Industry Focus Metal Products manufacturing operations
between the MES and ERP software has allowed Legnano Teknoelectric Company to achieve a better quantifi- cation of actual costs of materials, line performance and productivity for each order, even during preliminary com- missioning. Using FactoryTalk Production Centre software, the com- pany’s team entered the ‘analytics accounting era’. “We need to know how much a single piece, core, or clamp costs before putting it into pro- duction,” Bertelli explained. For Legnano Teknoelectric Company, FactoryTalk ProductionCentre software functionalities translated to an increased visibility of line processes, down to every ounce (kilo) of processed steel in each plant. “Using the MES, we monitor actual material stock flows for each production site and are able to streamline raw materials stocks. Implementing this MES solution has made us aware of hidden costs, which had been translating into lost profits,” Bertelli added.
An MES system has allowed Legnano Teknoelectric Company to take advantage of automatic tracking
of semi-finished materials stocked in semi-finished warehouses, resulting in optimised management of on-site warehouses and complete visibility of shipments and stocks.
“By introducing FactoryTalk ProductionCentre software, our finance department obtains a more detailed and real time knowledge of line production processes,” Bertelli added. “The advantage of relying on MES software is we have real time, specific information, being collected directly from each line, or from a single machine. This specific informa-
tion supports users at all levels to make more strategic decisions.” The MES solution helped Legnano
Teknoelectric Company minimise potential re-works and improve qual- ity finished products through the rein- forcement of a quality checks driven system. The company is also benefit- ing from a better management of pro- duction plans and an improved traceability of semi-finished stocks. The company will also be extending the FactoryTalk ProductionCentre MES project to its Dubai site. “The unified production model of this MES software can provide access to virtually all plant data sources from any location.” The tight integration between FactoryTalk ProductionCentre MES and the other software tools allows Legnano Teknoelectric Company to minimise vertical software applica- tions and interfaces, leading to a grad- ual optimisation and standardisation of IT platforms.
“IT and electronics should sim- plify daily business operations,” Bertelli concluded. “They should not make them more difficult. The Rockwell Automation solution defi- nitely met our needs.”
Advertisement Feature Machine Vision Rockwell Automation
www.ra.rockwell.com T: 0870 242 5004
Enter 201 Machine vision added to services portfolio
Earlier in 2013, Optima Control Solutions announced the addition of machine vision to its services. Michael Hill, managing director of Optima, explains
technology coupled with Optima’s control system engineering ability, means the company can offer clients a single source solution provider with an breadth of application knowledge. Machine vision has a broad scope of applications for manufacturers. These include:
M
ichael Hill forecasts strong growth in the adoption of vision technologies as the leading man- ufacturers continue to introduce new products to the market and meet wider and more demanding applications. Vision technology offers the obvi- ous advantage of reliability in repeti- tive manual inspection tasks. The application skills for vision are com- plex and highly specialist, and by possessing the skills to apply the
Automation SEPTEMBER 2013
Defect elimination: Vision is used to detect and eliminate production defects before further processing is applied. This ensures high product quality and reduces production costs. Assembly verification: Machine vision is a very accurate measurement tool. It determines object dimensions precisely to the millimetre, again reducing the number of defect or wasted products. Process Automation: Guiding indus- trial robots becomes easier with vision technologies. ‘Teaching’ a robot to per- form a particular task is a time consum- ing job. Vision allows for real time adjustments of a robot’s position, making
Left: vision
technology offers the advantage of reliability in
repetitive manual inspection tasks
the production process more efficient. Tracking and identification of
parts: Efficiency improvements depend on the ability to track parts and products. Tracking is also becom- ing part of legislation rules such as the FDA validation of processes. Optima offers the following machine vision services - an initial survey to determine the environment for installa- tion and to obtain samples; specification document - clarification of pass/fail crite- ria; technical evaluation to determine if the project is feasible; design of the vision system, using the correct hard- ware/software/lighting etc; installation and commissioning - a turnkey approach; service and support. Hill concluded, “As Optima continues to grow vision will play an integral part in our business development. By open- ing up new markets with new applica- tions we will strengthen our position in the field of systems integration.”
Optima Control Solutions
www.optimacs.com T: 01254 272 829
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