Find clamp force settings using AI
Stuck on your clamp force settings? Not sure if the cycle time for this part is running too slow? No problem – just ask ARBURG. We mean literally, as customers and employees can now ask the machine.
“Ask ARBURG” is a new app in the Premium package of arburgXworld, the online platform, that lets you ask the machine specific questions about machines and processes. An AI chatbot, it mines ARBURG’s own huge database of knowledge using AI to produce answers that match or nearly match the specific question, saving time in troubleshooting problems.
With thousands of programmes and processes to pull from, Ask ARBURG can answer many questions quickly and accurately. Being AI, it is learning new solutions all the time. The app saves significant time in finding and solving root causes of errors and it can also really assist employees to verify their knowledge when fault-finding.
“It’s quite a new feature but I have reports that customers are using it to troubleshoot and confirm settings quickly, which is an enormous help, especially for mould shops with high piece rates” says Derek Cheetham, Applications & Digital Services Engineer at ARBURG Ltd. “But it’s also very useful for our less experienced field engineers, in fact all employees. Often, we know the answers but as things change fast, doubts can arise. A quick check with “Ask ARBURG” verifies their knowledge and avoids potential errors.”
Ask ARBURG is one of several new features in the Premium package, that includes apps like MachineFinder, allowing you to search your machine fleet based on saved data like materials and the plasticising process, to identify the right machine. The basic arburgXworld package is free, while the Premium apps incur a fee, but payback can be quick when these apps’ utility is harnessed.
A good example is Programs, an app that centrally manages data sets from different machines including independent brands. Ideal for moulders operating several different brands of machine in one, or multiple, sites, it supports comparing and optimizing of machine programs from any mainstream IMM brand across the site and converts this data to arburgXworld apps like Virtual Control and DataDecoder. It means no machine is omitted, the platform receives all data to compare and help schedule shifts, and time is saved through central management.
“Of the Premium apps, Programs is a popular app because in the UK and Ireland it is common for customers to use different machine brands as they build up their mould shop, and Programs allows all their performance and data to be captured and analysed,” says Derek. “And Ask ARBURG is also on the rise. It’s just like using your phone or laptop, to use AI to get quick answers. That is the way digitalisation in production machinery is going, helping people to achieve more with smart, easy-to-use technology.”
One brand new ARBURG customer recently bought a high spec machine with an ARBURG Yaskawa 6-axis robot and the full Premium arburgXworld package. They decided they wanted to mould in a digitally connected way and invested in this fully commissioned package from the start.
Look out for a customer story on this company in the February newsletter.