Automation technology providers will showcase their industrial automation offerings at the SPS - Smart Production Solutions exhibition in Nuremberg from 26 – 28 November

RADAR LEVEL MEASUREMENT WITH 80 GHZ

Industrial processes are becoming increasingly customized and complex. Now it’s even easier to select the right level transmitter for your needs. For a reliable non-contact level measurement solution, just choose VEGAPULS 64 for liquids or VEGAPULS 69 for bulk solids.

DYNAMIC RANGE 120 dB

Poorly reflecting media? Dust, condensation, or buildup? Radars with best-in-class dynamic range deliver constant visibility of your process levels.

PROCESS FITTINGS FROM ¾"

With small connections and a compact design, VEGAPULS 64 is the perfect fit in the smallest liquid containers.

FOCUSING 3°

No interfering signals from internal installations. A radar beam angle from 3° for liquids and 4° for bulk solids.

ACCURACY +/-1 mm

Every drop counts with VEGAPULS 64. It really scores points for accuracy, especially with high value liquids.

ADJUSTMENT

80 GHz radar sensors can be adjusted wirelessly with a smartphone or tablet. Did you know? All VEGA level sensors since 2002 can also get Bluetooth. Just click-in a new PLICSCOM display and adjustment module and it’s done!

to big data storage models in process manufacturing, which today are mostly on-premise, historian-based, and proprietary.

Specific benefits of a cloudbased model for data storage and aggregation includes examples from the pharmaceutical industry where cloudbased data lakes combine data from sensors, batch systems, quality systems, and laboratory information management data sets. This allows these organisations to provide a comprehensive view of the manufacturing process to IT-based data scientist and frontline process engineers seeking insights.

From a management perspective in any industry, the ability to see data collected from across plants to implement consistent best practices and compare KPIs for production metrics is another cloud-enabled benefit.

Empowering experts One thing that does not change in an

DATA ANALYSIS

advanced analytics and cloud-enabled organisation is the importance of domain expertise. Subject matter experts – the process engineers and other employees with expertise in the data, the assets, and the processes of the plant or facility – remain a critical component. These employees have been analysing data for 30 years with spreadsheets. Putting these employees and their expertise together with advanced analytics and current innovations of data science is vital for improved outcomes. An example of reducing the time to insight is an end user company that was able to improve time to insight by their engineers from two weeks to one hour by using advance analytics software. This increased production by 100 barrels a day, resulting in a $2 million-dollar improvement per year.

Beyond the bottom-line improvements from improved analytics, there is also the opportunity to simply have time for analytics and investigation. As an example, an asset root cause analytics scheduled to take 400 hours and requiring the efforts of five engineers was instead solved by one engineer in less than one hour.

The surge in data volumes within manufacturing organisations is increasing the difficulty of finding insights. Yet the pressure to find insights and be ‘analytics driven’ is higher than ever, putting pressure on plant executives and SMEs alike, but changes are afoot to address this issue.

Advanced analytics integrates data science innovations and the cloud model brings new opportunities for data storage, collection, and context. Together, these advancements will enable SMEs to find insights that enable decisions to improve business results and profitability. !

Michael Risse is the CMO and Vice President at Seeq Corporation.

Flexible production through human-machine collaboration Intelligent, integrated and interactive factory automation systems

How can manufacturers increase ef ciency with the help of artif cial intelligence and robotics? The combination of precision control together with mobile and collaborative robots enables the highest levels of manufacturing line fl exibility to address consumer demand for increased customisation, without the need to reconfi gure a line. In summary, you can do more with the same space. How can manufacturers increase ef ciency

Contact us for proof-of-concept testing!

ROBOTICS

COBOTS ARE NOT JUST FOR THE BIG BOYS!

A collaborative robot has been successfully employed as part of a ‘lights-out’ robotic cell to help a UK-based engineering company increase productivity. T hrough its recently-created Automation Division, Mills CNC has supplied Coventry-based Arrowsmith Engineering, part of the AS.G Group, with a Doosan collaborative robot as part of a wider investment made by the company to help it increase its productivity levels and maintain its competitive edge.

The robotic cell is being used to ramp up production of a precision engine part through the adoption of ‘lights-out’ production, the cell operates 24/7 enabling the company to manufacture and supply 200 components every month.

The robotic cell comprises a new Doosan DNM 4500 vertical machining centre equipped with a 4th-axis unit and a M0617 cobot with a 1.7m reach radius and 6kg payload capacity equipped with a Schunk Co- act EGP-C electrically-driven two finger parallel gripper.

Integrating a collaborative robot into the process has had a dramatic impact on productivity and machine shop efficiency and has negated the need for Arrowsmith to invest in a second machine tool.

Commenting on the automation projection, Jason Aldridge, managing director at Arrowsmith Engineering, said: “The cell has significantly increased our capacity levels – by up to 50% – and is helping us capitalise on the 20% growth we have experienced over the last 12 months. “Some manufacturers, especially here in the UK, are reticent about investing in automation and believe that it has a negative impact on jobs. I don’t subscribe to this view. If anything, automation makes us more competitive and successful, enabling us to recruit more people into skilled jobs.”

The cobot cell is Arrowsmith’s first investment in robotics and is also one of the first installations of a Doosan M0617 cobot in the UK. Operating around the clock it has made the machining process for the engine parts less labour-intensive as an operator is no longer required on standby to load and unload parts into and out of the machine. Boosting capacity “The cell has made us 15% quicker and has given us a 50% capacity boost already which, in anyone’s book, is a fantastic return on investment,” continued Aldridge.

It is against this backdrop of improved productivity and efficiency that Arrowsmith has recently approached staff at Mills CNC Automation to investigate the potential for automating more and different processes at its facility.

Discussions to date have included the feasibility of investing in a Doosan cobot to serve two machine tools to create an autonomous and flexible automated manufacturing cell, and the potential of a cobot to undertake part inspection operations.

This cobot cell provides ample evidence of the significant benefits component manufacturers can expect to achieve from automated machine tool tending operations.

In conclusion, Aldridge said: “We are keen advocates of automation. It shouldn’t be seen as something that only the big boys do… SMEs can access it cost-effectively and we need to ‘grasp the nettle’ in order to bring the UK’s productivity up to, and in line with, our international rivals.” ! Arrowsmith Engineering has invested in a Doosan collaborative robot cell.

Forward-thinking solutions.

Backwards compatibility.

Like you, we understand the vital importance of interoperability with legacy systems. That’s why the forward-thinking range of industry-leading automation solutions we’ve been supplying to the UK for over 35 years now, are all backwards compatible.

Our PLCs, HMIs, Inverter Drives, Industrial Robots, Switchgear, Servo/Motion Controllers and Software solutions are all designed to address the requirements of end users, systems integrators and OEM businesses to help improve productivity, efciency and quality.

So don’t hold back in seeing what the future could bring for your company contact us on automation@meuk.mee.com or call 01707 276100.

gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com

■ Robots

■ Advanced HMIs ■ Programmable Controllers ■ Variable Speed Drives

■ Servos & Motion Systems ■ Low Voltage Switchgear