Focus on Germany Part 2: Dieffenbacher | 13
Above left: EVORIS Anomaly Detection app Above right: EVORIS Quality Prediction app
A Dieffenbacher technology meeting with
customers found demand for an efficient carbon calculation method. The company set about developing a scientific process with partners from the Institute for Industrial Ecology (INEC), a research institute at Pforzheim University. For Dieffenbacher, implementation of a Carbon Calculator within EVORIS could define the CO2
footprint for not only volume
products but specific and special boards of various thickness and dimensions.
“When you want to calculate the CO2 footprint of a certain board the whole process is relevant,” continued Mr Heymanns. “It involves a lot of parameters ranging from the wood yard to drying and obtaining information about the wood raw material entering the plant. There are parameters for each process – mass flow, energy, and emissions – which need to be taken into account.” The University developed a tool to handle and track all this data and make the process flow visible in an easy to comprehend way. The tool is being integrated into EVORIS so the customer has a big overview, as well as the input and output data for each process, and the final figure for the CO2
cubic metre of board panel.
Benefits include not just visibility of the carbon footprint of the particleboard, MDF and OSB produced, but also an optimised plant and process design, and better customer knowledge of their production process. Online monitoring of the carbon footprint helps to optimise processes. Jürgen Woll, vice-president automation at Dieffenbacher, explained that EVORIS contains a lot of AI apps, such as Quality Prediction and Anomaly Detection – presented in detail at the European Panel Federation’s Symposium in 2024 – to ensure
production efficiency and product quality. EVORIS is capable of predicting board quality and tracking raw material usage, such as monitoring of glue consumption – resins are a big consideration of carbon footprint. Machinery can be adjusted to cope with carbon neutral resins and enhance their properties, while reduction of total glue consumption helps the carbon footprint and resin costs at the same time. “We have the possibility to see if something is wrong on the line, show the customer this anomaly and prevent any unplanned downtime,” said Mr Woll. “With the Quality Prediction app, there is the possibility to see what the actual quality being produced at any moment is. With this information from the AI system, the customer can adjust to the quality range he wants to produce.” The new EVORIS Energy Monitoring app is established as a standard, delivering energy meters with every new plant that monitor all forms of energy and make consumption transparently available. This enables all operators of a Dieffenbacher plant to optimise their energy consumption.
footprint per
The Energy Monitoring app records and measures energy consumption in production, plant-wide and per consumer. This allows customers to identify, compare and evaluate the time and location of unexpectedly high energy consumption values in components and plant areas and to identify critical consumers or causes such as leaks.
Operating personnel can optimise machines and production processes more easily and quickly to save energy and reduce peak loads and thus additional costs. All forms of energy can be measured and
recorded, such as electrical energy, thermal oil, steam, and compressed air, as well as
various fuels, consumables, and energy carriers.
Reports on energy consumption by shift and product, as well as energy management data, help to meet the ISO50001 standard. To raise the awareness of plant personnel about the importance of energy savings, the app’s live view can be switched between units and costs. This turns an abstract number in kilowatts into a concrete price in euros. Mr Woll said the functionality of EVORIS’s Reports app is being expanded to cover complete plant energy consumption, with the Energy Monitoring app giving complete energy consumption data to the Reports app. The Reports app will feature the Carbon Calculator, using all the data – consumption of energy, glue, wood and other areas – to calculate the carbon footprint. “Customers will be able to see the carbon footprint of their production live on the EVORIS system,” said Mr Woll. This full integration of EVORIS apps and the Carbon Calculator will be demonstrated at Ligna and is expected to be a big focus of attention for show visitors on the Dieffenbacher stand. “The ultimate goal is not just to record the
footprint but to see the potential for plant optimisation, which ultimately brings down the CO2
CO2 footprint.” Mr Heymanns said he hopes everyone
related to the wood product industries is engaging in similar efforts, as the whole sector benefits collectively in terms of its sustainability credentials. For Dieffenbacher, its work in further
developing EVORIS and adding the Carbon Calculator is not only a boost to the ongoing sustainability agenda, but also cements partnerships with customers, helps them in their businesses and fulfils the company’s motto – Move Forward. Together. ●
www.wbpionline.com | February/March 2025 | WBPI
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