SmartMill – a Transformative Journey
The SmartMill journey began less than a decade ago and is today driving innovations that improve yield, product quality, cost efficiencies, and the environmental impact for the milling industry. How far are we on this journey and how easy is it to jump aboard?
Over the past decade, Industry 4.0 has transformed from an obscure term introduced at the 2011 Hanover Fair into a digital revolution impacting practically every industrial sector, including milling. The arrival of advanced sensor technology, improved data storage, faster processing power, and enhanced connectivity have fueled a surge of digital innovations across various industries. Around this time, Bühler embarked on its journey toward the SmartMill—a fully autonomous digitalized mill that is self-optimizing and self-learning.
Recent innovations within SmartMill include the Energy Management System, Quality Management System, Machine Condition Monitoring, and Temperature and Vibration Management. These solutions offer real-time analysis, enabling automated process stability and maximizing efficiency.
The SmartMill is not a single product but a concept built from hundreds of complementary innovations developed through close collaboration with the industry. Designing an autonomous mill requires Bühler and its customers to share detailed knowledge and experience about every aspect of the milling process.
Digitalization’s Competitive Advantage
Fabien Varagnac, an independent milling consultant, notes the industry is making incremental improvements rather than experiencing a massive technological leap. However, he doubts a bit of the transformative potential of digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer for early adopters.
“Early adopters of comprehensive digitalization and AI integration will gain a significant competitive advantage. These forward-thinking millers will be able to improve and manage their efficiency but also foster innovation, responding more quickly to market demands, whether in terms of product or in terms of regulation,” explains Varagnac. “These innovations mark an essential step towards improving the industry’s efficiency and sustainability. Given the low-margin, high-volume nature of milling, every fraction of a percentage in yield, every kilowatt-hour, and every cent matters.”
The initial step in the SmartMill journey involved installing sensors at specific stages of the milling process to collect detailed data. This data, when structured and presented on dashboards, allows plant operators to make informed decisions to improve efficiency. Silvan Trunz, Business Development Manager for Automation and Digital at Bühler Milling Solutions, explains how digitalization has accelerated research and development, enabling real-time monitoring and adjustments.
As Bühler collected more data, it became possible to predict production outcomes based on variables like grain moisture content and quality. This led to real-time automated adjustments to production parameters. Today, Bühler has prototype solutions capable of making autonomous production decisions to optimize grinding gaps and flour moisture content. Achieving the SmartMill’s full potential involves developing autonomous processes for the entire milling process, from intake to packing.
The SmartMill Concept
The SmartMill concept can be likened to the development of the driverless car. Innovations in the automotive industry, such as cruise control and lane assistance, have progressively led to the goal of a fully automated vehicle. Similarly, the SmartMill evolved from data transparency to self-regulating processes and ultimately aims to become a fully autonomous, self-learning mill. Millers will set desired product characteristics, and the mill will automatically make the necessary adjustments to achieve the desired quality.
Despite advances in digitalization, many millers remain reluctant to change practices that have worked for generations. Varagnac observes that traditional empirical methods still dominate, and there’s a need to adopt AI to connect all aspects of the milling process for optimal efficiency and sustainability. Trunz believes the biggest obstacle is not the technology but the satisfaction with the status quo. Changing how people perform their daily jobs is crucial for the SmartMill journey.
Transforming Machine Maintenance
Digitalization is transforming machine maintenance by using algorithms to analyze performance trends and recommend optimal maintenance schedules. Bühler’s Error and Downtime Analysis identifies production losses and patterns, while the Energy Management System monitors energy consumption, flags inefficiencies, and provides solutions.
The primary reason behind developing the SmartMill is efficiency. Milling is a highly competitive industry with tight margins, requiring optimal efficiency. Autonomous mills can react faster and more accurately than humans, informed by a comprehensive data set. Additionally, an industry-wide shortage of skilled millers is addressed by the SmartMill, which bridges the skills gap and creates a more attractive workplace.
The SmartMill also helps tackle climate change by reducing waste and resource usage, lowering the industry’s environmental footprint, and cutting costs. Trunz emphasizes the importance of energy efficiency, which benefits both the environment and customers’ energy bills.
Joining the SmartMill Journey
Customers can join the SmartMill journey at their own pace, starting where it benefits their business most. Initial steps involve installing sensor technology and connectivity to inform decision-making. Trunz explains that understanding customer needs and gradually adopting digital solutions, like quality assurance and documentation management systems, can be helpful first steps.
Varagnac envisions a future mill as a highly connected ecosystem leveraging external data like weather forecasts to optimize production and resource use. This connectivity will reduce waste, lower costs, and make flour more affordable on a larger scale, reinforcing the miller’s role in the global food supply.
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