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"When we deployed our first transformation sensor in the forge as part of our technology monitoring, it lasted a few hours," Jan Otoupalík recalls the beginnings of sensor development. The 4dot team, led by the two founders, gradually switched to a semi-conductor measuring element, and developed a pre-stressed housing. Thus they have created a sensor 30 times more sensitive than conventional foil strain gauges. The patent obtained proves the advancement of the state of the art on a global scale. In the same year, the sensor won the Gold Medal at the International Engineering Fair in Brno, Czech Republic.
Between 2018 and 2021, 4dot forgot its values: environmental protection, reducing material consumption, creating simple solutions. It was necessary to go back to product development and to work with the customer like with a partner in creating a sustainable industry.
Jan Otoupalík recalls the most significant change: "At the turn of 2020 and 2021, I discovered cultural capital. It had been in our region and family for generations. Suddenly there was a source of know-how on how to build a product, how to direct the business and its marketing, and how to build an independent company."
For years, technical diagnostics had been limited to machines with minimal noise, i.e. where the process signal does not mix with the machine condition signal. Both founders, Josef Burian and Jan Otoupalík, wanted a product with global potential. Therefore they focused on machines where noise plays an important role, such as forming and grinding machines. Consequently, signal processing had to be developed to separate the process signal from the machine signal. The solution is simultaneous signal processing from multiple sensors, i.e. the MUSA analysis. The effect is the same as looking with one eye first and then with both eyes. Both eyes give you depth.
''In retrospect, we were very successful in the beginning, but we thought that we were doing a lot of things wrong,'' Jan Otoupalík recalls. Many new people were coming in who were supposed to develop the company, to continue what the founders had started – just better and more efficiently. In reality, however, the company was only losing its values.
Every organization needs a day from which its history is written. In 4dot we call it the Day of Non-founding. Our founders always used to have many ideas, most of which resulted in them going out into the world.
Before Easter 2015, Jan Otoupalík had already known that the development of diagnostics in ZKL had been coming to an end. So, he and Josef arranged to go for a green-colored Easter beer on the so-called Green Thursday (Maundy Thursday). Due to unexpected obligations, they did not meet until the evening, and there was no opportunity to discuss anything anymore. They met again a few days later and reached an arrangement. To this day we have not managed to find out which day it was. And so we have been writing our history since Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2015.
After graduation in 2014, Josef Burian gained experience at Honeywell. In a year he switched to PBS Turbo and then moved right on to build 4dot.
In 2012, Jan Otoupalík went on Erasmus to the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He studied signal processing. Chalmers is, however, also one of the leading universities in the field of sustainable development. Jan studied it too, and 4dot makes use of this knowledge in the creation of its products.
Jan Otoupalík joined the ZKL Group where he was engaged in research and development of bearing diagnostics. ZKL Brno is a manufacturer of roller bearings which are most often used in slow-running applications. This predetermined Jan’s technical specialization.
On September 1, Josef Burian and Jan Otoupalík started going to the same class in high school. Their friendship began with collaboration in Mathematics and Physics classes. Soon they would attend parties in the neighborhood together. After graduation they entered the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology where their study paths gradually split up. Josef studied Solid Mechanics, whereas Jan studied Mechatronics.
In the 1960s, Zetor was one of the Czechoslovak companies that had a competitive product for Western markets. Countless times Jan Otoupalík would hear from his grandfather, the Economic Deputy at Zetor in Brno until 1968, about how Zetor developed, produced and, most importantly, sold tractors all over the world. Zetor's tractor development and sales practices lead 4dot out of the impasse in 2021.
The young Czechoslovakia began to arm itself, and the great-grandfather of our founder Jan Otoupalík left business and returned to the Brno-based Zbrojovka (Armory) factory where he had worked before the Great Depression. In doing so, he determined the values that would be passed down in the family for generations and that gave impetus to the creation of 4dot. Already the founders of Zbrojovka in 1918 had known that an independent state needed industry of its own.
