Digital retrofit means modernising an existing machine or line (sensors, control, communication, software) without replacing it. It keeps producing as before, but can now exchange data with the rest of your information system.
Comfort, monitoring and reporting
Production data feedback, continuous dashboard monitoring, anticipated maintenance: your older machine joins your connected equipment and your information system, without heavy investment.
Securing my production tool
Ageing control PC, software nobody can find, proprietary interface: while the machine is still running, it can still be analysed and made durable. After the failure, it is often too late.
Illustrative case
Paul runs an industrial SME. His production machine still works very well, but its original software cannot communicate with his MES/MOM.
A new machine performing the same function would cost around €300k. Paul could hope to resell the old one for around €50k on the second-hand market.
As a bonus, reusing the equipment avoids building a new machine and scrapping the old one: this improves Paul's HSE record.
Plan ahead
On many machines, the control side relies on an ageing PC or operator panel: an old operating system, software whose vendor has disappeared, an interface card that can no longer be bought. The mechanics, meanwhile, are in perfect condition.
As long as everything works, nobody thinks about it. But the day the hard drive fails or the PC breaks down, nobody knows how to reinstall the software, or the non-standard interface no longer exists: the whole machine is scrapped, although it was still producing very well.
The right time to act is now, while the machine is still operational. As part of a preventive audit, ShoWise analyses and documents how the control side really works (reverse engineering), then replaces it with a modern, durable and maintainable solution, without touching the rest of the machine.
The documentation handed over lets anyone other than ShoWise step in again.
After the failure it is often too late: there is nothing left to observe or copy.
It is the modernisation of an existing machine (sensors, control, communication, software) so that it fits a modern information system, without replacing the machine itself.
Often yes, because a retrofit relies on what can be observed and measured on the machine, not on the manufacturer's support. Only a visit or an audit can confirm it machine by machine.
It depends on the machine and the goal: ShoWise only does custom work and therefore publishes no standard price. The gap with a replacement can be large, but it is only priced after a visit or an audit.
The intervention is prepared to limit downtime: development and testing are done beforehand and offline as far as possible. Downtime is specified in the proposal.
If the software can no longer be reinstalled or the interface no longer exists, the machine often has to be scrapped. That is why it is better to analyse and document the control side while the machine is still running, then modernise it offline.
MES, MOM, ERP, CMMS, supervision, databases or custom applications, using standard industrial protocols. The choice depends on the systems you already have.
Describe your equipment and context to ShoWise.
A visit or an audit will tell whether a retrofit makes sense, and at what cost.