Hopmann/Schmitz

Plastics Industry 4.0

Christian Hopmann
Mauritius Schmitz

Plastics Industry 4.0

Potentials and Applications in
Plastics Technology

Hanser Publishers, Munich Hanser Publications, Cincinnati

The Authors:
Prof. Dr.-Ing Christian Hopmann
Head of the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Dipl.-Ing. Mauritius Schmitz
Scientific Director – Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV)
at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

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 Preface

The digital age has just begun. Computer science is penetrating production and
processing technology, digitization and 3D printing are disruptively changing the
methodology of product development, and digital materials are attracting scientific
interest. Biologically inspired computing supports humans in discovering patterns,
relationships, and correlation in a vast amount of data, and new algorithms lead
to improved and entirely new models of complex systems. Quantum computing
will soon provide a substantial increase in computing power. It is inevitable and
obvious that these technologies will affect plastics technology tremendously – and
challenge engineers to discover opportunities that come along with those technolo-
gies in plastics technology and processing. The breakthrough of those technologies
is just a matter of time – the race for innovation is yet open.
Digitization and Plastics Industry 4.0 are not ready-made solutions or products
which may be chosen out of a catalogue. It is rather a sort of a mindset or a philo­
sophy to entirely think plastics technology from a digital perspective to stimulate
innovation. In this sense, this book provides stimuli and impulses to connect with
Plastics Industry 4.0 and to develop strategies to tackle Plastics Industry 4.0 in a
specific environment rather than just offering a list of tools that may be used in a
plastics processing company. The reader may enjoy the diversity and versatility
and take it as a source for inspiration.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Mark Smith from Hanser for persistent en-
couragement to write this book and for great support on this exciting journey.
Great thanks go to the DFG – German Research Foundation, which provides
­considerable funding for the cluster of excellence “Internet of Production” at
RWTH Aachen University and thus enables us to do the research on which this
book is mainly built. We also thank all the colleagues contributing to and cooper-
ating in this cluster of excellence. The cross-domain collaboration with excellent
researchers is a rich source of inspiration and has been of invaluable impor-
tance for our research and this book. We also greatly thank the scientists at the
IKV – Institute for Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University for excellent
research in digitization and Plastics Industry 4.0 and for contributing to this book.

Aachen, October 2020

Christian Hopmann Mauritius Schmitz
 About the Authors

„„Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann

Head of the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at
RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
University Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, born
1968, studied Mechanical Engineering with particular
focus on Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen Univer-
sity, Germany. Following his diploma in 1996, he re-
ceived his doctoral degree (Dr.-Ing.) with a thesis on
injection molding in 2000. From 2001 to 2004 he was
Chief Engineer and Senior Vice Director of the institute.
After several years in the plastics processing industry,
since 2011 he is Head of the IKV – Institute for Plastics
Processing in Industry and Craft at RWTH Aachen University and Managing Direc-
tor of the IKV’s Association of Sponsors. He also holds the Chair of Plastics Pro-
cessing at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University. In
2014 he received the innovation award of the federal state of North Rhine-Westfalia
(NRW). Hopmann is Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).
One of his core research interests is digitalization in plastics processing and Indus-
try 4.0. Since 2019 he is one of the Principal Investigators in the Federal Cluster of
Excellence “Internet of Production”, funded by the DFG. Under his lead, the IKV is
building up a fully interconnected production environment according to the princi-
ples of a smart factory. The so called “Plastics Innovation Center 4.0” is funded by
the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Regional Develop-
ment Fund (EFRE).
VIII About the Authors

