From November 19 to 21, 2021, the China 5G + Industrial Internet Conference was held in Wuhan. As the leader of “new infrastructure,” 5G will provide a solid foundation for the digital transformation and intelligent manufacturing of steel enterprises, injecting strong development momentum. Meanwhile, MCC Southern has already laid out its plans for 5G + Industrial Internet.
In recent years, MCC Southern has actively carried out research and development of 5G + Industrial Internet technology, empowering with big data and integrating emerging technologies such as machine vision and artificial intelligence to promote the reduction of human involvement in various processes within steel enterprises, aiding the steel industry in improving quality, efficiency, and transformation.
Next, we will showcase the “black technology” achievements of MCC Southern in the field of 5G + Industrial Internet!
WISDRI DPlant® Industrial Internet Platform
This platform is developed by MCC Southern, fully sorting out the intelligent manufacturing implementation requirements of steel metallurgy processes, integrating multi-source heterogeneous industrial data collection gateways based on 5G technology, and is an independently developed industrial IoT and configuration platform.
The WISDRI DPlant® Industrial Internet Platform optimizes each link of data collection, transmission, storage, processing, and visualization, allowing data to flow automatically, forming a matrix grid connection between various processes and systems, achieving key functions such as rapid feedback and real-time control, supporting the quick implementation of projects like Ninggang blast furnace, Liansteel cold rolling, and Shunle smelting and rolling, providing support for creating comprehensive intelligent manufacturing solutions across processes and interfaces.
WISDRI iBF Smart Blast Furnace Management Platform
Based on the architecture of the WISDRI DPlant® Industrial Internet Platform, MCC Southern targets weak links in blast furnace production and key production indicators, employing edge computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud analysis technologies to build a platform for industrial data collection, perception, analysis, and visualization, as well as constructing process models and expert knowledge bases. With six dimensions of visualization including raw material visualization, airflow visualization, furnace shape visualization, furnace heat visualization, safety visualization, and management visualization, it achieves comprehensive monitoring, evaluation, diagnosis, and operational optimization guidance in production.
The “Smart Blast Furnace Big Data Intelligent Perception and Visualization Management Platform” is the latest technological innovation achievement in intelligent manufacturing by MCC Southern and has been selected as a pilot demonstration project for big data industry development by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2021.
Shunle Smelting and Rolling Intelligent Control Platform
This platform can provide real-time tracking and guidance for production coordination, operational scheduling, and adjustments based on the connection between preceding and following processes, integrating all processes in the steelmaking and rolling areas into one, optimizing resources within the area and online control to eliminate the extra burden caused by the separation of smelting and rolling, ensuring overall efficiency and cost control in steelmaking and rolling production.
WISDRI iCR Smart Cold Rolling Solution
The WISDRI iCR deeply integrates 5G and industrial Internet technologies with cold rolling processes, production, and management knowledge, building a fully transparent digital workshop based on automated control and driven by data, concentrating operations, production, management, and data. This improves the working environment, streamlines personnel, and achieves goals such as transparent production and comprehensive energy efficiency reduction.
The ongoing construction of Liansteel cold rolling intelligent control center and New Steel New Material intelligent control center represents the latest practice of MCC Southern’s smart cold rolling solution.
Intelligent Oxygen Production and Safety Management Integration Platform
Addressing the contradictions arising from independent energy management and management methods, which can lead to mismatches in production and energy supply, as well as coordination and scheduling issues across multiple plants, MCC Southern connects production process data from various remote manufacturing bases to a smart production center for centralized monitoring, achieving intelligent collaborative optimization of production and energy, ensuring optimal response for energy production, delivery, and allocation.
The “Intelligent Oxygen Production and Safety Management Integration Platform” has been selected as one of the top ten excellent application cases in Hubei Province’s 5G, industrial software, artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain by the Provincial Economic and Information Commission in 2021.
5G Digital Twin Material Yard
The world’s first digital twin material yard developed by MCC Southern—New Steel Material Yard—equipped with 5G technology, meets the raw material storage and transportation needs for an annual production of ten million tons of molten iron in a large raw material yard covering 640,000 square meters. Nearly 30 stackers, unloaders, and other equipment operate 24 hours a day. Through the 5G network, massive point cloud data from 3D scans is sent back to the data center for 3D modeling and calculations, enabling operators at the remote monitoring center to “complete” tasks such as raw material storage, supply, mixing, automatic inventory, and updating stock with one click, allowing all equipment to operate efficiently and collaboratively.
With the support of 5G technology, the belt visual inspection system achieves real-time analysis of images from over 100 monitoring points throughout the plant through GPU acceleration technology, accurately and promptly identifying faults such as blockages, deviations, and tears. The application of the WISRobot series of robots automates the sampling processes in the material yard.
The digital twin material yard solution developed based on MCC Southern’s WISDRI DPlant® Industrial Internet platform not only enables rapid intelligent diagnosis of faults but also realizes the digitization and reduction of personnel in operation and maintenance processes, reducing the number of positions for operations, inspections, and maintenance by about 70.
The future of MCC Southern will further promote the integration of 5G with artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies, continuously improving the production efficiency of steel enterprises by introducing information, digital, and automation solutions into steel manufacturing and management. (Provided by MCC Southern)
