Industry innovator CDE - a leading manufacturer of wet processing equipment - is redefining how the modern plant operates through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to boost productivity.

At bauma 2019 construction exhibition held in Germany in April,, CDE launched a new intelligent plant featuring the manufacturer’s pioneering next generation technology. The plant utilises advances in machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor and automate previously manual processes.

Enabling the plant to make smart decisions in real time, the plant can boost productivity by up to 40 per cent* with a payback period of under six months.

Tom Houston, director of CustomCare at CDE, says: “We are constantly striving for innovations to help customers maximise output with minimum effort.  Our new intelligent plant technology has created thinking plants that reduce downtime, maintenance and fixed costs while increasing yield and revenues for plant owners by almost half – and in some cases even more.”

Material overloading can cause considerable disruption to the running of a plant. Overloading can impact plant optimisation resulting in lower yields and the need for greater maintenance. CDE’s intelligent plant technology uses a series of belt-weighers to accurately establish the amount of material which enters the plant and determine the ratio between sand, aggregates and silt output.

If the plant is running at below optimal utilisation where weightings and output are unbalanced against set targets or failing to maximise on production capacity, the plant will respond to address the issue itself in real time by, for example, adjusting feed rates.

At the centre of the plant is OptiMax technology, the latest addition to CDE Core - an innovative range of technology solutions developed to give customers greater control of their plant. CORE uses automation and sensors to monitor and enhance productivity, minimise downtime, automate processes and lower operating costs while maximising profitability.

* Outcome from a beta testing customer in Europe.