production line reflecting the existing conditions was created. This digital twin allowed the testing of scenarios. The simulation also suggested some surprising and even counter-intuitive insights.
Counter-Intuitive Insights
Polytron’s PolySimSM is a three-dimensional animated simulation of a line.
• Each machine on the line was operating as an “island of automation,” being stopped and started arbitrarily based on line faults and back up conditions governed more by the instincts of the operators and less by good information.
• The new machine could run at 300 bpm and would increase the overall pace of the line. But the filler could be set at 250 bpm. Machines downstream of the filler needed to be set at progressively increasing bottling rates, with the capability to modulate speeds based upon bottle population. The engineers suggested adding two minutes of bottle accumulation post-filler. This would buffer downstream hiccups and keep the filler, the line constraint, running optimally.
By adding two minutes of buffer to the line, integrating machine, conveyor controls, and modulating machine speeds around a target filler speed of 250 bpm, the client could achieve twice the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and a much higher output of the line – more than two times what they were achieving.
It was a surprising simulation output. The client’s global engineering team were surprised to realize that slowing the line down increased output.
The increase in production anticipated in one line postponed the need for a multi-million dollar capital expansion in other lines.
Creighton Fearrington, PMP
Creighton Fearrington, PMP, is a project manager at Polytron Inc. with 20 years of electrical engineering experience in all phases of manufacturing project management, leading teams to innovate and implement solutions in the consumer products, pulp and paper, beverage bottling and medical device industries. He has been with Polytron for 10 years and has a BSEE from North Carolina A&T State University.
https://www.profoodworld.com/automation/software/news/13279620/line-simulation-ids-oee-improvement-opportunity
https://www.automationworld.com/factory/plant-maintenance/article/13319685/line-simulation-ids-oee-improvement-opportunity
https://www.plantengineering.com/articles/clear-constraints-on-bottling-lines-using-simulation/
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