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Aerospace Customer Chooses Memex Complete OEE+DNC System

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Memex announces a new aerospace customer that has gone live in production to monitor and control the machines on the shop floor in its plants in North America. They are utilizing Memex’s complete system to address their OEE and DNC requirements. This gives them the ability to monitor production status, run time, down time reasons, reject causes in real time and automatically report on OEE accurately. In addition, they have control of their part programs with Memex’s completely re-designed, state of the art, new DNC software, called AxDNC. Work orders on the floor are managed through Memex’s OEE+DNC and are integrated to their Baan ERP system as well as their CAD/CAM part programs and HR reporting.

This project has taken over 1 year to deploy due to the number of plants and machines as well as the development of enhanced integrated OEE+DNC functionality. This customer uses Memex’s entire mainstay solution of hardware, firmware and software system, including configuration utilities, to monitor their plant and depends on Memex’s file transfer capabilities to reliably transfer all of their metal cutting programs to the shop floor. The benefits to the customer are significant in terms of efficiency of operations, with potential improvements at the shop floor of up to 20%. Connectivity of their machines to the enterprise network allows them to do many more operations as well as the machines now have on-board OEE+DNC with additional memory and functionality. Corporate level visibility of OEE and production ensures effective management of operations assisting in delivering quality products on time for their customers.

MEMEX - Machine Data Collector

Flexible Manufacturing with Robot and CNC

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Machine Monitoring & Control with OEE + DNC Enables Flexibility for Manufacturing Productivity

For the first time, integrated machine monitoring and adaptive control with OEE+DNC has been demonstrated using a robot to aid loading a CNC machine, offering automation for manufacturing flexibility and productivity that can increase profitability.

A showcase, hosted by the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association at the New Age Robotics site, demonstrated an ABB robot loading and unloading various materials integrated with a CNC machine to manufacture several discrete parts. The two machines were controlled by one Memex Ax9150 Universal Machine Interface (UMI) board. The Memex ProductionACE OEE+DNC (Overall Equipment Effectiveness + Digital Numerical Control) server software was connected to the UMI board, which in turn was connected to the robot and the CNC machine. OEE software monitored the machines in real-time and determined production status linked to the scheduled work orders. When the CNC machine was ready, the command was given to the robot to begin the load sequence for the material defined in the work order. The CNC machine was then given the specific DNC part program to be loaded, also referenced in the work order, and the command to begin machining. The mixed production material was loaded by the robot and the different parts were dynamically machined by the CNC. It was a masterful demonstration of flexible manufacturing, with all the benefits of an expensive FMS system done on a budget.

Manufacturing today demands both the adoption of new practices and new technology. “In order to improve productivity, including unmanned production shifts, machines on the shop floor need to be analyzed continuously and adapted to real-time conditions. If you can measure it, then you can manage it. This plug-and-play technology reduces the cost of integration.” said Memex President & CEO Dave McPhail. The Ax9150 UMI offers CNC machines real-time OEE machine monitoring and DNC control. As a co-processor installed next to the CNC control, the Ax9150 UMI provides local memory, onboard DNC and embedded OEE, and effectively “listens” to the heartbeat of the machines, reporting and logging what is happening inside. Because it has both data inputs and outputs, the Ax9150 UMI can pre-process machine instructions (G-Code) and then post-process real-time machining data in order to adapt to changing conditions at the machine. In short, Memex has succeeded in implementing adaptive control on existing CNC machines – a low cost upgrade that offers significant productivity improvements.

MEMEX - Measuring Manufacturing Excellence Logo

2009 CTMA Showcase

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The Canadian Tooling and Machining Association – Western Ontario Chapter hosts a Memex customer installation Showcase and speech by the Memex CEO at their March 26, 2009 meeting.

TOUR: New Age Robotics & Controls Inc.

Host: Cornel Cosma
4:00 pm 515 Waydon Drive, Ayr, Ontario (see map) (519) 621-3333

Join us for a tour of New Age Robotics & Controls which has become highly competitive in the area of robotic automation. Main products include turnkey robotic cells for MIG, spot & projection welding and material handling; concepts & capital costs for customers seeking automation with robots and automated tool design. Services include customized system design and installation, refurbished equipment integration and ongoing support. Their 30,000 sq. ft. facility is fully equipped, using the latest technology to create and maintain flexible automation systems. Memex Automation will demonstrate manufacturing flexibility and efficiency using their controls that have been installed on CNC equipment and robots performing multiple tasks of loading different parts for machining with different part programs.

DINNER:

WHISTLE BEAR GOLF CLUB
6:00 pm 1316 Dickie Settlement Road, Cambridge (see map) Tel: (519) 650-2327

SPEAKER:

“MACHINE MONITORING FOR PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT”
By: CEO of Memex Automation Inc.

Automate your automation using Ethernet connectivity to “InterNetwork” all your machines on the factory floor.

Using a Universal Machine Interface, computerized networking for machine monitoring and control can provide manufacturers with relevant OEE metrics and production information in real-time, boosting efficiency by up to 20 percent with minimal capital investment and thereby enabling lean manufacturing techniques.

A demonstration will precede this presentation with the plant tour at New Age Robotics Inc.

MEMEX - Measuring Manufacturing Excellence Logo

Canadian Tool and Machining Showcase

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The Canadian Tooling and Machining Association hosts Memex customer installation Showcase and speech by the Memex CEO at their first 2009 meeting on January 22nd.

