If foundries and diecasters feel any pressure to embrace "autonomous manufacturing," the impetus may be coming from the major manufacturing enterprises that they claim as customers. But if they need any support as they cross the frontier to the world of artificial intelligence, they may look to their process and equipment suppliers.
DataProphet, a developer of AI-as-a-service technologies and service has entered an industry-exclusive partnership with Norican Global A/S to incorporate "meaningful AI applications into real-life foundry environments."
Norican Group is a portfolio for four major brands of metalcasting capital equipment and process technologies: DISA, a supplier of green-sand molding technologies; Italpresse Gauss (incorporating Italpresse Industrie and Gauss Automazione), suppliers of high-pressure diecasting technologies; StrikoWestofen, suppliers of light-metal melting, holding, pouring, and dosing furnaces; and Wheelabrator, suppliers of shot-blasting, shot-peening, and surface-preparation systems.
Relatedly, Norican plans to expand the Wheelabrator Group Americas location near Atlanta as the LaGrange Georgia Technology Hub, and will colocate all Norican NA business operations there (including Wheelabrator, DISA, StrikoWestofen, and Italpresse Gauss.)
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"In DataProphet, we have found a partner who shares our pragmatic attitude and our passion for helping foundries work ever more productively and resource-efficiently," Wilhjelm added. "We have started with DISA applications, but we will fast-forward to the full brand portfolio, and beyond, soon.”
“We first came across DISA when we worked on a project with a forward-looking foundry in South Africa," DataProphet CEO and co-founder Frans Cronje recalled, "where we helped reduce defects by 40% over 24 months and achieved 0% defects for up to three months."
It is not the DataProphet's first effort at building expertise in metalcasting. In 2019 it launched a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Suite to improve production quality and reduce defects for Industry 4.0. It includes individual software modules for "deep learning" plant/process control; a machine-vision system that relies on established algorithms to flag manufacturing defects; and an AI advisory and consulting service.
"Working closely with an equipment manufacturer of DISA’s deep expertise allows us to make a genuine difference to operations," Cronje continued. The team at DISA understand where foundries are on their data journey - where to look for the largest gains, which data to collect and use, which problems to tackle first. Too often AI is a solution without a problem; together, we can make it a powerful tool that solves real operational issues.”