Forget buying new! Stay future-ready with retrofit

Older machines can do a lot — just not data

Companies often use older machines that only provide data in analog form. Typically they can emit 24-volt fault signals, which a simple traffic-light system uses to indicate defective cables. What they lack is information about changing temperatures, fluctuations in boiler pressure or, for want of a piece counter, the throughput. Older devices also often fail to meet the requirements for transferring their data to a database. The issue affects many newer machines too. Yet shop floor managers need precisely this information to get a correct, complete picture of their own production and to make the best decisions.

Every machine manufacturer speaks its own language

Another problem is that production machinery keeps being extended, for example with new production lines. Many companies use models from different suppliers with little connectivity between them. Each one is an island speaking its own language. The lack of a common denominator creates significant communication gaps.

Buying new or a classic retrofit? Expensive to very expensive

At the same time, the pressure to modernize is increasing. A digital real-time picture of your own production and logistics is now a competitive factor. The most obvious solution is to replace the existing machines, but that rarely makes economic sense. Retrofitting is correspondingly popular. Anyone who retrofits in the traditional way has to accept extended downtime for the conversion and risk the machine not working afterwards. Even after a retrofit, the machines still do not communicate with each other automatically. On top of that, any intervention in the controller (PLC) jeopardizes the manufacturer's warranty and the CE certification.

Retrofitting with Peakboard — without programming

The central challenge in digitizing a machine environment that is heterogeneous in age and connectivity standards is avoiding IT costs. With Peakboard, companies can make information that is not yet available digitally usable as data for other applications, without tying up IT resources.
A simple but effective example: a light barrier installed on the production line and connected to Peakboard forms a digital real-time piece counter. The same goes for a temperature sensor. Those are just two examples of many. Peakboard can of course also visualize all the other data that already exists.

With the right data, even business intelligence works

Companies can also archive the data in order to analyze it as part of their business intelligence. That lets them identify clusters of faults on individual lines from average values, for example. They can connect numerous other systems with maximum flexibility, for instance to link order data from SAP with actual production data.
Peakboard therefore delivers real-time data for the agile live optimization of production and logistics processes, and can store it as a basis for strategic decisions. We have already supported hundreds of customers this way, from large corporations to SMEs.

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