TOUR: RICE TOOL & MANUFACTURING INC.

Our Host: Arnold Hansma
4:00 pm 2247 Harold Road, Burlington, Ontario (see map) (905) 335-0181

Join us for a tour of Rice Tool & Manufacturing which is a highly regarded manufacturing facility with specialties in high volume, quality production machining and assembly; manufacturing of special and custom tooling and dedicated equipment; design and development of prototypes; short run precision-machined components. Over the past 35 years, Rice Tool has developed a number of strategic partnerships with Tier 1 manufacturers allowing them to become an integral part of their supply chain. Rice Tool uses machines that are unique in Canada as well as 8-axis special production machines with unique differentiator as being an early adopter of manufacturing processes for higher efficiency. Memex will demonstrate their controls that have been installed on Rice Tools’ machines.

DINNER:

HOLIDAY INN – Burlington North Center Room
6:00 pm 3063 South Service Road, Burlington (see map) Tel: (905) 639-4443

SPEAKER:

“MACHINE MONITORING FOR PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT”
By: CEO of Memex Automation Inc.
Automate your automation using Ethernet connectivity to “InterNetwork” all your machines on the factory floor.

Using a Universal Machine Interface, computerized networking for machine monitoring and control can provide manufacturers with relevant OEE metrics and production information in real-time, boosting efficiency by up to 20 percent with minimal capital investment and thereby enabling lean manufacturing techniques.

A demonstration will precede this presentation at Rice Tool & Manufacturing Inc.

MEMEX - Measuring Manufacturing Excellence Logo

Memex and MatrikonOPC Showcases Open OPC Connectivity to Machine Tools at IMTS08

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Thursday, September 12, 2008- The next evolution in manufacturing connectivity was unveiled by Memex Automation Inc. and MatrikonOPC, the world’s largest OPC connectivity provider, at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) held this week in Chicago, September 8–13, 2008.

“In this competitive manufacturing world, the factory floor needs real-time connectivity to all production assets to effectively manage manufacturing productivity. Utilizing MatrikonOPC’s standards-based connectivity, Memex is now able to connect virtually all CNC machine tools leveraging our Dynamic Computer Aided Machining (DCAM) model. Our goal is to provide a universal machine interface that makes every machine a node on the corporate network,” said Memex President & CEO Dave McPhail.

By leveraging MatrikonOPC’s secure, reliable interconnectivity tools, Memex intends to have the entire factory floor benefit from a wide variety of off-the-shelf software, OPC clients and Human Machine Interaces (HMI’s). “The choice to partner with MatrikonOPC was easy – they are the recognized leader in industrial connectivity in this space,” said Memex President & CEO Dave McPhail.

“Working with Memex to bridge the gap between the new XML connectivity standard – MTConnect – and the plant floor using OPC connectivity is an extremely exciting opportunity. MatrikonOPC is proud to be partnering with Memex to be on the forefront of development with MTConnect and OPC,” said Sean Leonard, Vice President OPC.

Production Managers can now monitor the status of every machine in their plant, giving real time visibility of production. “The benefits of machine monitoring and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) numbers lead directly to increased productivity. Our customers have seen up to 20% increase in shop floor efficiency, delivering more value than the cost of a new machine.” says Memex President & CEO Dave McPhail. Large multi-national manufacturers and leading aerospace companies have started adopting this technology. McPhail adds, “It’s like a low cost retrofit – we now can start automating the automation.”

The IMTS show is held in Chicago at McCormick Place September 8-13; 10am – 6pm, www.imts.com for more details. Memex Automation is located in Lakeside Center East, Hall D at Booth D-4574.

About Memex Automation Inc.

Memex Automation Inc., part of the Astrix Networks Inc group of companies. was created to leverage the research and development of Memex Electronics, which was founded in 1992. Memex continues the tradition of serving the discrete manufacturing sector providing electronic components such as advanced memory upgrades for CNC’s, BTR’s, handheld devices and PC cards. A focus on visionary shop floor communication technology helps customers to Automate the Automation so as to increase productivity and decrease cost. Memex’s patent-pending Dynamic Computer Aided Machining technology model delivers value with real-time production machine monitoring utilizing our “OEE + DNC” software solutions. More information can be found at www.memex.ca or by email to salesgroup@memex.ca

About MatrikonOPC (a division of Matrikon Inc. [TSX: MTK])

With a collection of more than 500 OPC products and over 100,000 installations worldwide, MatrikonOPC is the world’s largest supplier of OPC connectivity products. Matrikon is a charter member of the OPC Foundation, and has demonstrated a commitment to developing OPC as the industrial connectivity standard.
Matrikon’s international customer base includes a wide range of companies from process to discrete manufacturers in industrial, commercial and military applications. With offices throughout North America, Australia, Europe and the Middle East, Matrikon’s reach is global.
Visit MatrikonOPC at www.MatrikonOPC.com.

MatrikonOPC and Matrikon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Matrikon Inc.

For more information, contact:
Manny Mandrusiak
MatrikonOPC Marketing Manager
+1 780-448-1010 extension 4606
email: manny.mandrusiak@matrikonopc.com

“Automate the Automation” and “Dynamic Computer Aided Machining” are trademarks of Memex Automation Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Memex Automation Inc. © Memex Automation Inc., a unit of Astrix Networks Inc.