{"id":3687,"date":"2022-03-14T16:45:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T15:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/?p=3687"},"modified":"2022-03-15T11:30:51","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T10:30:51","slug":"from-components-to-compound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/2022\/03\/from-components-to-compound\/","title":{"rendered":"From Components to Compound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is the world\u2019s leading provider of high-quality sealing solutions. That is why the inhouse production of sealing materials is of major importance. They create the foundation for success in many industries. FST has a global \u00adnetwork of mixing plants with standardized processes and state-of-the-art technologies. A virtual factory tour now offers a look behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ST\u2019s Industrial Services Division is increasingly using digital services internally and externally. It is also using them to win over potential customers. They include online events, 3D animation and virtual tours on the company\u2019s website that were jointly developed with Lead Centers and production facilities. The first virtual tour through the Freudenberg Xpress\u00ae Production and Technology Center in Schwalmstadt highlights the process from the idea to the finished seal. \u201cThe tour was very well received. So we upped the ante and now are inviting our customers virtually into the Weinheim Mixing Facility, whose compounds have applications in nearly all sealing products,\u201d said Lars Haug, Marketing Manager, Industrial Services. He has talked to other Lead Centers about setting up tours of their facilities and making the company\u2019s broad product and \u00adservice competency come alive.
Markus Weber, who has supervised production in the mixing facility since June 2021, recently took a moment to look back: \u201cWe had heard of the idea of virtual manufacturing tours, and we immediately liked it. Especially during a pandemic, but also under normal circumstances, it is sometimes hard to organize group visits to the mixing facility.\u201d Some of the processes, such as the rolling and re-rolling of the sheets, are very noisy. There is also little space between the machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSO SUITABLE FOR TRAINING<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There have been massive investments and extensive digitalization of processes at the mixing plant in the last few months, so the situation lent itself to the creation of a virtual tour. A new, fully automatic weighing system, transport robots, and mobile end-devices for administrative work on the shop floor show the viewers how advanced and digitalized the mixing processes now are. \u201cFor us, it is extremely important to be able to demonstrate to our internal and external customers how we work and what has been done here recently. And do it without the visitors having to set foot inside the mixing plant,\u201d Weber said. Haug added: \u201cWe want to give people a look behind the scenes and showcase FST\u2019s expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FST Academy is also using the videos for training. The sessions can offer a picture of the mixing process. \u201cThe mixing plant offers a very nice thematic beginning, and there will be a continuation featuring more virtual tours. Everything starts with the precursors and moves forward from there into the molding process in the Lead Centers. The precursors thus hold a special importance in FST\u2019s world,\u201d Haug said. \u201cThat\u2019s another reason that we have to keep the risks low, especially during the pandemic, and not bring a chain of infection into the mixing plant,\u201d Weber said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virtual tours also offer added value for internal audits. \u201cA large share of the work in an audit involves wrestling with paper. As an aid in their work, the auditors can have cameras display the processes.\u201d The approach offers new customers the possibility of seeing the entire supply chain. The customers who view the processes in the mixing facility\u00a0\u2013 either virtually or in real life\u00a0\u2013 vary greatly. They can be from outside the company or even internal visitors such as new employees, sales staff or communication specialists. They generally have one thing in common: They only have a rough understanding of the processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The new fully automatic weighing system shows visitors how advanced and digitalized mixing processes are today. Pictured: Shift Leader Ilya Preis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ALSO AVAILABLE OFFLINE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The amount of detail varies in the two versions now available. For example, to safeguard the company\u2019s expertise, the weighing system is not visible to outsiders. But there is a complete version of the video available to internal viewers. The field sales staff also has an off-line version. When necessary, it can function without an Internet connection during visits to customers.
The 360-degree videos lack audio but have text descriptions. That means they can, for example, be presented on the web or during training since they speak for themselves. Naturally, presenters can provide more information orally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long does it take to produce this kind of virtual factory tour? \u201cTwo-and-one-half days of shooting for video, the 360-degree sequences and photos, along with drone shots inside and out. The main work was in the can after that,\u201d Haug said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A virtual \u201cMixing Facility Tour\u201d was already used during the \u201cDigital Pharma Dialogue\u201d event in November 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This takes you to the virtual tour: https:\/\/on.fst.com\/3rNMhAH<\/a><\/p>\n

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Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is the world\u2019s leading provider of high-quality sealing solutions. That is why the inhouse production of sealing materials is of major importance. They create the foundation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,78],"tags":[277],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-3687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology-innovations","category-weinheim-en","tag-edition-02_2022-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3688,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3687\/revisions\/3688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3687"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=3687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}