L. Cser

Logistics from IMS towards virtual factory

Abstract This paper shows some aspects of the design and control in logistic systems of typical processes in traditional integrated systems, IMS and virtual factories in the sheet metal industry. Main components of the virtual factory are logistics and the information technology background. By globalisation of production, factory inside logistics is replaced by a global logistic concept. In this paper those logistic concepts are summarised, which can be used in designing of material flow, optimising the parameters as well as in performance evaluation for closed loop production of sheet metal processing. The information flow, connected with the material flow, is also represented in the survey. Shared data structures and telecommunication are essential parts of the control strategy in logistic systems.

Data mining and state monitoring in hot rolling

An overview of state monitoring in hot rolling is reviewed, and a new concept of state monitoring is shown. Based on a detailed analysis of all factors a state monitor is proposed. A system state corresponds to the proper product quality. If the system is leaving the area of required quality in the state space, a signal is given with the evaluation of situation. Self-organising maps (SOM) are especially suitable in analysing the very complex process of hot rolling. Application of SOM helps to discover hidden dependencies influencing the quality parameters, such as flatness, profile, thickness and width deviation as well as wedge and surface quality. Results from the analysis of more than 70 parameters in 16,000 strips gave the state space used in state monitoring based on online data sampling. The coloured visualisation map shows the state space enabling prediction of product quality.