A Penn State Behrend research team’s year-long project aims to use smart manufacturing technology to reduce waste and increase product quality at Plastek Group in Erie.
Smart manufacturing technology includes cloud data storage, machine learning, sensors and, robotics. Companies implementing this technology increase productivity by as much as 12 percent, according to studies.
Plastek Group manufactures packaging for the food and beverage, personal care, and cosmetics industries.
Plastics manufacturers often produce more than 10,000 parts per hour using equipment connected to sensors, but adding technology can be challenging because plastics manufacturers operate on low-profit margins.
Researchers are developing software that stores data in the cloud and alerts the machine’s operator when a component needs attention. The technology will be tested and refined in the Plastics Processing Lab at Behrend.
Researchers will use sensors and advanced algorithms to filter data and predict when a process will fail within the molding machine. As much as 10 percent of material is wasted in some injection-molding processes.
“Plastek already has some infrastructure in place for smart manufacturing,” Gamini Mendis, assistant professor of engineering, said. “What they don’t have is the bandwidth to fully understand all of the data their machines produce.”
A $44,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Manufacturing PA grant funded the project.