4.0 Furnaces

Steam engines, electricity, and electronics triggered the three great industrial revolutions. And now, we are living through the fourth industrial revolution, called Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet, IoT (Internet of Things)—each one gives it a different name. The physical world is being connected to the digital, and a great potential of benefits for industry can be foreseen.

In a short time, we will be able to inform our refrigerator at home which products we want to always be there by default. The refrigerator will then be able to place orders with supermarkets, comparing prices. Supermarket inventories will be connected to factories which, in turn, will produce the items that are being consumed. The factories’ suppliers will produce raw materials according to their use by industries. And remember, it all starts with the yogurt you took out of your fridge for breakfast.

Since many industries use thermal processes in their manufacturing, and one of the main pieces of thermal equipment is the industrial furnace, how much are furnaces already 4.0?

We have just manufactured a heat-treatment furnace which I will use as an example. The furnace, in addition to having its devices exchanging data and information via network protocol, meets several premises of Industry 4.0:

Real-time operating capability: the data provided by all devices is in real time, thus ensuring the possibility of decision-making. What is the temperature at one of the sixteen furnace control points? How much is this temperature offset from the setpoint? What is the reason for the deviation? Should the cycle be aborted? What has been the furnace’s consumption since the start of the batch?

Integration with management systems: the furnace can change its operating characteristics based on external parameters. For example, if the plant’s energy manager notices that the contracted demand may be exceeded, it will automatically adjust the furnace’s maximum power, avoiding penalties.

Connectivity: several furnace components are connected via wireless network, avoiding connector fatigue and interference. In addition, the furnace connects to the plant’s supervisory system, providing data and information for the manufacturing process. For example, relative energy consumption can be constantly evaluated (kWh/t steel).

Remote operation, supervision, and maintenance: it is possible to adjust the process, monitor, and diagnose failures locally, through SCADA, or from any internet-connected device. For example, from our factory we can inform the customer that there is a deviation in a certain phase of a given control zone, suggesting a specific intervention.

Prediction: the furnace itself sends emails to maintenance, informing, for example, how many hours a given bearing has been in operation, which allows its replacement within the expected service life. It is like the alert we receive on the dashboard of our car, but involving several components, not only the engine lubricant oil.

Data security: all control variables are encrypted and can also be stored in the cloud, ensuring traceability even in the event of incidents. Therefore, damage caused by lightning, for example, would not put historical operating data at risk.

Energy efficiency: both the resistors and the air recirculators are driven by variable power controllers. Thus, energy is consumed strictly according to demand, avoiding waste.

Operational safety: even with all this connectivity, the local operator continues to have priority in the operation of the equipment. Therefore, even if a remote instruction exists, the local one remains sovereign.

As the next challenge, we understand that there is still little interaction between the furnace and production planning and control. Therefore, greater connectivity between plant equipment and the ERP will bring even greater benefits to industry.