Suppliers of machine software and related controls are developing or fine-tuning products to meet this need, facilitating production in lights-out and lights-dim environments.
IQMS
IQMS, a specialist in software for enterprise- resource-planning (ERP) and manufacturing- execution systems (MES), was acquired late last year by software giant Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, a move that will eventually lead to synergies in product development for both companies. (As part of the deal, IQMS is being renamed Delmiaworks.)
Next month, IQMS plans to introduce an updated version of its EnterpriseIQ software. The new version will include enhancements in machine monitoring, scheduling and accounting, among other functions. The software already includes several dozen modules that allow users to track every aspect of production, including machine monitoring, as well as functions like accounting and finance.
“Real-time monitoring is an on-ramp to greater productivity,” IQMS principal Louis Columbus said. “Real-time monitoring is increasing, and there are many factors driving it, lights-out manufacturing being one.”
Columbus did not provide details about the software upgrades ahead of a formal announcement. Instead, he pointed to an IQMS customer, Eldon James Corp. of Denver, which significantly improved the productivity of its extruded tubing and molded connector business and was able to transition to lights-out manufacturing with the company’s integrated MES software. The software replaced siloed versions that couldn’t compete with growing data demands or provide the process monitoring Eldon required as it expanded its line to 6,000 products and broadened its overseas sales.
Machine monitoring allowed Eldon to configure its 27 injection machines for lights-out manufacturing, a major competitive boost.
“Real-time monitoring unraveled the mysteries that Eldon James needed [to solve in order] to grow,” Columbus said. “They gained the insight to go to lights-out manufacturing when they saw they didn’t need everyone on deck to babysit the machines.”
RJG
As a specialist in injection molding software and related process technologies, RJG has a clear perspective on the impact that lights-out manufacturing is having on North American molders. “We have a lot of customers moving to lights-out manufacturing now,” said Dan Clark, national sales manager for the U.S. and Canada. “With lights-out manufacturing, they can compete with the labor costs of other countries.”
RJG plans to promote lights-out capabilities with a new device called CoPilot, which will be released on a limited basis as soon as this month and be fully available around September. The system has been in beta and alpha testing for 18 months. CoPilot is a machine interface that includes software and hardware technologies. Using sensors in molds, primary machines and auxiliary equipment, it monitors equipment operations and controls processing.
CoPilot, which has been developed with input from machine makers and molders, will shut a line down and transmit alerts if problems develop that it cannot manage.
CoPilot sensors transmit a broad range of performance and quality data each process cycle. The data load will be large enough that molders will need their own servers or cloud storage.
The interface has advantages over RJG’s legacy eDart system, engineering specialist Bob Reese said. These include greater functionality. CoPilot also will be far more expandable than eDart, which will allow molders to effectively customize units for their needs, by adding only the modules they want. Also, users will be able to download software updates as often as every quarter.
CoPilot also will, importantly, be more user-friendly than eDart, which Reese said was developed with engineers in mind. CoPilot will present graphics that most personnel readily understand.
The new interface will be cost-competitive with eDart, Clark said, and users with eDart can upgrade to CoPilot.
Pat Toensmeier, correspondent
Contact:
IQMS,
Paso Robles, Calif., 805-227-1122, www.iqms.com
RJG Inc.,
Traverse City, Mich., 231-947-3111, www.rjginc.com
