C-BEYOND

IT Infrastructure and Architecture

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Coperion’s digital services run on a secure and state-of-the-art IT-architecture

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Our Secure Gateway to Productivity

C-BEYOND’s hardened IT architecture

Coperion’s mission is to equip the extrusion and compounding sector with the most reliable and secure platform for digital services. We understand the importance of safeguarding your recipes and company data. Therefore, we have developed a dedicated IT infrastructure that leverages the full power of digital production without compromising on data security. The cornerstone is a hardened two-tier IT architecture that minimizes connections to the internet. The concept is certified yearly according to ISO 27001:2013. All data are stored on German servers in Frankfurt, according to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The bottom line: C-BEYOND is the compounding and extrusion industry’s secure digital gateway to digitally enhanced plant operation!

Key Components of C-BEYOND'S IT architecture

Sensitive production data stays where it belongs

Every digital factory application depends on data to add value to the plant’s operation processes. An advantage of Coperion’s service platform C-BEYOND is that it does not require access to sensitive company data or product recipes for analytics or tracking. Instead, all of its applications are designed to give maximum value with the lowest possible exposure of data. Within C-BEYOND, for OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) analytics, the only data required are the order specifications and the target throughputs of the feeders. To fit the big variety of our customer’s needs, some of the C-BEYOND modules are highly customizable and include features such as downtime tracking and OEE calculations. Nevertheless, the customer can always see and control which data is collected and used for the functions in C-BEYOND.

Smart two-tier connectivity layout

The C-BEYOND concept enables secure operation and easy integration of systems into internal networks in an IoT environment. Coperion recommends installing an additional machine network dedicated to communication between machines and the gateway to the internet, isolated from the company network. A special two-tier hardware concept – with one gateway for a VPN connection to the internet and another for internal data acquisition within the machines – protects the transmission of sensitive production data to the C-BEYOND online platform against unauthorized access. Whereas the ServiceBox CSB4.0 is used for data acquisition in each individual machine, another digital box then connects all connected machines in a plant to the Industry 4.0 platform C-BEYOND. All Data communication between the CSB4.0 and the C-BEYOND platform is encrypted with a 2048bit TLS encryption Cipher to prevent third parties from intercepting data. In smaller setups, machines can also be connected directly to the online platform via the CSB4.0 box. But the precise method doesn’t matter – once connected to C-BEYOND, users get access to various valued-added services such as remote servicing and smart maintenance regimes. All of the hardware devices mentioned are either already available at the factory or can be retrofitted easily and quickly.

Configuration and service support

Coperion’s experts will do the C-BEYOND system setup for the configuration of features as well as data connections to the C-BEYOND platform or between the machines. They will support customers local IT team to integration into the existing network structure.

After the initial setup, customer staff will fully control the system administration and control data access. The customer can always see which data are being collected. Many of the features, such as “downtime tracking” and “OEE calculation”, are customizable. Coperion’s service team is just a call away to support customers when setting up new features or when there are technical issues.