Location: 46-020 Opole, Poland · Industry: Plastics processing, automotive, interior components, injection moulding · Products: Automotive interior parts, instrument panels, door trims, consoles and plastic injection moulded parts · Website: https://www.iacgroup.com/ · S4P modules: KraussMaffei Easytrace powered by 4SPC
Initial situation
For the production of safety-relevant components at IAC Group's plant in Poland, complete traceability across the entire manufacturing process was required. Instrument panels, door trims and consoles produced by plastic injection moulding must comply with the strict quality and documentation requirements of automotive OEMs. With around 200 employees, a scalable, machine-spanning traceability solution was needed that ensures gapless documentation without manual effort.
Challenge
The strict quality and documentation requirements of the automotive industry demanded the complete capture and tracking of every individual part. Without end-to-end digital traceability, the requirements for auditability and documentation were difficult to meet. A particular challenge was the integration of an AI-based optical camera inspection system into the traceability chain as well as the connection of KraussMaffei injection moulding machines via an OPC-UA server. All inspection results had to be stored component-specific and in an audit-proof manner.
Solution
KraussMaffei Easytrace powered by 4SPC was introduced as a complete traceability solution that documents all manufacturing steps without gaps and makes components uniquely traceable. Data from the KraussMaffei injection moulding machines and the AI-based optical camera inspection system is provided via the Kepserver OPC UA Server at IAC Opole; camera images are transferred via FTP. In addition, the complete control of the automated production line is handled through this system, including assignment of serial numbers that are laser-marked onto the components.
Results and benefits
With Easytrace, IAC Group at its Opole site achieves complete traceability of all safety-relevant plastic components. Manufacturing steps are fully documented, AI-based inspection results are automatically assigned and components are uniquely identified. This provides the highest level of quality assurance and fulfils automotive industry requirements for traceability and auditability. Manual documentation effort was significantly reduced and a solid data basis for quality records and continuous process improvements was established.