User:Patrick.em/brewmaxx
| Developer(s) | ProLeit AG |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows |
| License | Proprietary commercial |
| Website | www.brewmaxx.com |
brewmaxx is a process control system for the brewing industry. The various process steps of a brewery can be automated, controlled and monitored via the software components of the brewmaxx range.
Fields of application
Due to its scalability, brewmaxx is suited to applications ranging from single station to multi-server systems. It is used in:
- small breweries (up to 100 hectolitres per annum)
- medium-sized breweries (up to 1 million hectolitres per annum)
- large breweries (more than 1 million hectolitres per annum)
The main fields of application include the automation of breweries (see brewery) and/or fermenting and storage cellars. Also a complete automation of all the production areas of a brewery (e.g. at Warsteiner Beer and Brewery) - from raw material intake to filling - can be realised with the brewmaxx process control systems. The “small” control system, brewmaxx compact, has been available for individual production areas, e.g. ancillary plants, water treatment, filter or CO2 plants as well as small and medium-sized breweries, since the middle of 2010.
The basic systems and modules of brewmaxx are generally used for the automation of new plants and for migration projects. Existing, outdated control systems with a structured software design can be migrated to brewmaxx via conversion tools.
brewmaxx is used as teaching system for process control technology for breweries at the Technical University Munich (TUM). Various university projects use brewmaxx as process controlling system[1].
Architecture
The brewmaxx range is based on an integrated client-server model and basically uses standard Microsoft software: Microsoft Windows as the operating system for servers and clients, Microsoft SQL Server as the system database, Microsoft Excel as the analysis, reporting and engineering tool and Microsoft Visual Studio as the development environment for the user interface.
The architecture has a modular design; the brewmaxx software components are subdivided into basic systems and modules with various configuration levels. Depending on the requirements, they can be used individually or in combination for process control, Data acquisition (PDA), process management, production management and ERP level integration (see Enterprise resource planning).
Operating systems
brewmaxx Direct iT
The basic system brewmaxx Direct iT is the heart of the process control system range. It is used to control all technical processes in breweries.
The Object Control Matrix (OCM) class is a unique feature of brewmaxx Direct iT. It enables the parameterisation of controllers and monitoring of a definable group of technical objects (actuators and sensor)s for numerous activities which have to be executed in the process cycle. brewmaxx Direct iT includes the central engineering tool “Configuration Client” via which entire production plants can be mapped.
brewmaxx Liqu iT
brewmaxx Liqu iT has been specifically developed for the control and monitoring of processes in the field of liquid handling. The process control system brewmaxx Direct iT can be seamlessly extended with the recipe system brewmaxx Liqu iT for the technology-oriented recipe control as well as the management and creation of basic recipes.
A special feature of brewmaxx Liqu iT is the optionally available, brewery-specific brewmaxx equipment modules. Equipment modules are automation classes which combine basic class objects with special additional functions. This ensures the creation and parameterisation of brewery equipment – e.g. wort cooling, chopping system control, pressure cooking – as objects of a single class.
brewmaxx Acquis iT
brewmaxx Acquis iT records, processes and archives process, production, operating and machine data for plant-wide information management. In addition to production data acquisition, it also allows ad-hoc evaluations of the recorded data and visualisation.
OPC (see OLE for process control) is preferably used as the interface; however, various OPC servers might be used depending on the control units to be integrated. Furthermore, a driver-based interface is available for non OPC-capable systems. This ensures simple and flexible integration of numerous control systems, e.g. from Mitsubishi Electric, Allen-Bradley, Siemens, VIPA and others. brewmaxx Acquis iT can be used for production data acquisition as a stand-alone solution and in combination with an existing basic brewmaxx system.
Standards
Production data acquisition with brewmaxx Acquis iT is based on the Weihenstephan Standards[2]. In cooperation with industry representatives and with the support of Wissenschaftsförderung der Deutschen Brauwirtschaft, the chair of Food Packaging Technology at the Technical University Munich in Weihenstephan has developed a standard for the connection of BDE systems to bottling plants.
The standard includes the uniform provision and structure of data from the control units of various manufacturers. The Weihenstephan Standards 2000 comprise the guidelines for standard BDE specifications for bottling plants; the Weihenstephan Standards 2005 describe the interfaces and data provision for bottling and packaging plants in the beverage industry.
