Memex to showcase new CNC hardware adapters for its Merlin platform at IMTS
Proactive Investors – Sept 8, 2014 – Memex Automation (CVE:OEE) is showcasing its new MERLIN MTConnect hardware, which allows manufacturing companies to measure overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in real-time, enterprise-wide, at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago this week.
MTConnect is the open, royalty-free standard that is intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing devices and software applications. It is used with the company’s new CNC hardware adapters, bringing OEE network connectivity from the shop floor to management, no matter the make, model or vintage of machine.
The tool will be demonstrated live at IMTS, America’s largest manufacturing tech show, Memex said, at booth E-3368.
The company said its new Ax760-MTC is a fully configurable hardware adapter that facilitates the communication with a company’s computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines via the MTConnect standard, and can be used with older FANUC-controlled machines that still populate about 50 percent of CNC machine shop floors.
The result is a tool that allows Memex’s MERLIN software to track a large number of data inputs that measure OEE in real-time, machine by machine as well as other operational machine information.
The MERLIN device monitors production and capacity utilization on the shop floor, improving profitability, reducing waste and ensuring compliance with regulations. It enables customers to address production bottlenecks as they happen, converting idle time back into production and ultimately improving throughput and increasing income from plant operations.
“Rather than buying a new controller, you can enhance your oldest legacy controllers so they can take advantage of today’s MTConnect communication standard and take advantage of MERLIN OEE benefits,” Memex said.
“In many instances, this can substitute for a machine monitoring retrofit.”
The company said audiences will see a technology preview of web-based features of MERLIN at IMTS, such as the ability to customize the display of data to meet users’ specific requirements. Memex will also be demonstrating MERLIN in a live manufacturing operations platform, while viewers will in addition get to see its MERLIN product running with machines owned by machine tool maker Mazak.
The company’s product was recently described in a case study by Mazak, which said that MERLIN-related efforts to reduce downtime yielded a 42 percent improvement in utilization for the monitored machines. In addition, Mazak also reduced operator downtime by 100 hours per month, while 400 hours per month of previously outsourced work was returned to the company.
To see the full article, please click here.