„„Dipl.-Ing. Mauritius Schmitz

Scientific Director – Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, Insti-
tute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen Uni-
versity, Aachen, Germany
Mauritius Schmitz, born in 1985, studied Computa-
tional Engineering Science with particular focus on
structural mechanics and fluid dynamics at RWTH
Aachen University. Following his diploma, in 2014 he
joined the IKV as a project engineer for process simu-
lation in the Department of Injection Moulding. In
2015 he became a doctoral student and head of the
working group for Process Simulation in the Depart-
ment of Injection Moulding, focusing on applications
and further development of injection molding simulation. Furthermore, he focused
on model predictive control strategies for novel mold tempering techniques, con-
sidering the local part properties during the injection molding process.
In 2019 Mauritius Schmitz joined the institute management as Scientific Director
at the Institute for Plastics Processing. In this position he is responsible for the
research and development in the field of digitalization and Industry 4.0 as well as
the internationalization strategy of the institute. Since 2019, he is a Cluster Re-
search Domain Coordinator in the research domain “Production Technology” of the
Cluster of Excellence “Internet of Production”, funded by the DFG.

„„The Contributors
Chapter 1 Dipl.-Ing. Mauritius Schmitz
Chapter 2 Pascal Bibow, M.Sc.; Katharina Hornberg, M.Sc.; Tobias Hohlweck, M.Sc.;
Cemi E. Kahve, M.Sc.
Chapter 3 Pascal Bibow, M.Sc.
Chapter 4 Yannik Lockner, M.Sc.
Chapter 5 Dipl.-Ing. Mauritius Schmitz; Pascal Bibow, M.Sc.; Patrick Sapel, M.Sc.
Chapter 6 Jens Wipperfürth, M.Sc.; Maiko Ersch, M.Sc.; Dipl.-Ing. Thomas M. J. Gebhart;
Simon Koch, M.Sc.; Jonathan Alms, M.Sc.; Christoph Zimmermann, M.Sc.;
Steffen Verwaayen, M.Sc.; Jakob Onken, M.Sc.; Fabio Di Battista, M.Sc.;
­Yannik Lockner, M.Sc.; Dipl.-Ing. Mauritius Schmitz
Chapter 7 Simon Wurzbacher, M.Sc.; Patrick Sapel, M.Sc.; Thilo Köbel, M.Sc.
Chapter 8 Pascal Bibow, M.Sc.; Patrick Sapel, M.Sc.; Hanna Dornebusch, M.Sc.;
­Katharina Hornberg, M.Sc.
 Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Potentials and Benefits of Industry 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Challenges for Successful ­Implementation of Industry 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Data Acquisition and ­Process Monitoring as Enabler for

­Industry 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 The Necessity of Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.1 Quality Control in the 1990s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.2 Exemplary Fields of Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Gaining Insights into the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.1 Differentiation of Injection Molding Process Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.2 Economic Evaluation of the Injection Molding Process Based on
Measurable Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.2.3 Process Data for Setup of a New Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2.4 Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2.4.1 Online Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2.4.2 Process Control Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3 Data Acquisition Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.1 Material Properties for Digital Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.1.1 Thermal Properties of Plastic Melts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3.1.2 pvT-Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.3.1.3 Rheological Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
X Contents

2.3.1.4 Mechanical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

2.3.1.5 Applications of Data in Digital Engineering . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3.2 Data Acquisition and Process Monitoring Methods . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3.2.1 Temperature ­Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.3.2.2 Pressure Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.3.2.3 Electrical Pressure Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.3.2.4 Position Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.3.3 Humidity Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
2.3.4 Part Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.3.4.1 Part Measurement (Post-Mortem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.3.4.2 Optical Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.3.4.3 Tactile Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.3.5 Combination of Tactile and Optical Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.4 The Different Types of Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.4.1 Offline Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2.4.2 Inline Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2.4.3 Online Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

3 Cyber-Physical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.1 Computer Integrated Manufacturing as Conceptual Foundation for
­ yber-Physical Production Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C 76
3.2 CPPS in Plastics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.3 Communication Capability of CPPS ­Components in Injection Molding . 85
3.4 Planning and Realizing a CPPS in ­Plastics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

