Remote diagnostics
Problem solving from a distance

AWL’s customers are located all over the world, from Spain to Russia, China to Australia. No problem in the commission process, but what happens if you have a problem with your machine?

AWL can provide ‘AWL Remote Diagnostics’ for all its customers. This is a made-to-measure online remote diagnostic system. It guarantees excellent levels of support in the event of a interruption, which enables machine downtime and loss of production capacity to be reduced to a minimum.

AWL Remote Diagnostics provides a direct link with the machine and essential information, as well as fast problem diagnosis and efficient solutions.

History of VPN

AWL started using an analogue phone line to connect to machines all over the world in the early 90’s. At that time it was the only method available and it worked well. With a phone line AWL established connection with a dedicated computer that was placed with the machine. However, as time passed it became clear that the analogue line was providing some problems. Not only did a customer need a subscription for this line (and pay for it every month), but the economic and real life cycle of a PC was relatively short. Installation, licences for software and maintenance made it an expensive solution. The speed of an analogue line was no more than 5,3Kb per second, which made it a very
slow process.

A couple of years ago AWL introduced the TS Adapter. It still used an analogue connection, but the PC was replaced by a modem. It became the better and cheaper alternative for the PC. The hardware remained stable and even though it still wasn’t super fast, it functioned well. The downside of the TS Adapter was that it only gave AWL the possibility to look at the PLC and make some small modification to the HMI.
Nowadays AWL is able to have remote diagnostics via the Ethernet. Even though this technology is relatively new, it has been widely available everywhere for the last 5-6 years and its use is growing rapidly. AWL has been one of the pioneers of using the Ethernet for remote diagnostics. The decline of analogue connections and the tremendous growth of Ethernet have set the tone for the coming years. More and more companies will shift to Ethernet as the solution to remote diagnostics.

Why remote service via the internet?

With the latest technologies and the rapidly increasing connectivity with the internet it seems logical to use an internet connection to “talk” to the machine. The technology used on internet is the same as the technology used in AWL’s machines. For example, PLC’s, operator panels, robots, weld controllers, printers and cameras all have Ethernet ports for configuration and diagnostics. The high bandwidth of internet provides quick and easy data transfer to and from the machine.

AWL’s remote service provides support in viewing and monitoring, operating and making changes/updates. AWL is able to make direct contact with the machine and see what is going on. All Ethernet-equipped machine components are included in the remote diagnoses. AWL can directly support your operator in case of an interruption.

How does it work?

AWL uses a secured connection based on OpenVPN and implemented in the industrial eWON routers. This provides fast, easy and safe access to and from your machine, not only for remote diagnosis but also for updating the software and changing your configurations. In fact, the possibilities are numerous. Automatic back-up, data logging, statistics and spare-parts management are just a few of the options that will probably become available in the near future.

Although this solution for remote diagnosis has enormous advantages over other current methods, companies are still unsure about the consequences in terms of the safety and protection of their network and servers. But they shouldn’t be. VPN technology allows a secure one-to-one connection between the eWON in the AWL machine and our dedicated VPN server at AWL. Only the AWL machine can be reached via this connection; the rest of your network remains inaccessible, even to AWL! Strong encryption and firewalls effectively prevent anyone from misusing the VPN connection.
Several methods of establishing a connection are available. In this case, the eWON auto-connects to the AWL network to open a VPN Tunnel. There is no breach of privacy of the customer’s network, the network does not have to be opened up for incoming connections from the internet and only the specific machine and the specific VPN server at AWL can “talk” to each other.

This solution also requires less configuration effort for customer’s system management and is easier to implement within an organization because of its proven safety concept.
Remote diagnostics with AWL allows you to retain a high up time and quick maintenance support.

Benefits

• Fast response time due to open connection. AWL checks this connection continuously. If there is a problems we solve it immediately so that it doesn’t interfere when there is a service issue.
• Multidisciplinary capabilities via one line; the robot specialist, plc programmer and the welding specialist are able to make an accurate and rapid diagnosis simultaneously.
• Maintenance free, no additional costs.
• Extensions to the machine can easily be added to the service.
• Safe connection
• Multiple machine capabilities to one eWON linking.
• In-house service department can also use the router capabilities for service and maintenance.
• Preparing for the future
• Increase of productivity due to higher up-time.

If you like more information about the remote diagnostics services by AWL, please contact our IT-department. Phone:   31 (0)341 411 811  31 (0)341 411 811 or send an e-mail to: info@awl.nl