CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDIES

The Largest PROFIBUS Network Monitoring System in Czechia

Hyundai Maintenance has cooperated with FOXON for a long time. We have been helping Hyundai with its PROFIBUS networks for years. We have supplied it with network diagnostics, the ProfiTrace 2 tester and PROFIBUS training. And recently, continuous PROFIBUS network monitoring. Read on to learn more about what Hyundai's PROFIBUS maintenance is currently like.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech s.r.o. (HMMC)

logo firmy HyundaiThe Hyundai Motor plant in Nošovice makes up to 350,000 cars a year. Almost 70% of its production consists of the Hyundai Tucson SUV, the i30, which is very popular in Czechia, and the Kona Electric crossover. In addition, HMMC manufactures gear boxes – not only for its own plant but also for Hyundai in St Petersburg, Kia in Žilina and the Turkish HAOS plant.

Fostering Cooperation

Hyundai Maintenance has cooperated with FOXON for a long time. We have been helping Hyundai with its PROFIBUS networks for years. Our network diagnostics and completed reports have shown Hyundai that we are true industrial communications professionals. A few years ago we provided Hyundai maintenance technicians with the ProfiTrace 2 tester and trained them in using it to detect any PROFIBUS problem.

The Challenge: Having PROFIBUS under Control 24/7

logo průmyslové sběrnice PROFIBUSThe gear box production line runs non-stop. It comprises 46 workstations. Troubleshooting problems in such a large production line can be complicated and can result in prolonged, expensive downtime. As unplanned downtime can never be prevented by only deploying preventative diagnostics and a good quality tester, Hyundai turned to FOXON to deliver continuous PROFIBUS monitoring.

The Approach: Large-Scale Deployment of ComBricks Modules

Each of the 46 workstations has its own control system and PROFIBUS network. Prior to installing ComBricks diagnostic modules, it was necessary to analyse and optimise all the networks. Only then were we able to configure the unified continuous monitoring system. The analysis and installation took 7 days.

ComBricks modul pro permanentní diagnostiku sítě PROFIBUS instalovaný v Hyundai Motor

"This is one of the largest deployments that we've ever done. 46 industrial networks are being monitored by 46 ComBricks sets. All the data sent to the ComBricks about the condition of the networks is being transferred to a single HMI panel in maintenance. Besides supplying and installing the modules, we've prepared a dispatching site and trained the staff," said Jaromír Peterka – the FOXON CEO – having himself participated in the installation. "We've also named all the stations in the networks, so if a maintenance technician needs to troubleshoot a problem, they know where exactly to go and what to fix there," concluded Peterka.

Dodávka 40 ComBricks modulů pro Hyundai Motor byla jednou z nejrozsáhlejších svého druhu

The Results: Simple Traffic Lights and Effective Alarms

Maintenance staff now have access to dashboards that provide information about the condition of the networks. The system, which is in Czech, is very intuitive. It includes traffic lights that notify users of PROFIBUS problems, such as stations lost, corrupted messages and repeats.

"Through a single system, we automatically get information that we used to collect manually. This manual process would take us 4 or 5 hours. We can now easily see if there's a damaged cable, an inactive termination, interference, a station lost and so on. And we automatically get an email alarm," said Radek Blahuta from Hyundai's Nošovice plant.

ComBricks moduly umožňnují zobrazovat aktuální informace o PROFIBUS síti v podobě přehledných semaforů

A Time-Saving Solution That Also Saves a Great Deal of Money

If the production line stops, you can instantly see if this has been caused by a PROFIBUS problem and where exactly this problem is. With troubleshooting being significantly faster, Hyundai calculated a return on investment into this solution of several months at most.

The ProfiTrace 2, which Hyundai Maintenance had been using, and the ComBricks are from the same manufacturer, the company PROCENTEC, so many visualisations and functionalities are also the same. That is why Hyundai's transition from the manual system to continuous monitoring was very smooth.

What Lies Ahead

Although PROFIBUS communications are very robust, they are not immune to the influence of time or the shop floor environment. Unplanned downtime means unacceptable costs, especially for large networks and 24/7 operation. With continuous network monitoring, manufacturing companies can tackle problems before they cause their production to stop. That is why Hyundai would like to deploy the continuous PROFIBUS monitoring system also in some of its other shops – in environments where cables, connectors and stations suffer. Finally, the continuous monitoring system has one considerable advantage. Being IoT-ready, it can provide data for higher systems and thus allow for comprehensive condition monitoring or a FIOT project to be carried out.

Do You, Too, Want to Have Your Network under Control?

Do you have a large PROFIBUS network and want to have it under control? Is unplanned downtime on your 24/7 production line simply unacceptable? Then contact our sales representative in your region. They will explain to you what options there are and what continuous PROFIBUS monitoring is all about.

Related Products

{foxonstore id="30403,30404,23325,23319,23320,23310,23313"}

 

Quick Enquiry


Enquiry type



Our quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2015

Follow us on social media

Made by FOXON s.r.o. © 2022