FEATURE DRIVES & CONTROLS Supporting UK OEMs
The UK OEM sector is keen to expand and improve its international competitiveness, and government officials are equally keen as this will help to rebalance the national economy away from an over reliance on financial services. Jon Sumner, OEM solutions manager for Mitsubishi Electric, claims that there are some vital issues to address in order to achieve for success
B
ack in 2008, when the banks collapsed and many of the city
institutions ground to a halt, it became painfully apparent just how dependent Britain was on the financial sector. Almost immediately, manufacturing with machine builders and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) was called upon to help drive recovery and become the new backbone of the economy. Naturally, this could not happen
overnight - the whole industry could not simply double or quadruple its activity levels. However, there is a new found respect for engineers and what they do. OEMs are steadily building up their businesses and planning for long term strategic developments. One of the key things they are doing is
looking increasingly to overseas markets. This can be in the well established industrialised countries of western Europe and north America, but it can also mean trying to win business in the developing markets of the far east, central and eastern Europe, South America and the Indian subcontinent, where cultural differences and fast changing conditions can prove difficult, but the potential rewards can be great. Many end users will want to use a local
or national OEM if they can - only selecting an overseas supplier if they offer something the locals cannot. Therefore, for some UK OEMs this means leaving their comfort zone of tried and trusted engineering solutions and re-engineering their designs, using new high tech systems based on robots, precision motion and high performance control systems.
SUPPORT IS OUT THERE Naturally, they need support through this process, a fact that Mitsubishi fully appreciates and has addressed for many years through a dedicated OEM team. The team members are not simply product sales engineers but are well versed in the application of multiple advanced automation technologies. They are also acutely aware of the extra pressures of satisfying export orders and have many approaches for addressing
S18 MARCH 2014 | DRIVES & CONTROLS
potential issues. Importantly, Mitsubishi Electric owns
its technologies, right down to the core electronic components, so can guarantee continuity in the medium and long term. Mitsubishi Electric also operate a network of partner companies called the e-F@ctory Alliance, in which it develops relationships with companies that provide complementary products, services or expertise. Each OEM is viewed as unique and the
company works with them to develop bespoke solutions for individual projects. However, the company noticed that there are always general trends that several OEMs will be following to a greater or lesser extent, such as the value re- engineering techniques mentioned earlier. OEMs know that their customers will
often ask for, “a machine, just like the last one.” This is fine on an order by order basis but over the longer term, opportunities for development and improved productivity are not being realised. It’s important to enthuse OEMs about robotics, motion control and other technologies and to support them as they suggest new possibilities to the end users. However, it is increasingly common in the global arena that an OEM gets a brief from a potential customer which can only be met by the use of state of the art technologies. The result is a radical new
Above: as end users often want a machine that can speed up the production rate, Mitsubishi can help OEMs identify the best technologies for each situation
machine design and a step change in performance expectations.
BRIEF EXAMPLES Usually, the brief is expressed as a productivity target rather than as a requirement to use a certain technology. Mitsubishi can help OEMs identify the best technologies for each situation. Some recent examples are included here. End users often want a machine that
can speed up the production rate. Perhaps the most obvious solutions here are to either use multiple production cells or to speed up existing procedures. However, another solution is to redesign the production procedures so that they are fully automatic - taking human operatives out of the equation also does away with meal breaks, comfort breaks and other stoppages, allows the use of longer shifts and often improves quality and consistency. Robots prove ideal for complex tasks,
being able to maintain a high rate of production over extended periods, without loss of concentration on the quality issues. They are equally at home with simple tasks and while a robot solution may seem like overkill, financial calculations will prove that the investment is paid back in improved productivity. Another enabling technology is motion control. Its use in electronics, high speed assembly, sortation, etc, is well known, but it has many other uses too - for instance a Mitsubishi customer has used high performance servo motors in a conveyor system, instead of the usual induction motors. In another project, precision motion was used to accurately dispense a glutinous batter- like liquid in exact quantities and without any waste. The UK OEM market has become much
more adventurous in recent years - more willing to consider new technologies, more willing to work overseas and more willing to push boundaries.
Mitsubishi Electric
gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en T: 01707 288 769
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