Digital excellence in China
With its “Smart Manufacturing and Digitized Assembly Factory”, Chinese company SGAC, together with Eplan, Rittal and Rittal Automation Systems, is setting new standards for smart manufacturing. This integrated solution comprising software, hardware and service is significantly increasing the pace of the digital transformation. It is an exemplary project.
SGAC – China’s leading provider of control solutions for large compressor systems – partnered with Eplan and Rittal for a flagship project that is taking the company’s own production to a new level. With its “Smart Manufacturing and Digitized Assembly Factory”, SGAC has set a new benchmark in terms of automation in China, creating an ecosystem of digital excellence.
Tian Sheng, Deputy General Manager of SGAC: “After completion, the Smart Manufacturing and Digitized Assembly Factory of Shenyang Blower Group Automation Control System Engineering Co., Ltd will serve as a premier digital delivery center for compressor unit control systems across Northeast China.”
Digital from A to Z
In the first phase, SGAC developed a holistic digital concept for the new production facility. The idea was to digitalize processes systematically. The new assembly and production lines are designed so that they boost both productivity and quality. SGAC is also using cutting-edge automation in controller programming and testing as a means of ensuring precision and efficiency. The system is complemented by digital twins that help implement the automated process control (APC) much faster.
The setting of the production facility posed a real challenge – high temperatures, humidity and corrosive conditions made robust housing solutions necessary. This is where Rittal came in, supplying suitable modular enclosures that boast high mechanical strength and outstanding electrical properties.
Measurable successes
Wire processing in Shenyang is now carried out using the Wire Terminal WT 36 from Rittal Automation Systems – a solution that automates every step from cutting to length to labelling. This process is supported by Eplan Smart Wiring. The software guides operators step by step through the wiring process – without using any conventional circuit diagrams. As a result, SGAC has been able to both cut costs and significantly improve productivity, while also ensuring standardized processes.
The success of the transformation is measurable. Efficiency in the engineering section has been boosted by around 40 percent. Design quality is up by about 50 percent. The assembly center has increased its capacity by roughly 50 percent. At the same time, the communication outlay between engineering and production has been reduced by around 70 percent.
New industry benchmark
With its new smart factory, SGAC is establishing a digital competence centre for north-east China. The plant is a core element in the strategic modernisation being rolled out across the entire SBW Group – of which SGAC, as a subsidiary, is a key part – and a model example of the revolution sweeping through Chinese industry. “Our vision is of a smarter, networked system,” says Bill Qin, CEO of Eplan Greater China. “Industrial software, AI, and decision-making based on data will become the keys to future innovations.”
Rittal also sees this partnership as a blueprint for the industry. “Value creation through integration – along the entire chain,” says Mario De Marco, Chief Sales Officer at Rittal. “This is only possible when it is based on trust and shared goals.” That’s the only way to create effects that can be more than the sum of their parts.
Text: Daniel Giebel