PlantStar 4.0

A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) built for IIOT, Smart Factories, and Industry 4.0

SYSCON PlantStar researches and develops, engineers, designs, and manufactures technology that establishes machine-to-machine connections for flexible data acquisition with minimized downtime and optimized Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Achieve your Smart Factory initiatives by integrating Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Quality Management Systems (QMS) with PlantStar’s real-time Manufacturing Execution System (MES) data exchange.

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Build Smart Factories With PlantStar

Interoperability

Machines, devices, sensors, technicians, and operators communicate seamlessly to generate the data you need for Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).

Information Transparency

Our specialists utilize your current sensors or parallel sensors to create a virtual copy of the physical shop floor. Providing you with all the information you need to improve quality and productivity.

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Operator Assistance

Embed video, documentation, and interactive forms to improve employee workflow, knowledge, and quality control.

Decentralized Decision Making

Create cyber-physical systems that make decisions autonomously to reduce unnecessary human involvement in small tasks.

Learn About Industry 4.0

Join us for the first public demonstration of PlantStar 4.0.  This new system features upgraded user interfaces and customizable reporting that tracks in real time. New shop floor tablets along with the best manufacturing execution data collection system available will empower manufacturers to achieve their Industry 4.0 needs.

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Customer Testimonials

“With the ability to deeply analyze and fully understand our molding costs and production performance, we are highly confident when approaching new customers and even whole new markets. We can show in great detail what it takes to bring a new product to market. New customers gain confidence in us immediately when they see real-world data to support our pricing and recommended launch strategy. The ability to diversify and expand our client base is a tremendous asset.”

Tom Haydon

Engineering Manager, McPherson Plastics

“Until we got the PlantStar system in 2007, all we could do was print out the raw process data from the injection molding machine controls. If we wanted to identify the cause of a problem, we had to manually sift through pages and pages of information. It was very time-consuming and really not very helpful. Today, the PlantStar system draws that information together continuously, and makes it available immediately to anyone who might need it.”

Tom Jones

IT Director, Huf NA

“The availability and use of real-time data is now a driving force for profitability in our manufacturing operations. We’ve realized that the PlantStar system has earned a place on our shop floor with improvement in both productivity and quality control.”

Vice President Technology, Contract Injection Molding

With PlantStar’s multiple system-wide network software capability, I can sit at my desk and see exactly what is happening at any machine, in any plant, at any time.”

Dale Evans

President, EVCO Plastics

Production Monitoring

Protect yourself from unnecessary production losses by measuring actual downtime versus uptime. Flag and issue alerts on slow production rates, defects, and shop floor anomalies that may lead to challenges. The PlantStar Manufacturing Execution System (MES) constantly records Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) — calculated as availability percentage multiplied by productivity percentage, multiplied by quality. Losses caused by poor quality, equipment problems or non-optimal run rates are detected, recorded, and addressable as result of PlantStar. Operators, supervisors, and managers of downtime can be automatically alerted on rejected piece counts, or when a team member needs assistance.

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  • Production counts and reports
  • Up/Downtime tracking
  • Job data storage and retrieval
  • Predictive Maintenace
  • Scrap entry and analysis
  • Material usage and forecasts
  • Tool tracking
  • Machine efficiency/utilization

Process Variable Tracking & SPC Analysis

Use a cellphone, tablet, or laptop to get up-to-the-second production status that is both heavily quantitative and visually directional. PlantStar 4.0 serializes each of your production items and associates temperature, pressure, shift, work center, and material for full traceability. PlantStar positions you to answer both customers and regulators with comprehensive production detail and data driven root cause analysis.

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  • SPC analysis
  • X-Bar and R charts
  • ISO/QS 9000 documentation
  • Temperature, pressures, times, etc.
  • Dimensions, weights, and attributes
  • High-speed profiling
  • OPC support
  • Custom Interfaces

Browser Based Software

With a secure on-premise configuration, our customers can browse using any web browser to review the performance of a shop floor, its machine groups, or specific machines — from anywhere, any time, on any device. We understand that different users have different needs, and PlantStar leverages its powerful hardware and software to provide tailored user experiences.

