Reference

DataTechStack

Implemented for CeramTec

8 October 2024

Production process of mirrors in lithography optics

Centralized and reliable data for more process quality

Reliable and transparent data can further enhance technical expertise in a production environment. Making existing data accessible and analyzable can not only help save costs, but also improve performance.

In the DataTechStack project, a cloud-based data platform was developed that automatically provides data from various data silos in the production facilities, thus creating a single point of truth.

Tasks and benefits for the customer

ZEISS Digital Innovation has developed a detailed infrastructure for the internal quality assessment of CeramTec products in order to be able to reliably check quality parameters during the manufacturing process.

Quality and process data is automatically collected and analyzed throughout the manufacturing process at CeramTec. This eliminates the very time-consuming process for employees who previously compiled this data manually.

Media discontinuities in data procurement, e.g. from ERP systems or quality and machine databases, can be avoided. As a result, the evaluation of production process data is less prone to error and more reliable than before.

Even in the early phase, it became apparent that the mere availability of the data on the platform allows initial deductions to be made and the workload for these use cases can potentially be reduced from several hours to just a few seconds.

Challenges

In production environments, data is often managed by the different technical departments themselves and not centrally by the IT department. Isolated data records from various areas must therefore first be merged. Due to decentralized data management, interdisciplinary collaboration between different players across several departments is essential.

In networked production environments, special attention must also be paid to data governance and data ownership in order to guarantee the security and reliability of the data.

Procedure

At the start of the project, requirements workshops were held with all stakeholders to record the specific requirements in each case. The technology that was to be used was not defined at this stage. Based on the joint discussions, it emerged that a cloud environment was the best fit for CeramTec‘s IT roadmap and also offered the right prerequisites in terms of the quality objectives identified. The rough solution that was then outlined was reviewed with regard to the requirements from the industrial and medical technology sectors and implemented by an international ZEISS team. Regarding the methodology, the team used an agile process model based on SCRUM.

The entire infrastructure was set up, taking all the necessary security certificates into account. At the same time, the individual data silos were integrated into the solution. To begin with, solution development started in a development environment, followed by the test environment and finally the production environment. During the project, attention was paid at all times to close communication with the customer and associated suppliers, who, among other things, deal with business applications on the data platform.

Throughout the process, particular emphasis was placed on creating a secure environment with the appropriate certificates and sufficient governance.

Description of the solution

The solution is a backend service with which the previously defined top quality target ‟time-to-market” could be optimally realized. Data from local databases in the factory is automatically transferred to the data platform in a definable cycle and can be consumed there by other applications.

The medallion principle is used within the data platform: raw data from the data silos is loaded into the bronze memory. The data is then cleansed in pipelines, annotated and transferred to the silver memory. From there, business applications can consume the data and create ready-to-use added value, which is then stored in the gold memory.

Our services

Requirements analysis
Technical implementation
Test management/automation
Data security concept
Deployment of the cloud platform
Support, operation and further development

About our customer

CeramTec has been a supplier and manufacturer of technical ceramics since 1903, with a focus on solutions made of high-performance ceramics (HPC), and specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of parts, components and products made of ceramic materials. With more than a century of development and production experience in the HPC industry, CeramTec is a world leader in the manufacture of advanced ceramics and develops these materials for use in a wide range of applications. CeramTec‘s advanced ceramics are used in a number of areas, including medical applications such as hip prostheses, other orthopaedic implants, dental implants and medical devices, as well as in the mobility and electronics industries and other industrial applications. With production sites and subsidiaries in Europe, North and South America and Asia, CeramTec is represented as a manufacturer and supplier all over the world. CeramTec‘s headquarters are located in Plochingen near Stuttgart. In 2023, CeramTec generated revenues of approximately 817 million euros. CeramTec employs more than 3,800 people worldwide, including around 2,000 in Germany.

CeramTech

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