From the beginning, it has been 4dot's goal to create a product with a positive impact on the environment. The Green Deal did not exist in 2015, and the founders Josef Burian and Jan Otoupalík were creating the first strategy. Technical diagnostics that would extend the lifespan and maximize the use of machines and machine components was the first choice. Jan adds: "When we gave 4dot a more solid outline, a product category was created to reduce material and energy consumption." This category is Technology Monitoring which monitors process stability, increases accuracy, and reduces scrap. This reduces CO2 production. Technology monitoring meets the objectives of 4dot and the Green Deal as well as the industry's need to reduce costs. The technology is now ready for massive deployment in the industry.
Build a sustainable industry with us! We are ready.
Technical diagnostics respond to the industry's need to make efficient use of the resources accumulated in machinery. For example, it increases the availability of machines. And it was also the beginning of 4dot. The first specialization was the demanding segment of slow-running bearings. The low speeds required sophisticated signal processing such as the MUSA analyses. From slow-running bearings, the way to the diagnosis of non-rotating machines was short.
The first deployment of a non-rotating part was in a press tool at Škoda Auto. The frame of the press under the tool deforms plastically, which increases the stress in the fixture. The problem is that the fixture can break in 2 or even 6 months. To prolong the lifespan, technology has been developed that allows flexible control over press frame repairs.
Increase machine availability and reduce worker stress with 4dot technology!
The internal structure is tested in a minimal range and a destructive manner. This causes a high dispersion of the internal structure, which is compensated by more robust, i.e. heavier components. This applies to both forming and machining.
The founders of 4dot, Josef Burian and Jan Otoupalík, have focused on the contact between the tool and the product. Just as metrology ensures the correct dimensions, technology monitoring ensures the correct internal structure, i.e. identical mechanical properties of individual products. For example, there may be unplanned tool movements in production, resulting in different internal structures of the parts. Process evaluation sensors allow for the machine to be interfered with and adjusted, so the product parameters are in a much lower tolerance range.
Technology monitoring is the metrology of the 21st century. Reduce material consumption with us!
Quantification of the benefits is necessary to assess the return on investment. That is why the founder of 4dot, Jan Otoupalík, has divided the benefits into two groups. The first group includes quantified benefits which can be, for example, savings in materials, tools or labor. The second group includes unquantified benefits. Even in the same type of machine, the division can be different for each application.
The calculation of the return is based on quantified benefits; their parameters are commonly monitored in companies and there is no need to introduce anything new. Unquantified benefits are most often determined by a manager's qualified estimate as a multiple of the quantified benefits.
Common quantified benefits:
Common unquantified benefits:
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Sheet metal forming requires special precision tools. An extended tool life is a quantified benefit. Technology monitoring monitors the tool for overloading or damage. Early detection of these conditions allows the machine to stop and repair the tool in a targeted manner. This reduces accidents and saves tools. The quantified tool-related savings are sufficient to demonstrate a return on investment. The reduced number of non-conforming products, reduced machine set-up times and reduced worker stress are then perceived as unquantified benefits.
Another example is grinding where the increase in quality can be a quantified benefit. Reduced bearing life due to insufficient material removal is also related to common quantified benefits.
It is not just the 4dot team, but also our customers' teams that play a key role in delivering benefits. For those working in the industry, our technology is a tool to create new standards. A design engineer can reduce the weight of a component by prescribing technology monitoring. A technologist has insight in the process and can reduce times and allowances. Quality assurance specialists have data on every piece from technology monitoring. Maintenance specialists can look inside the machine using technical diagnostics data and make targeted repairs long before a machine failure puts their colleagues from Production at risk.
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The monitoring unit is the brain of the monitoring system. Its purpose is to collect, process and evaluate data. Today we have purchased the hardware for the monitoring unit from the manufacturer NI based in the United States; the software is the outcome of our own research and development. In 2016, the unit was used to collect data and send it to the server. It was sufficient for technical diagnostics, but not for technology monitoring. Therefore, 4dot engineers have gradually added data processing and evaluation, beacon outputs, and communication with the display panel since 2017. This solution allows the use of one hardware and software for a variety of applications.