Modules
brewmaxx material
brewmaxx material is a process-oriented material management system, offering a precise ‘per transaction’ online view of all material movements, which are recorded on the basis of a bespoke storage model. Besides inventory management, the acquisition of this information also enables research, statistical evaluations and batch tracking. The basic system brewmaxx Liqu iT can be seamlessly extended with the brewmaxx material module for order and recipe-controlled production processes.
brewmaxx integrate
The brewmaxx integrate module records process-relevant information from different plants and process areas and enables their division-independent integration with regard to information management. The reporting component of brewmaxx integrate works with web-based clients, i.e. access is possible without installation and the availability of a brewmaxx client. This way, workplaces which are not directly connected to the process (e.g. plant manager) can be integrated in the entire system.
brewmaxx connect
The brewmaxx connect module is a freely parameterisable interface for universal data exchange between brewmaxx systems and various third party systems. These include client/server or host-based systems, e.g. ERP, LIMS and maintenance systems, but also intelligent measuring and analysis instruments (e.g. inspectors and weighing systems). For each of the interfaces implemented with brewmaxx connect, the system offers a detailed online diagnosis which allows the further analysis of communication processes.
Product features
brewmaxx has been designed as a multi-lingual system. At application level, it offers a computer-dependent language changeover option for the user interface and can be configured in several languages. Communication takes place via the Ethernet connections TCP/IP and OPC.
The standard system is supplied in German and English. Russian and Spanish are available as an optional, preconfigured language package. Further languages can be integrated according to requirements.
Archiving
Archiving of process values takes place via MS SQL databases. Older files are transferred from the production database to an archive database to ensure sufficient storage space for continuous data acquisition. At the same time, the data volume in the production database is limited and quick access to the database guaranteed. Data from the archive and production database are available for evaluation purposes; the research tools automatically access both areas.
User interface
Process images are created via Microsoft development environments. The standard system offers a library of process image controls for process data visualisation, which can be extended user specifically. A process image wizard has been integrated for process image creation.
User management
The user management enables the configuration of a hierarchical authorisation system via which access rights are assigned to different users and user groups. The user management is integrated in the comprehensive parameterisation tool - the “Configuration Client”.
Reporting
The brewmaxx reporting functions support division-independent, configurable reporting. The Report Designer enables selective access to recorded process and material data. The acquired data is, e.g., available as brew or tank reports.
Engineering
During plant planning, the generation of program codes is generally replaced by parameterisation and data download (object data records). All brewmaxx system modules have a central engineering environment with a common database and logical user interface for intuitive parameterisation - the “Configuration Client”.
Message system
The message system is part of the monitoring function. All messages are recorded in a central database; the messages can be configured in several languages. Certain messages can be selected via filters; several message lines can be displayed with different filters.
Measured values
Numerous measured value views can be graphically displayed as a curve or binary trace. The configuration of the measuring points takes place in the Configuration Client.
Visualisation & troubleshooting
The visualisation data of certain automation classes can be recorded with the add-on brewmaxx Visu-Recorder. This application records processes similar to a VCR and outputs them directly in the process image. The output speed can be selected here. The Visu-Recorder is mainly used for troubleshooting in case of complex processes.
Application & distribution
Germany
White beer brands. Nine breweries of the 25 largest white beer brands in Germany use brewmaxx.
| Ranking | Brand/Brewery | Production output (hectolitres) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erdinger, Erding | 1,587,000 |
| 4 | Radeberger Gruppe KG, (refer to Radeberger), Frankfurt | 900,000* |
| 5 | Oettinger, (refer to Oettinger Beer), Öttingen | 650,000* |
| 7 | Schneider,(refer to G. Schneider & Sohn), Kelheim | 260,000* |
| 8 | Maisel's Weiße, (refer to Maisel Brau Bamberg), Bayreuth | 255,000 |
| 14 | Sanwald, Stuttgart | 130,650 |
| 15 | Gutmann, Tittingen | 120,000* |
| 20 | Edelweissbrauerei Farny, Dürren | 66,000 |
| 25 | Privatbrauerei Distelhausen, Distelhausen | 44,900 |
Source: Brauwelt, No. 30, 2010 "Entwicklung der 25 größten Weissbiermarken"
- The listed output is stated as estimated values in the source.
