Finishing & Screen Printing

Optimize productivity – automatic production monitoring with Zünd Connect

Tuesday 07. September 2021 - Zünd Connect compiles production data from integrated Zünd cutting systems into meaningful key performance indicators, such as cutter capacity, availability, and overall equipment effectiveness. It creates transparency and identifies areas with potential for optimization.

There are many ways to optimize digital cutting and ensure maximum productivity, which is the reason why Zünd now offers Zünd Connect, a monitoring tool that helps the user recognize this potential and increase productivity. Using Zünd Connect, the user can see at a glance when and, more importantly, why machine interruptions occur, how much time is spent in setup, and what the availability of each machine is.
The most successful companies are the ones that produce the most saleable products per hour. High machine availability and productivity are essential for profitable cutting and finishing. As simple as this may sound, it is no small thing in the day-to-day production environment. Where do the relevant key performance indicators come from? Is data available that enables monitoring? And last but not least, how is the data compiled so that it can be interpreted accurately and reliably?
This is where Zünd Connect comes in. The web-based monitoring tool gives the user access to cutter- performance data at a glance, any time of day. Reliable key performance indicators are available at all times to help users maximize productivity. The system records productivity levels over a freely definable period using Zünd Cut Center – ZCC (Version 3.4 or later) as data source. Data monitoring provides information users need in order to make informed decisions. This comprehensive overview of production data reveals connections that are often overlooked. Zünd Connect supplies valuable key performance indicators for assessing how efficiently cutting systems are working. To be able to improve cutter efficiency, potential areas of improvement must be uncovered and recognized. This potential lies primarily in the technology but also in the way it is being used. Zünd Connect consists of multiple dashboards with specific options for evaluating data:
Overview-This dashboard provides past production data and indicates, for example, fluctuations in machine utilization. The user can select various views and switch between indices for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), availability, and capacity. In addition, a filter function can be used to compare performance across different shifts.
Job list- This shows a list of processed jobs, what they entailed, the time it took to produce them, and the cutting distance traveled per job. Diagrams show the time spent by each individual material/substrate, processing method, tool, and module. In reference to materials, for example, bar graphs show the processing time for each material used during a specified time frame.
Loss detection – This view visualizes losses in terms of time. It shows, for example, when process interruptions tend to occur most often. Loss detection enables the user to evaluate factors such as the specific time frames, materials, or tools most likely to be associated with interruptions.
Interruption statistics – This lists the reasons for such interruptions. The user can filter for time of day, material, method, tool, or module. The statistical representation shows the user how many hours the cutters were unable to produce during a specified period because of machine interruptions.
Zünd Connect is available in a “Monitor” or an “Analyzer” version. As the name suggests, “Monitor” consists of a graphical display of overall equipment effectiveness and is available to all ZCC users for free. “Analyzer”, on the other hand, makes it possible to perform subsequent analysis and pinpoint productivity losses. “Analyzer” provides the necessary tools for the user to be able to evaluate the production process and recommend improvements.