How to use QuatroPBC
From a technical perspective, the QuatroPBC industrial vision system is a measurement and analytics tool. But from a client's perspective, it offers a wide variety of functions and delivers multiple benefits in factory operations. Understanding how to use this device is essential, as different usage methods unlock different benefits. In this guide, we will cover all recommended use cases that provide the best user experience.
1. Moulding Monitoring
Options set:
- QuatroPBC/Wet Side
- QuatroPlus subscription
- Wet side scales for the board connection
- Wet side garbage board dumper connection
- Wet side emergency stop connection
How to Use and Who Benefits:
- Plant operators can monitor all product quality characteristics in real-time, allowing them to react quickly and make improvements. Measurements include height map, density, all types of defects, and color stability. Manual measurements are no longer needed.
- Plant operators will see the amount of good product produced, enabling them to match the exact quantity specified in the production order. When a production order is loaded at the beginning of the batch, the system will automatically track progress with a status bar.
- Plant operators no longer need to manually dump boards. The system uses plant-specific rules to automatically dispose of boards with concrete garbage or high percentage of defective products. It gives opportunity to recycle wet concrete and minimizing sorting needs at the dry side.
- Plant operators don't need to be on duty in front of the factory control screen. Production stops automatically if a large number of parameters fall outside acceptable limits.
- Plant managers will have access to both real-time factory conditions and comprehensive production statistics and equipment efficiency data. Through remote access and detailed analytics, they can maintain factory discipline while identifying opportunities to increase productivity and reduce losses.
In short, we've transformed the operator's role from a "nervous on-duty factory supervisor" into a "calm analyst and factory inspector". This usage method is logically the first stage of factory automation and provides substantial data. The only reason to choose this approach instead of use case "2. Moulding Monitoring and Sorting Targeting" is when RFID tracking implementation poses challenges—either due to insufficient resources for tag installation or the presence of metal boards. In all other cases, it is better to immediately jump to the 2nd approach in usage.
2. Moulding Monitoring and Sorting Targeting
Options set:
- QuatroPBC/Wet Side
- QuatroPlus subscription
- Wet side scales for the board connection
- Wet side garbage board dumper connection
- Wet side emergency stop connection
- RfId tracking
- Dry side TV screen
- Dry side garbage board dumper connection
- Dry side emergency stop connection
How to Use and Who Benefits:
All benefits from section 1, plus:
- Sorters at the dry side receive clear instructions through the TV screen, eliminating the need for visual defect inspection.
- Sorters at the dry side don't need to maintain constant supervision. The screen will display predicted time to action, and the unloading conveyor stops automatically when intervention is required.
- Sorters at the dry side no longer need to manually dump boards. The system uses plant-specific rules to automatically dispose of boards with concrete waste or a high percentage of defective products. This automation allows the dry side to operate in automatic mode most of the time.
- Quality control managers can review and adjust system predictions offline while products are in the curing chamber. Just 4 hours of inspection time is sufficient to verify 24 hours of factory production, ensuring complete accuracy in quality decisions.
Using this approach, both roles involved in the current production process (operators and sorters) will experience significantly easier workflows. The need for constant attention will decrease, reducing losses from human error. Additional analytical information from automatic measurements will provide better data for decision-making. According to our approach, this use case should be the starting point for all clients embarking on their full factory automation journey.
3. Moulding Monitoring and Automatic Sorting System
Options set:
- QuatroPBC/Wet Side
- QuatroPBC/Dry Side
- QuatroPlus subscription
- Wet side scales for the board connection
- Wet side garbage board dumper connection
- Wet side emergency stop connection
- RfId tracking
- Dry side sorting system connection
How to Use and Who Benefits:
All benefits from section 1, plus:
- Dry side sorting system performs all sorting operations automaticaly as directed by QuatroPBC/Dry Side. Additional systems are required to obtain the most accurate data, including curing chamber defects and product displacement etc.
- Quality control managers can review and adjust system predictions offline while products are in the curing chamber. Just 4 hours of inspection time is sufficient to verify 24 hours of factory production, ensuring complete accuracy in quality decisions.
This option provides the maximum achievable level of automation for concrete block plants today. Operator attention is no longer needed, as in case 1, and all sorting procedures are handled by the automated sorting system. While this mechanism is costly, it is already technically feasible.
To implement this case, there are two important features that are mandatory but not immediately obvious:
- An additional QuatroPBC/Dry Side device is needed because without human supervision, the robot must be directed using the most current data. Otherwise, accidents could occur and safety rules would not be fully implemented.
- Quality control managers must carefully configure settings based on product types and plant internal standards. Proper sorting and dumping without supervision requires thoroughly prepared data. Currently, no plants have this requirement fully implemented, as it's a new need created by this machinery. Therefore, the only implementation path is to assign a supervisor as Quality Control manager. The good news is that the time spent on this role will gradually decrease to just a couple of hours per week per plant.
4. Multipoint Monitoring and Targeting — The Inevitable Future
Options set:
- QuatroPBC - up to 3 per plant
- QuatroPlus subscription
- RfId tracking
- All treatment steps connectors
How to Use and Who Benefits:
All benefits from section 2, plus the ability to control all production steps.
In general, a concrete block production plant has several treatment steps: molding on the wet side, washing, curing, inline final treatment (coating, sandblasting, curling, etc.), and offline final treatment (edging, coating, sandblasting, curling, etc.). All significant steps is reasonable to equip by QuatroPBC computer vision system to control production process fully. We assume of this installation points:
Wet Side - already described,
Dry Side - reasonable to control the curing process, especially when there is inline treatment such as washing or other dry-side treatments before unloading.
Final Treatment - after offline processing, this step controls the quality of products with the highest added value.
A shared database collects information from all processing steps to guide sorters and control dumping and sorting mechanisms.
5. Sorting Targeting Only — Not Recommended
Possible Options set:
- QuatroPBC/Dry Side
- Dry side TV screen or
- Dry side sorting system connection
How to Use and Who Benefits:
- Dry side sorting system performs all sorting operations automatically as directed by QuatroPBC/Dry Side.
This is one of the industry's dreams in concrete block production—to simply install a dry-side sorting system and eliminate human involvement in this harsh and challenging task. While theoretically possible, the system's reliability in the first months of operation would be extremely low. The system cannot operate straight out of the box, as precise, product-specific rules must be configured first. While the exact implementation process remains uncertain, the Quality Control manager will definitely need to provide online supervision during operation.
While this approach is technically possible, it offers only one benefit: reduced labor costs through automated product sorting when using an autonomous sorting system. With just a TV screen installation, the benefit is even smaller—only lowering the skill requirements for sorters. All other production losses during molding remain unchanged. We do not recommend this approach as a starting point for plant automation, and we will not support it through QuatroPlus subscription even if requested by clients.
We believe that even if clients start their automation journey with this case, they will eventually implement case 3-4 by adding QuatroPBC/Wet Side later.
