Dimensional in Brazil has played an integral role in supporting its customer's move to Industry 4.0, and the adoption of a solution capable of detecting depletion and equipment failures thanks to artificial intelligence.
Machine downtime can cost thousands in losses. With a focus on serving industrial clients with advanced and efficient solutions, Dimensional, a Sonepar company in Brazil, has developed a predictive digital tool that enables customers to monitor their machine operations and predict maintenance needs or potential stoppages.
The Challenge
For the past ten years, Cipatex, a leader in the development of PVC and PU laminates used across the textile industry, has been implementing measures focused on digital technology, automation, and modernization, always with an emphasis on the concept of Industry 4.0.
Significant investments were made to propel Cipatex into this process, but there was a definite need to adopt a predictive system to reduce losses, optimize processes, and integrate technologies.
"The process of adapting and restructuring for 4.0 operations at Cipatex over the past ten years involved pursuing automation. We implemented new systems, trained our employees, and carried out numerous joint actions across various company sectors to meet the needs of the new industrial era. However, adopting the digital predictive platform emerged as another important step in this evolution," explains Antonio Carlos Ribeiro, Maintenance Manager at Cipatex.
For this to become a reality, the company needed a strong local partner who understood their business, provide on-site equipment and field services, ensure a quality control system, offer technological solutions for predictive machinery management, and provide a reliable and committed 24/7 team.
Cipatex advances in the industry 4.0 process
Dimensional's Service team was poised to support Cipatex in preventing machinery downtime by proposing innovative, on-demand solutions. With the aim of combining their services and delivering solutions that assist customers in the evolution of Industry 4.0, Dimensional developed its predictive platform, D+Brain. This solution is capable of alerting customers to any issues related to factors such as temperature, vibration, current, and equipment voltage, preventing emergency machine stoppages.
Thanks to this solution, Cipatex could gain access to preventative field services and advanced technological resources that enabled real-time online monitoring and telematics of its industrial equipment.
D+Brain Solution
D+Brain enables remote control and predictive maintenance for machines, preventing costly downtime. It connects to customer equipment, monitors it, and issues warnings before potential breakdowns, ensuring continuous operation. This technology also supports efficient preventative maintenance, reducing production losses, and enhancing sustainability by cutting costs on inputs, labor, and energy.
Real-time machinery control and early warnings, even within critical limits, may sound futuristic, but with Dimensional’s D+Brain, it's daily practice for our clients. D+Brain is continuously evolving, and there are even plans for Dimensional to open a new facility intended for direct customer interaction via equipment test areas or digital twin emulation.
Customer benefits
Dimensional’s industrial services and long-term support have significantly reduced costs, losses, and downtime at Cipatex, ensuring process optimization and technology integration.
Through sensors, D+Brain monitors the "health" of the company's machinery, checks its status, predicts downtime, and warns if equipment is about to fail even before it presents a problem. Everything is monitored and resolved in real-time, increasing operational efficiency, productivity, and competitive advantages.
Practical example
A warning issued by D+Brain prevented the burning out of an inverter at Cipatex. The equipment was heading towards overheating, and the alert allowed the company to take early action, avoiding machine breakdown and a production line stoppage that is essential for the business. Machine breakdown could generate significant costs, as a new model costs around R$ 800,000, and repairs could cost approximately R$ 100,000, according to Everton Carrer Ribeiro, Industrial Automation Coordinator at Cipatex, he stated, "The equipment was heading towards overheating, and the alert allowed the company to take early action, avoiding not only machine breakdown but also a production line stoppage that is essential for the business.”
For Cipatex, adopting this digital predictive solution emerged as another critical step in the evolution of its business, preventing numerous problems caused by interruptions in a production line due to equipment failures, such as delivery delays, inventory shortages, and lost revenue. In the era of Industry 4.0, such situations are no longer acceptable.