Holger Gerdes, Falko Oldenburg, Michael Vergöhl, Ralf Bandorf, Christoph Herrmann, Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, Braunschweig, Germany
Model- and data-driven process simulation is becoming increasingly important in surface technology due to the growing demand for precision, reproducibility, efficiency, and sustainability. Gathering and processing relevant process and environmental data is crucial to achieve these goals. Devices such as coating systems, analytical equipment, and environmental sensors generate valuable information that should be digitized and made available for training models and conducting further investigations.
This presentation introduces an approach for data handling in surface technology using open-source software projects. Various data interfaces like OPC-UA, mqtt, and webpage-interfaces are utilized and the data is stored in relational and time-oriented databases. Human operators can also enrich the data using spreadsheet programs. The visualization is done through dashboards. A PECVD process is used to demonstrate the data flow, where process parameters are documented by the plant and an optical emission spectrometer monitors the process/plasma in parallel. Analyzing the correlated data from different units over time provides insights into process stability and reproducibility.