Bühler Simulation Community
The Simulation Community was launched at Bühler two years ago. It started with the idea of transferring knowledge, collaboration, skills development, innovation, and resource optimization across divisions to build a vibrant community that solves problems and drives the company's success through the power of simulation. The Simulation Community has grown to 115 members and has gathered valuable knowledge in more than 60 simulation projects and successfully transferred it to other areas of the company.
Stefanie Heyn, March 2024
Simulations immerse you in a world full of data and figures. A simulation imitates real processes or systems with the use of models. With the support of various parameters, essential characteristics and conditions of reality can be simulated, and the optimum solution found.
At Bühler, there are only a handful of employees who work with simulations on a daily basis. In the Corporate Technology department, three employees are involved in cross-divisional simulations of systems and processes to ensure a decisive competitive advantage for Bühler. Richard Vonlanthen, Principal Simulation Engineer, and Beat Eberle, Principal Simulation Engineer at Die Casting, also represent Bühler in an external simulation community involving nine Swiss companies.
This exchange led Richard and Clement Zemerli, Senior Simulation Engineer, to start the Simulation Community within Bühler in March 2022. “The idea is for regular and occasional users of the simulation software to inspire each other,” explains Clement. At first, the group consisted of ten participants, but rapidly grew in popularity. The community now has 115 participants from all over the world. Every six weeks, an exchange takes place on a pre-defined topic. Members can then take part in the sessions depending on their interests.
“Numerical simulation allows us to predict the behavior of physical parameters such as temperature or flow velocities at machine locations. Various process parameters, including extreme conditions such as a dust explosion, can be simulated. Compared to measurements that are not available, this is an advantage,” explains Clement.
Understanding the processes as well as possible makes the difference in competition.
Clement Zemerli,
Senior Simulation Engineer & CT Simulation Technology
Simulation experts usually come into play when a recurring defect occurs in a customer’s system and during the development of new products. The earlier simulations are used in a project, the lower the probability of defects affecting the customer’s processes. In addition, time, resources and money can be saved in the development process if simulations are used before prototypes are built. “If the machine has been designed with the help of simulations, it will withstand stresses longer and better, which in turn is very sustainable,” says Clement.
“Since new product development involves many steps and potential pitfalls, simulation helps me choose from a variety of potential concepts in the concept phase,” says Bhavesh Naik, Team Manager R&D Mechanical at Grain Quality in Bangalore. “R&D projects require collaboration between professionals from different fields. Effective collaboration with simulation experts is crucial for successful results. Simulation helps in the design of machines, for example, to determine the optimum grinding capacity and flow constraints in the processes. The profit margin depends on the quality of the grains.”
Up to the beginning of this century, there were only a few experts who were able to carry out simulations. As technology has developed, more engineers now have access to this technology. Corporate Technology supports all these employees across all divisions. Different cultures, knowledge, and experience prevail in the individual business units, so there is enormous potential for mutual exchange.
“You simulate something in your business unit and find out what the other people are working on. Who knows, maybe someone in China has the same problem and you can exchange ideas. That's something that was missing until now,” says Clement, explaining why the Simulation Community was founded. This collaboration is also particularly interesting for employees who only simulate a few times a year. “We can support and improve the simulations of these employees,” says Clement.
All members have access to a dedicated SharePoint server where they can share their findings with others. The most popular topic is discussed every six weeks. Usually around 40 participants attend when new methods are presented or strategic approaches are discussed. A challenge is the standardization of processes and documentation of data, which leads to greater efficiency and effectiveness. At a workshop on Simsscale, a cloud-based simulation software from Bühler, Clement was astonished that over 70 people attended. This shows the great demand for further training in this area.
In the meantime, new workshops on the topic have been offered due to this high interest. Many problems have already been solved with the help of the community, Bhavesh explains: “The DRHK Huller had problems with belt failures in the Brazilian market. The Huller was being operated with an overcapacity of 7 TPH paddy, which was what the market needed. We solved the problem remotely by simulating the Brazilian conditions, analyzing and developing alternative solutions and successfully conducting trials on site.”
Using simulations, we can make a contribution to increased sustainability and build high-quality systems. Synergies within Bühler are exploited through the exchange of ideas within the community, which have a positive impact on technological development and give us an innovative edge.
The first annual meeting for the simulation community took place in October 2023. For more information check out the B-World News.
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