Beer brands brewmaxx has a share of 30% among the top 56 German beer brands.
| Ranking | Brand/Brewery | Production output (hectolitres) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Oettinger, (see Oettinger Beer), Öttingen | 2,656,000* |
| 7 | Warsteiner[3] | 2,257,000 |
| 8 | Radeberger Pilsener, (see Radeberger Brewery) | 1,793,000* |
| 12 | Sternburg | 1,410,000* |
| 13 | Erdinger | 1,402,000 |
| 21 | Jever | 1,050,000* |
| 24 | Köstritzer[4] | 780,000* |
| 26 | Schöfferhofer | 685,000* |
| 30 | Private brewery Heinrich Reissdorf | 632,000 |
| etc. |
Source: Brauwelt, No. 21-22, 2010 "Inlandsabsatz der grössten Biermarken in hL"
- The listed output is stated as estimated values in the source.
International
The German specialist magazine Brauwelt published a list of the 40 largest international brewery groups in issue No. 36/2010 (dated 31 December 2009). This list is based on the Barth Report 2009/2010. Seven brewery groups which use the process control system brewmaxx at their production sites were among the top 10 organisations worldwide. Please refer to the list of Beer and breweries by region for a complete overview.
| Ranking | Group | Market share (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anheuser-Busch InBev | 19,8 % |
| 2 | SABMiller | 9,6 % |
| 3 | Heineken | 8,8 % |
| 4 | Carlsberg Group | 6,4 % |
| 5 | China Resource Brewery Ltd. | 4,6 % |
| 6 | Tsingtao Brewery Group (see Tsingtao Brewery) | 3,3 % |
| 9 | Beijing Yanjing Brewery | 2,6 % |
Published in Brauwelt, No. 36, 2010 "Die 40 grössten Brauerei-Gruppen der Welt per 31. Dezember 2009", source: Barth Report 2009/2010
History
The predecessor systems of the brewmaxx platform already provided the technological functions (TF) for brewery-specific requirements. The big brother of brewmaxx is the process control system Plant iT, developed and distributed by ProLeiT AG. Plant iT is the industry-independent solution for the following areas: food & beverages, dairy industry, feeding stuff, pharma & chemical industry, biodiesel & bioethanol. In many areas, it is identical to the brewmaxx components, but additionally comprises an ISA 88 compliant batch system (see Batch_production).
The software has been distributed and continuously further developed under the name brewmaxx since 1997.
External links
- Rockwell-Automation-University: Smallest fully automated brewery
- “Changeover of brewhouse control system from Braumat to brewmaxx” (Bavaria Brewery in Lieshout, the Netherlands, decided to switch from Braumat PA 5700 to brewmaxx; Brauwelt International; Issue 2006/V; pages 324 – 327)
- “The smallest totally automatic brewery in the world” (ProLeiT, Rockwell Automation and TUM present a demo rig for drinktec 2009 in Munich; Brauwelt International; Issue October 2009; page 291)
- “Dundalk migrates to brewmaxx” (ProLeiT technology modernises the Great Northern Brewery; Brewer & Distiller International; Issue November 2010; page 31)
- „Auf Bewährtem aufgesetzt“ (Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu investiert in intelligente Lösungen zur Verbesserung der Anlageneffizienz; Brauwelt; 2004; No. 48; pages 1616-1617)
- „Skandinavisches Flair und Grolsch-Qualität“ (Inbetriebnahme der neue Braustätte der Royal Grolsch N.V., Niederlande; Brauwelt; 2004, No. 41/42, page 1251)
- „Minimalistischer Brauer“ (P&A, Issue August 2010, pages 24-26)
- „ProLeiT lässt Bier auf der ganzen Welt sprudeln“ (Nürnberger Zeitung, Wednesday, 1. June 2011, page 23)
- foodprocessing-technology.com Mentioned in the article about Grolsch Brewery Complex, Boekelo
- foodprocessing-technology.com Mentioned in an article about the SABMiller Ulyanovsk Brewery
References
- ^ Technical University Munich, Lehrstuhl für Lebensmittelverpackungstechnik: Fully automated mini-brewery
- ^ Weihenstephan Standards
- ^ Migration of the Warsteiner brewery; Beverage Manager; Issue 11; November 2011; page 30: The brewery of the future
- ^ Einführung eines neuen Energiemanagement-Systems bei der Krostitzer Brauerei; Braumanager; Issue July 2004, page 14)