Sensors are the heart of the monitoring system. The data they collect are its driving force. To monitor the condition of the bearings, we needed vibration, temperature and rotational speed sensors. This was the basis for the company to start from. For technology monitoring we needed more types of sensors, and at the same time higher durability and accuracy of the sensors. We have gradually added transformation, distance and pressure sensors. For the most demanding applications where sensors are placed inside tools we have developed our own transformation and vibration sensors. Our design of the vibration sensor is patented.
We are prepared to install sensors into the most demanding environments.
The display panel is the face of the monitoring system. During our cooperation in the South Moravian Region, we encountered the lack of a user interface. We needed the operator to be able to interact live with the monitoring system. This laid the foundations for technology monitoring as offered by us today. In technology monitoring, the display panel is the main communication interface. For technical diagnostics, both an online application and a display panel can be used.
The beacon and interconnection are the arms and legs of the monitoring system: they can shut down the machine, transmit information and send a signal of what is happening. Let us consider the simplest case of exceeding the limit force. The system responds by sending out a "stop" signal within milliseconds. At the same time, the system turns on the red light on the beacon. The force waveform and all information are shown on the display panel. A smaller amount of information goes into the IDA information system and web application where the foreman, the maintenance specialists and the technologist can access it immediately.
The 4dot servers are the subconsciousness of the monitoring system. They can go unnoticed for a long time, but they can point you in the right direction when there is a problem. 4dot’s servers started to develop shortly after the company had been founded, gradually becoming a comprehensive tool for data processing and interpretation. Because servers have "unlimited" computing power compared to the unit, the most complex analyses run on them.
Just as there are different variants of mobile services, there are different levels of 4dot services. These reflect the requirements of individual machines and production types.
The Edge option is like a prepaid card – everything needs to be arranged in advance. When a problem occurs, the user has access to data processed directly on the unit or sent to the company's information system. Engineering services can always be used, but the unit is not connected to the 4dot servers, so there is only a small amount of data to analyze.
The RAW variant is like a plan without free minutes. You have quick access to utility services, but you are looking at an hourly rate. In this situation, the unit sends the data to the 4dot servers where it is stored and processed. The user has access to the web application at all times. When a problem arises, extended technical support is available. It can be provided instantly – the RAW data is ready for analysis on the 4dot servers. Jan Otoupalík adds: "RAW data analysis is kind of like time travel. If you find after a year that you need to analyze another problem, we run the analysis on 4dot servers, and you can evaluate the data in retrospective."
The Engineering variant is like a standard plan with plenty of free minutes. All the advantages of the RAW variant are included in this variant too. If a problem occurs, the user automatically receives an e-mail notification. 4dot technicians automatically perform a detailed analysis and make recommendations for the machine.
The Proactive variant is similar to the unlimited plan. The 4dot technicians and the user's technicians form one team to take care of the machine and of production. Analyses and limits are checked upon on an ongoing basis. When a problem occurs, the user receives the full service under the Engineering option, including an analysis of the cause of the problem. Then they can take the necessary measures to limit the recurrence of the problem.
Deploy this option on key machines the failure of which (or the degradation in their production quality) would limit the operation of the entire plant.
Extended technical support can be understood as engineering activities provided by 4dot that are beyond the scope of the service option provided. This is its business definition, but in what kind of a situation does extended technical support have your back?
When we select modules with the machine user, we base the selection on the probability of the problem occurrence and the cost of solving the problem. Only rarely are the machines equipped with all available modules. The modules offered reflect the most common and painful machine and production problems. So, there may be a problem for which the machine does not have the necessary module. In this case, nothing is easier than contacting 4dot technicians and describing the situation to them. RAW data can very often be processed to guide the user to find the cause of the problem. If our engineers see potential in signal processing, they will most likely employ simultaneous signal processing using the MUSA analyses. These give us the best insight into the machine and into the contact between the tool and the product.
If there is a non-standard problem with your machine, share it with our technicians. They may already know the solution, they just have not created a module for it yet. We are here so that machines are able to produce.