shift.’ There’s historical reporting and charting available, so that you can tell if a particular part is run on different ma- chines, which machine has better performance? Is it based on machine time? Is it possibly based on a user that’s better trained?” As a general rule, historical performance data is available for a year, after which it’s archived, he adds. Costs for shop-floor data collection
A SUBSIDIARY OF
systems, which can be anywhere from $3000–$5000 per machine, can be a barrier to manufacturers implementing the systems, notes Mercurio, and as an alternative, SFA has been offering the Scy- tec hosted machine data collection, which the companies displayed at WESTEC earlier this year. The Scytec DataXchange can offer machine monitoring for as little as $45 a month, with no large upfront costs or long-term commitments, with the cloud-based data viewable anywhere from an Internet connection. The system requires no servers to be maintained by customers, Mercurio notes, and Scytec writes software add-ons to packages like Predator, and others, to handle the Web- based machine data collection. “Over the years, there’s always been a large amount of hurdles that shops say they have in implementing shop-floor data collection,” notes Josh Davids, Scytec Consulting president. “A lot of people want data collection and they’re very hesitant. For a lot of smaller companies, and even larger operations, installing database servers and other requirements are daunting.” With Scytec’s cloud-based system, in-
formation is available through the Internet and stored in a data center along with the Web servers, so a customer needs to have only one PC to access key manufacturing data, Davids says. “It’s very straightfor- ward,” he says. “With some of the newer CNC machines with MTConnect, we can set it up without even going there.”
The Scytec solution includes the company’s custom-built real-time dashboards for viewing shop-floor data, he adds. The system uses either MTConnect, Fanuc Focas, hardware and manual methods for collecting manufacturing data, which
New MC Milling models bolster a solid manufacturing arsenal.
From MC Machinery—the single-source partner with a strong chain of manufacturing technologies—comes a new machining solution: The MC Milling Diamond Cut series. Backed by the trusted, expansive Mitsubishi support network, these five new milling models offer superior standard features—including hand-scraped construction, a through-coolant spindle and advanced programming and control technologies.