This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Andy Joseph SOFTWARE UPDATE NEWS ABOUT DIGITAL MANUFACTURING TOOLS AND SOFTWARE


Software Powers Productivity for Automotive Presses


s


Manufacturing Engineering: How can software help manufacturers improve overall productivity? Joseph: Software can make a huge impact in productivity whenever workers can multitask. For example, I remember a day when personal computers could do only one thing at a time. Windows fundamentally changed how people work by allowing them to multitask among several applications. An operator using a Promess press workstation is able to safely and effi ciently multitask between part loading, unload- ing, inspection, and operating other equipment, by relying on the smarts built into Promess software. Contrast this with a manual press where the operator must give sole attention to what’s happening throughout the whole assembly process, including watching for misalignment and attempting to ‘feel’ if a good part is being made. ME: Describe the latest software additions from your


company. Joseph: Last year we introduced the UltraPRO soft-


ware suite, which is our third-generation software that runs our systems. UltraPRO provides a unifi ed software for all Promess systems, ranging from traditional Force/Position


monitoring, assembly presses, to complex multiaxis func- tional part testing. The centerpiece is our new controller hardware that runs the UltraPRO controller software. The controller connects the entire Promess system, including sensor preamplifi ers and servodrives, through a real-time net- work using standard Ethernet cabling. The suite has a new HMI and editing software that runs on Windows, allowing a


26 AdvancedManufacturing.org | April 2016


person to see what’s happening in the system, to manually control the system, confi gure the system, and write pro- grams. The entire suite was built from the ground up using an Agile software development approach with an emphasis toward good user experience design. ME: How does software give your automotive customers an edge in helping improve quality control, long-term reliabil- ity, or other factors? Joseph: The automotive industry is trending away from large, expensive, complicated assembly lines and toward smaller cell-oriented processes that are more agile and scal- able. Because our presses have built-in sensing, they can measure and verify the part as its being made, reducing the need for additional quality checks after the part is assembled. The measurement data can be sent to other quality systems such as Q-DAS or QualityWorx using the Promess Data Ser- vice. Furthermore, our press systems excel at rapid change- over to different parts. They can be programmed to support hundreds of part programs and each program supports unlimited variation through the use of modifi able parameters, which can be updated through PLC logic or operator entry.


“Good software design should create a safe environment for humans to make mistakes, yet protect against their impact.”


ME: What key software features, such as connectivity, ease of use, multitasking or other factors, can help users ensure success? Joseph: One of my favorite quotes is from Andrew Grove, the former CEO of Intel Corporation: ‘Make misteaks [sic] faster.’ Good software design should create a safe environ- ment for humans to make mistakes yet protect against their


Director, Software Development Promess Inc. (Brighton, MI) www.promessinc.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186