Gühring in the poster country for digital technology

When it comes to digitalisation, Es­tonia is a poster country: Submitting your tax return, requesting govern­ment services and even electing a gov­ernment – the Estonians do all of this online with ease. Andis Bulavs, plant manager at Metec CNC, also wants to achieve digital advancement in his business: “This is our chance to be globally competitive.” Gühring is mak­ing this possible.

Metec has state-of-the-art CNC machines in its halls – but its tool management sys­tem was slightly less cutting-edge. Gühring expert Thomas Gassert, who advises Metec on software solutions, remembers: “Tools were dispensed via simple drawers. Accessible to everyone.” If an em­ployee took a tool, the stock level in ERP no longer matched the ac­tual stock. In addition, the team was flying completely blind during production: As is the case at many companies, production and machine data was not collected digitally or analysed. Andis Bu­lavs wanted to change that.

Greater transparency thanks to machine connectivity

Bulavs was already familiar with Gühring as a tool supplier after purchasing tools from us. But now the bright yellow automated tool dispensing systems had piqued his interest. Or more pre­cisely, the software behind them. Gühring Tool Management Soft­ware (GTMS) coordinates tool stock levels in companies by documenting all removals and even automatically dealing with follow-up orders. But it was a new mod­ule in the software that convinced Bulavs: Each of his machines would connect to this intelligent software via the Gühring Machine Control Centre (GMCC), there­by enabling their data to be accessed for fully connected and digitalised production. The GMCC module records all key fig­ures in a production facility, such as op­erating data (BDE), machine data (MDE) and process data. Continuous runtime analysis uncovers potential for improve­ment and eliminates machine downtimes. The aim is to turn downtimes into productive service times. Bulav was convinced: “It was clear to me that I had found the right partner for my vision. I have never seen such a flexible and customer-oriented software solution.”

100 % control

Metec CNC chose the complete package with 100 percent control: 22 machines are connected to the Gühring Machine Control Center. These include new and modern machines, as well as old­er models, which are connected to the software via an adapter. Both work equally well, as does the inclusion of machines from various manufacturers in the system.

For all machines con­nected to the software, the system records the machine statuses including the re­quired error management and all corresponding evaluation options such as OEE determination, control station, etc. At Metec, the software is linked to the high­er-level ERP system. As a result, it can au­tomatically transfer all MDA messages to the ERP system. At the same time, the soft­ware automatically adopts all production orders from the ERP system and ensures feedback in real time.

Customised software

GMCC is not an off-the-rack product, but is individually adapted to the needs of the customer. In the case of Metec CNC, three different dashboards have been developed, i.e. digital overview pages, which employees can access on a monitor and which give them a live overview of all relevant data. This includes, for example, a “pro­duction dashboard” on which employees can gain an overview of all 22 machines. As such, they can immediately see which machines are working at full capacity and where there is still capacity. A “workshop monitor” shows the machine status in detail: When did the machine run and how long for? How long did maintenance take? 

However, the heart of all this is the individual “machine cockpit”: the progress (OEE) and expected end of the order are displayed here. On the dashboard, the employee can see which order is currently being processed on the machine, how many parts of the order are finished and how many are still outstanding. Real post-calculation is possible by recording and evaluating these actual processing times. Even recurring com­ponents can be calculated more effectively thanks to these real measured values from previous production.

Progress thanks to 20 years of experience

“Our cooperation with Gühring is very honest and sustainable. Over time, we have grown together to form a good team,” says Bulavs. “This route has one hundred percent paid off and I am glad that I kept hold of my vision.” The software has be­come part of the company and our employees work with it on a daily basis. “We are now able to assess and implement new cus­tomer requirements more quick­ly,” says Ahti Savi.

“Our cooperation with Gühring is very honest and sustainable. Over time, we have grown together to form a good team,” says Bulavs. “This route has one hundred percent paid off and I am glad that I kept hold of my vision.” The software has be­come part of the company and our employees work with it on a daily basis. “We are now able to assess and implement new cus­tomer requirements more quick­ly,” says Ahti Savi.

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