Operations Status on Large Screens Displays

Put the data where you and your operators can’t miss it. Display your machines status and quotas in the factory.

Review Performance in a Conference Room

Meet with your team and share the numbers that matter most, in a presentation format that provides the greatest impact on the big screen.

Virtually Connect before You're Wheels Up

Traveling? Use a tablet to view your dashboard and understand production status.

Process in Pocket

Keep key information in the palm of your hands and do the job right. Review process information, job specifications, or machine parameters right from your phone.

Connect Everyone and Everything

SYSCON PlantStar specialists will identify both the physical and digital specifications of every machine in your plant. Using either original equipment manufacturer sensors or new parallel sensors, a secure IPv6 network connects your people to your factory via a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that also exchanges data with your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software of choice. Finally, your production, technical, and financial teams can work based on real-time information from one source —PlantStar 4.0.

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ERP Integration:

JD Edwards

Oracle

SAP

SAGE

Infor

And more…

Machine Interfaces:

Milacron

Battenfeld

Nissei

Arburg

Kraus Maffei

And more…

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PlantStar Network Topography

IT + OT = IIOT

PlantStar combines operational technology (OT) with information technology (IT). Our highly customizable software and versatile hardware is central in connecting industrial “things” with the internet.

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Accessible and Secure

PlantStar is entirely enclosed by your firewall and only accessible through your preferred means of remote connection.

Application Processing Unit (APU)
The PlantStar Application Processing Unit (APU) aggregates all data from the shop floor and stores it in an MySQL database. Using Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Quality Management Systems (QMS), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and cloud computing services can integrate with the PlantStar Manufacturing Execution System (MES). With this level of integration PlantStar can assist in daily operations and decision making by providing reports, email, text, and paging alerts with relevant timing and purpose to operators, supervisors, managers, and directors. This critical database is designed to run continuously and create backup files daily.

Data Collection Module (DCM)
A microprocessor-based Data Collection Module (DCM) gathers, stores, and aggregates data from one or more machines in a factory production cell. A DCM is the edge device that connects production equipment to your network. The DCM also provides data protection by locally storing up to 20 shifts of data in the event of network connectivity issues. The units provide basic functions that count parts, machine cycles, and downtime by interfacing to digital signal from the machine. In addition, a DCM can gather information from a combination of additional sources, including direct connection to analog, serial, and digital sensors or an interface with a machine’s controller. One DCM can service up to 16 machines, depending on the complexity of process variables and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) being monitored.

Human Machine Interfaces (HMI)
The PlantStar Human Machine Interface (HMI) provides a durable and flexible web-based operator interface accessible through a standard web browser. Shop floor personnel now have the flexibility to access not only a particular machine’s information, but also access key data for any machine across the entire plant floor or data stored on other corporate systems.

Illustrations, PDF files, along with manufacturing and quality inspection instructions, can be viewed on large touchscreen HMI terminals. Each browser page has been designed to minimize the number of keystrokes necessary for your personnel to interact with the system while supplying the maximum amount of information on the shop floor.

The PlantStar Process Of Excellence

Listen and understand customer “Smart Factory Initiative”
Discover and determine requirements.

Site Evaluation:

  1. Factory layout.
  2. Determine hardware requirements.
  3. Identify equipment locations.
  4. Define and agree to customer requirements.

  • Prepare and Plan.
  • Provide detailed plan and cost model.
  • Specify PlantStar and Customer responsibilities.
  • Agree on timeline.

  • Manage customer agreed responsibilities.
  • Ensure PlantStar and customer action items are complete.
  • Installation and commissioning of system.
  • Test and verify the system is functioning properly.
  • Customer & PlantStar confirm completion.

  • Administration Training.
  • Supervisor Training.
  • Employee Training.
  • Ensure everything is in place for customer’s “Go Live” date.

  • Remotely monitor new plant usage of the PlantStar System.
  • Quarterly site visits and evaluate usage.
  • Advise customer of usage issues.
  • Provide assistance to increase system usage.
  • Evaluate system and advise customer of additional solutions available.
  • Discuss future needs.
  • Report back to PlantStar leadership with recommendations.

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