Pipe ID 4.0: Monitoring
Plants in Real Time
Schuler introduces comprehensive process
control system for the manufacturing of large
pipes including product data acquisition
For its spiral pipe plants, Schuler continuously
develops optimizations aiming at similar
objectives: creating a stable and safe process
flow which offers high quality large pipes,
low costs of operation and a high degree
of automation. This is also true for the
company’s latest innovation, Pipe ID 4.0 – a
comprehensive process control system for
the manufacturing of large pipes in real time
featuring a track and trace system, overall
equipment efficiency (OEE) monitoring,
condition monitoring, smart diagnostics and
power monitoring.
Schuler has already implemented machine
monitoring in other production lines, e.g. for the
manufacturing of railway wheels. The production
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TUBE NEWS
April 2018
data acquired includes all planned and unplanned
downtimes including their causes, fault messages,
target/actual production and the quality of the
parts. In this way, the system operators gain a basis
for calculating the OEE. Permanent logging of
parameters also enables a cycle-accurate response
in real time, where necessary; condition monitoring
allows checking the system at regular intervals for
damage and wear, and thanks to smart diagnostics,
fault analysis is accelerated significantly.
With large pipes, product data acquisition is of
particular importance when it comes to inspecting
the high grade steel pipes (X100) in accordance
with the API 5L standard regarding dimension or
welding quality by means of ultrasonics, hydrostatic
testing and X-rays. Schuler upgraded the analog