Future proof and scalable TOSIBOX® solution is a long-term investment as it grows with the company’s business needs. Read, how unique TOSIBOX® technology with two-way data flow enables future growth for Extron without any limitations.
For data collection and visualization, Extron partnered with NouxNode. TOSIBOX and NouxCloud are the winning combination for secure data acquisition and data processing on the edge as well as in the cloud. Combination is a perfect fit as NouxCloud can fully utilize TOSIBOX® technology.
Extron is a Finnish pioneering company with nearly forty years of experience in designing and manufacturing high-tech machinery for the world leading companies in plastics industry. They have a track record of hundreds of successfully built machinery and production lines for the extrusion coating, blow film and plastic pipes, profiles and pipe fitting factories. Their customers manufacture plastic pipes, profiles, blown films and plastic-coated paperboard mainly in the Nordics and CIS.
Extron’s customers were looking for reliable processes and as little downtime as possible for their machines. When maintenance was needed, it was not always possible for the company to send engineers to their customers’ sites. Extron decided to look for a remote access solution to enable remote maintenance for their machines.
After testing some remote access solutions, Extron came across with secure TOSIBOX® remote access solution. In the testing phase, they found out that the usability and establishing a connection was faster and easier than expected. It took just a few minutes, including unboxing the devices. Tosibox´s cyber security was also up to Extron’s strict standards so Tosibox was a clear choice for them. When a need for remote maintenance is detected, Extron’s automation engineer connects the machine via TOSIBOX® Key and makes the necessary updates and adjustments remotely.
TODAY: DEVELOPING A NEW BUSINESS MODEL WITH THE HELP OF TOSIBOX AND NOUXCLOUD
Future proof and scalable TOSIBOX® solution is a long-term investment as it grows with a company’s business needs. Unique TOSIBOX® technology with two-way data flow enables future growth for Extron without any limitations.
Now, after 10 years and a hundred TOSIBOX installations later, Extron decided to take their business to the next level with data acquisition. As they already had TOSIBOX® Locks with secure connections installed to their machines for remote maintenance, no further fittings were needed. All Extron needed to do was start collecting data from the machines and utilize it.
For data collection and visualization, Extron partnered with NouxNode. Before NouxNode and NouxCloud IoT platform, Extron tested other solutions. They quickly realized that TOSIBOX® and NouxCloud is the winning combination for secure data acquisition and data processing on the edge as well as in the cloud. Combination is a perfect fit as NouxCloud can fully utilize TOSIBOX® technology.
For Extron the compatibility of TOSIBOX® technology and NouxCloud platform means huge savings: they did not need to use costly external consultants for connecting the machines and the cloud and their new VASTE cloud storage service since they were able to do it in-house.
With VASTE service, Extron is now able to collect the most valuable parameters of extrusion process for operators use in clear graphical view and automate production indicators and reports. The time stamped data facilitates product traceability and ensures quality.
For the future, data collection opens up new opportunities in the form of predictive maintenance, AI and machine learning. Predictive maintenance allows the company to forecast when maintenance is needed or to determine when physical assets need repairs. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are available options, when there is need to dissect large amounts of data to optimize products and processes.
BENEFITS
“We have equipped our machines with Tosibox for almost 10 years so we have quite many connections to our machines. We have access to pretty much all data in those production lines and we have been developing a new business around it.”
Niko Holm, Head of Electrical Department, Extron Engineering Oy