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Smarter Shop Floor With Cloud-Based Monitoring

Cloud-Based Monitoring Project Introduction:

Tech Manufacturing, a long-time manufacturer of machined metal parts for aerospace clients such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Bombardier, needed to raise production capacity and reduce lead times for their clients’ largest and most urgent orders. With their 5-axis CNC machines already running 24 hours a day up to 7 days a week, Jerry Halley, Chief Engineer at Tech Manufacturing, looked towards smarter operation and real-time performance data to increase the productivity and useful life of their existing machines.

“We needed a better understanding of how our machines were actually performing for us in real-time,” said Halley. “Live and historical machine performance data would also help us identify technical or process issues that were detrimental to productivity.” With a combination of hardware and software, a CNC monitoring system would collect, analyze, and visualize the necessary performance metrics. However, Halley needed to weigh the productivity gains of such a system against the cost and effort of deployment, especially if it involved a new and unfamiliar server-based IT infrastructure. The ideal system would be easily deployed without specialized IT equipment, knowledge, or effort, and would not require repeated software installation, updates, or configuration.

manufacturing technology trendsApplication Requirements:
-Live dashboard with alerts based on historical and target performance metrics
-Easy to use with existing CNC machines that may not have built-in Ethernet interface
-Does not require investment or expertise in specialized IT infrastructure, servers, or software
-Knowledgeable and experienced integration and vendor support team

Solution:
Tech Manufacturing selected Shop Floor Automations, one of the most prominent systems integrators in North America specializing in CNC monitoring systems, to assist with cloud-based monitoring. Each CNC machine was connected to the existing local area network, so no additional IT infrastructure was required. For legacy machines that did not have a readily available Ethernet port, Shop Floor Automations provided an easy-to-deploy solution that was developed with Moxa. “The industrial networking units from Moxa make it easy for us to get our clients’ legacy machines connected to the cloud,” said Greg Mercurio, President of Shop Floor Automations.

“For industrial users like Tech Manufacturing, these solutions are invaluable in extending the capabilities and useful life of their still-functional but older CNC machines.” With the local network connected to the Internet, machine performance data was easily viewed and analyzed by cloud-based software such as Scytec DataXchange or Predator Machine Data Collection. Key performance metrics were organized on a visual dashboard so owners and machine operators were able to see exactly how productive each cell was, down to the machine level. Read more below.

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#1 In Predator Software Sales 15 Years Running

SHOP FLOOR AUTOMATIONS – #1 In Predator Software Sales 15 Years Running

Predator Software Reseller

La Mesa, CALIF – June 9, 2015  – Shop Floor Automations (SFA), a leader in software solutions for the manufacturing shop floor,  has continued to rank #1 in Predator software sales for 15 years running. This accomplishment is credited to the SFA team due to the dedication and quality customer service.

This honor recognizes Shop Floor Automation’s achievement as Predator Software’s top revenue-producing reseller for the past 15 years.

The company is frequently required to go through certification and training at Predator Software Corporate Office in Portland, OR.  This hands-on training consists of install, troubleshooting, implementing, and best practices for the complete line of the Predator Software Suite.

SFA has also been involved with new product development and features for enhancements to existing products in beta testing and new hardware solutions.

As a service center and training center for Predator Software, SFA continues to show dedication, technical skills, new methods of implementation and connectivity to the manufacturing industry using CNC machines and other types of equipment.  Onsite training is provided at customer locations as well as SFA’s corporate office in La Mesa, about 10 miles near San Diego, California.

For more information: fill out this contact form 
Tel: 619-461-4000, fax: 619-461-5918, toll free: 877-611-5825.

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Improving Productivity with Cloud-Based Monitoring

Cloud-Based Monitoring

Check out this article about Cloud-Based Monitoring and how it can improve productivity. This is a powerful tool for any modern machine shop and it is important to learn how easy it is to revolutionize the way machines are being monitored.

As a manufacturer of machined metal parts for aerospace clients such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Bombardier, Tech Manufacturing often ran its five-axis CNC machines 24 hours a day up to seven days a week. With such heavy CNC demands, the company began looking for ways to increase its production capacity and reduce lead times for its clients’ largest and most urgent orders.

Purchasing additional machines would, of course, be one way to achieve this. But Jerry Halley, chief engineer at Tech Manufacturing, was interested in finding a smarter, more efficient approach that did not require a large capital investment.

“It was clear to me that we needed a much better understanding of how our machines were actually performing for us in real time,” Halley explains. “In addition, if we had live and historical machine performance data available, we would be able to identify any technical or process issues that were detrimental to individual or overall productivity.” Read more below.

Read more

Shop Floor Automations Newsletter – May June 2015

Archived copy of the Shop Floor Automations Newsletter – May/June 2015.

Shop Floor Automations NewsletterReplace your floppy disk drives and media with USB solutions.

Our proven solution works with a variety of machines and equipment that use 1.44MB floppy disk drives.  All documentation and technical support are included to allow for a quick upgrade.

Simple to install using existing ribbon cable and power cable.  No modifications needed to your machines or special software required.

Are you still using Windows Server 2003 in your facility? There are some things you need to consider.

Microsoft is ending support for Windows Server 2003  on  July 14, 2015 which means no new security updates, hotfixes, assisted support options, or updated technical content.

Among other challenges, businesses will face increased risk from cyber-attack, and lack of PCI compliance. Windows Server 2003 end of support opens the door for new opportunities to introduce your customers to cloud and hybrid-cloud IT. Most companies now using Windows Server 2003 plan to migrate to a newer version of Windows Server, and many are considering cloud options.

“How to Improve Shop Efficiencies using the Cloud”

Join Shop Floor Automations and our partner Scytec Consulting for a webinar on a useful tool to monitor the efficiency of your shop floor.

Learn how you can monitor your shop in real-time and
– Decrease downtime
– Increase productivity
– Receive instant notifications
– View and report on your data from anywhere
– View unlimited dashboards for real time data
– Collect feed, speeds, overrides and more

Did you miss our webinar on Plant Maintenance Management software?

See a demonstration of the highlighted features in this video at your desk or on your mobile device.

We covered the following areas:
– Asset & equipment management
– Work orders and requests
– Inventory and purchasing
– Predictive maintenance
– Built-in reporting & analytics
– Mobility and more!

We have been serving our customers since 1998 and expanded our product lines.  While we have been recognized as the number one reseller for Predator Software for many consecutive years and known for wired and wireless DNC, check out our other product lines.  We specialize in machine monitoring, plant maintenance and job scheduling software to improve the work flow and processes throughout the shop floor. Contact us today for a free consultation on how we can help build a better partnership with you.

Link to original newsletter HERE 

Southwest Manufacturing News June 2015

Manufacturing News

We have opened a new regional office in Houston, Texas. In the ad, pictured here on Southwest Manufacturing News, we speak about the services we offer.

“Manage. Measure. Improve,” SFA declares. Among the services offered, we will continue to provide machine monitoring and OEE, job scheduling, DNC software, MTConnect, plant maintenance (CMMS), document control, and more future solutions.

Also, SFA gave a window into how USB can replace Floppy Drives. Our advertisement for more detail is here at Southwest Manufacturing News.

With machines such as Fanuc, Fadal, Haas, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Mazak, & Yasnac, a company can convert from using floppy disks to USB for CNC controls.

Please Contact us for more information toll free at (877) 611-5825 or tweet us at @SFA_inc