39 COMMUNICATION ISSUE Digital reporting tools make it simple for foundries and other manufacturers to access and understand data from their shot blasting machines. Instead of being restricted to the local machine's display, the right IIoT (industrial internet of things) system makes it possible to view and analyze live data from anywhere in the world. At its most basic, digital is a very effective way to monitor blasting. Rather than having to physically visit the production line to check on operations, supervisors can view real-time KPIs and dashboards to spot any developing problems. They can react quickly, fix them immediately and avoid downtime. But there are many other benefits. From abrasive consumption and energy use to maintenance activity and equipment availability, previously hard-to-find information becomes instantly visible and informs faster; for more effective decision-making and actions. In this article, we'll run through some of the applications of a live digital view of blasting. Quick and straightforward to implement, digital helps operators and managers monitor and improve their process, cut operating costs, reduce wear and increase overall equipment effectiveness. MEDIA AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION Abrasive consumption makes up a large portion of a blast machine's overall running costs and abrasive throughput also determines internal machine wear. With an accurate picture of abrasive use over time alongside other metrics, you can identify the most complex or subtle root causes of high consumption and intervene to control them while still maintaining or even improving blast performance. Reducing or optimizing abrasive consumption doesn't just save money on abrasive, it also reduces energy use and wear part replacement costs. With a hangertype machine with four 11kW blast wheels, a digital view helped reduce abrasive consumption (and spend) by 17% and also cut its cycle time, electricity use and wear. The total annual cost savings for this machine added up to around $10,700. A digital view helps save energy too, letting operators and managers track KPIs to strategically optimize standby and idle times, turbine rpm and more. They can instantly see if their machines are consuming unusually high amounts of energy, find the cause and tweak the process. Over time, the running of the machine can be adapted for even better energy efficiency. Just like reducing abrasive consumption, energy reduction efforts can also improve both blast results and throughput. At one of our customers, reducing daily idle time by one hour unlocked $15,000 annually in energy cost savings for a roller-conveyor machine with eight 45kW blast wheels. Doing the same on a less powerful pass-through monorail machine with eight 15kW blast wheels still saved $4,275 per year. PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE Coping with internal wear is part and parcel of operating a blast machine. Digital's real-time picture of machine condition lets you track key parameters like turbine vibration levels, pressure differentials in filters and other performance metrics. This information offers an early warning system for wear and faltering blast performance, so that maintenance is performed at exactly the right time – not too soon and not too late. That prevents unscheduled downtime while keeping spending on parts to a minimum – saving money Monitor Shot Blasting Machines Digitally for Higher Performance BRIAN KUPTZ Wheelabrator Sales Director, Americas Norican Group ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS: • Understanding digital reporting to monitor blasting • Using data to reduce energy costs and abrasive consumption • Digital real-time picture of equipment predicts performance Continued on next page
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