4 Models and Artificial ­Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

4.1 Model Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.2 Three Different Categories of Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.2.1 Physical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.2.2 Knowledge-Based Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.2.3 Artificial Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.2.3.1 AI Modeling Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.2.3.2 Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.2.3.3 AI Modeling Examples in the Plastics Industry . . . . . . 127
 Contents XI

5 Global Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

5.1 Data Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
5.2 Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
5.3 IT Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.1 Cloud Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.2 Edge Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.3.3 Hybrid System in Plastics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.4 Machine and Data Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.4.1 Digital I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.4.2 Analog I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
5.4.3 Serial Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.5 Data Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.5.2 Need for Data Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.5.3 Development of Data Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.5.4 Enterprise Resource Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.5.5 Manufacturing Execution System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.5.6 ERP/MES in the Plastics Processing Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.5.7 Requirements for ERP/MES in the Context of ­Industry 4.0 . . . . 163
5.5.8 Developed Systems in Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
5.5.9 Used Systems in the Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.5.9.1 SAP ERP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
5.5.9.2 FEKOR MES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.5.9.3 authenTIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

6 Digital Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
6.1.1 Digital Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
6.1.2 Material Modeling on the Nanoscopic Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
6.1.3 Material Modeling on the Microscopic and Mesoscopic Scale . . 181
6.1.4 Material Models on the Macroscopic Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
6.1.4.1 Isotropic Linear-Elastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
6.1.4.2 Orthotropic Linear-Elastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
6.1.4.3 Hyperelastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
XII Contents

6.1.4.4 Anisotropic Hyperelastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

6.1.4.5 Plastic Material Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
6.1.4.6 Viscoelasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
6.1.4.7 Damage Model for Dynamic Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.2 Process Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.2.1 Setting up Injection Molding Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
6.2.2 Design and Optimization Using Injection Molding ­Simulation . 192
6.3 Result Analysis and Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
6.3.1 Calculation of Mechanical Properties Based on Local
Microstructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
6.3.2 Weld Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
6.3.3 Elastomers: Considering Crosslinking Level in ­Structural
Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.3.4 Thermoplastic Elastomers: Determination of Elastomer
Particle Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
6.4 Part Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
6.5 Artificial Neural Networks in Virtual ­Process Development . . . . . . . . . . 207

7 Complex Value Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

7.1 Introduction to Complex Value Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
7.2 Shop Floor Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
7.2.1 Lean Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
7.2.2 Key Figures for Plastics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
7.2.3 Shop Floor Management in the Context of Industry 4.0 . . . . . . . 230
7.2.4 Asset Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
7.2.4.1 Identification, Tracking, and Tracing of Assets . . . . . . 231
7.2.4.2 Technical Solutions of Asset Identification . . . . . . . . . . 233
7.2.4.3 Plastic-Related RFID Research Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
7.2.5 Warehouse Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
7.2.6 Logistics 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
7.2.7 Equipment Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
7.3 Examples of Complex Value Chains in Plastics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.3.1 Model-Based Setup of Injection Molding Processes . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.3.2 Producing Multiple Variants in a Production Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
 Contents XIII

8 Assistant Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

8.1 Requirements and Functionalities Regarding Assistant Systems . . . . . . 266
8.2 Simulation-Based Assistance for ­Process Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
8.3 Predictive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
8.3.1 Maintenance Routines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
8.3.2 Predictive Maintenance in Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
8.3.2.1 Predictive Maintenance for Injection
Molding Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.3.2.2 Predictive Maintenance for Injection Molds . . . . . . . . . 281
8.4 Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality as Visual Support . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.4.1 Definition and Demarcation of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
8.4.2 State of the Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
8.4.3 Industry 4.0 and Augmented Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
8.5 Commercially Available Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
8.5.1 Engel iQ Control Systems for Process Support in ­Injection
Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
8.5.2 ARBURG Continuous Quality Control with the CQC System . . . 289
8.5.3 KraussMaffei Adaptive Process Control to Deal with Material
Fluctuations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
8.5.4 Sumitomo Enhanced Machine Efficiency with ActivePlus . . . . . 291
8.5.5 Process Optimization with STASA QC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299