Industrial Solutions - Applications

Online machine metering aids price calculation

nospam@example.com (Bruce) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:50:00 -0600

Single-machine solution

As mentioned some time ago (refer to "Smart Metering" in Green IT ...), Metering.Network is used comprehensively to record the overall energy consumption of a given plant from within the switching cabinet. However, if you want to put your focus on the complex behavior of a single machine, then the versatile Ethernet Terminal I am about to introduce is the right device for you. It can be applied directly to an S0 supply meter of any machine on the factory floor and does not only monitor machine energy consumption, but also enables you, above all, to correlate machine energy consumption with PDA (Production Data Acquisition) and MDA (Machine Data Acquisition) data. In the following I would like to highlight just one of a whole range of possible applications this amazing tool has.

Rising energy costs

In times of skyrocketing energy prices rising by 20 to 30 to 50% and more … energy is becoming one of the most salient cost factors to dictate the prices of machine-manufactured goods and thus to redefine the profitability margin of production processes, methods or individual machines. Above all, one question looms up in the minds of production, project, and sales managers alike: How much does it cost to produce a specified article? How much do I have to add to the price to compensate for the rising energy costs? How, where and when can I save energy on the machines to profitably maintain a given price level?

Correlation with PDA data

This, of course, can only be answered by measuring the power consumption of a given machine (or a number of machines of a production line) and correlating it with the PDA (Production Data Acquisition) data, especially with regard to piece numbers per batch/shift/order, etc. But how? Manually? By individual readings?

Monitoring energy costs online

To reach the level of transparency and flexibility you need in order to adapt to the unpredictably rising energy costs, a more systematic, continuous, and automated online approach is required, especially wherever large-scale production lines with a great number of manufacturing procedures and steps are involved.

Implementation

The Ethernet Terminal is just the device you need to do the job efficiently with low costs and incredibly high returns. All you have to do is attach the Ethernet Terminal to an S0 supply meter on the machine or device you want to monitor and connect it to a PC/terminal via Ethernet. This enables you to record and monitor order-specific energy utility consumption data, evaluate it statistically with the ipcas software "FAMOUS Base" and relay the respective data to your PC/terminal for further analysis and correlation with piece-, batch-, line- and shift-specific PDA data.

For each application - the right solution

Get the aid you need to adapt your price calculation to a fast changing world of rising utility prices and global environmental pressures! If you want to be able to calculate energy consumption as a variable price determining parameter automatically as an integral part of your online accounting system, then the Ethernet Terminal is the right device for you. For more specifics please visit the Ethernet Terminal website.

Alternatively, if your focus is primarily on how to reduce energy consumption - whether comprehensively on a factory level or in-depth on a machine level - without necessarily wanting to link this information to any other acquisition data, then the Metering.Network is the right solution for you. In that case, supply yourself with the smart metering tool you need to pinpoint peak loads and high consumption areas at the individual machine and production line level. Put yourself in the position to proactively eliminate power hogs in your production lines! For more specifics please visit the Metering.Networkwebsite.

Whatever your case may be, the ipcas hardware and software portfolio is able to provide you with an incredible range of applications and industrial solutions some of which I have already presented and many more are to come ... By the way in case I haven't mentioned it yet, the ipcas system house also specializes in customizing and made-to-order projects!

New log printing tech for emergency lighting

nospam@example.com (Bruce) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:13:00 -0600

Safety in public buildings

Emergency lighting systems are mandatorily installed in all large public building facilities such as airports, hotels, clubs, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, colleges, licensed premises, offices, museums, shops, multi-storey dwellings etc. They are designed to activate automatically in emergency situations (e.g. fires, power cuts, etc.) to provide sufficient light for people to safely evacuate during power supply failures.

Standard logging norms

Each country has different norms for various kinds, types and sizes of public buildings to guarantee minimum safety standards. These usually enjoin continuous monitoring and regular automatic testing of luminaires (exit signs) and battery loads. In compliance with current standards companies are also usually compelled to log and print out test results and alarms with log printers for permanent record keeping.

High price for renewal ..?

Despite the prospective costs involved, companies operating emergency lighting systems in public building facilities are responding to the current changes to electronic systems. Depending on the solution chosen, however, the costs for the adaptation of legacy to USB interfaces may range from total replacement of lighting control systems to merely upgrading existing ones with customized supplementary components. At first glance, the potential costs involved appear overwhelming!

.. not if you do your homework!

The major German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, for example, wanted to raise the log printing standards of its barely 10-year old CEAG emergency lighting systems and for some reason or other could not be helped by its customary supplier and operating company. So it came that Bayer, too, may have been startled at first by the dire prospects of having to entirely replace its functioning unamortized lighting systems under enormous costs. Fortunately, however, Bayer's operators did their homework! After a short search in the net they alighted upon the amazingly cost-saving ipcas supplementary component solutions

Get more than an upgrade

The ipcas supplementary component solutions are not only the answer to changing interface technology. – For the price of a simple upgrade you additionally gain access to the future technology of online monitoring, printing, testing, data processing, control … and more … via various kinds of networks ….

For additional benefits and information, refer to previous contributions and the specifications under Printing Solutions on the ipcas hardware website.

So there is good news with excellent prospects for all companies and businesses faced with similar requirements to upgrade or even network their log printing for both parallel and serial systems.

ipcas Printer Converter used for ultrasonic welding

nospam@example.com (Bruce) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:28:55 -0600

ipcas Centronics to USB Printing Converters are currently also being used by companies in modern printing solutions for ultrasonic welding machines.

Manufacturers using ultrasonic welding machines (e.g. for plastic bag sealing in the packaging industries) often take recourse to the continuous systematic logging of MDA (machine data acquisition) data to ascertain optimized threshold values in research and development. Reliable logging is also required to compile machine parameter reports as proof of quality for customers (TQM, claim management).

Approx. 20,000 lines on paper (up to 1,000 Din A4 standard pages) often used to be printed to log 8-10 parameters (e.g. temperature, pressure, etc.) for a single procedure. Yet this log data is now recorded electronically and stored on USB Stick and eventually on a PC/sever in the companies just mentioned.

In times of replacing legacy log printers with USB printers and adopting online solutions, companies are finding the ipcas printing solution with the Centronics to USB Printing Converter increasingly attractive for many reasons:

Optimized paper consumption (= zero for online version)
Greater logging reliability (no data loss)
Wide printer selection (long list, few restrictions)
No refitting required (ready to run)
Easy to configure (ready presetting included on USB Stick)

(Click to enlarge image)

The Centronics to USB Printing Converters also leaves customers with a wide range of options, for example to use a USB printer, network printer, USB Stick, Ethernet (see figure above).

For specifics, go to Centronics to USB Printing Converters webpage.

For machines/devices with serial interfaces, view RS 232 to USB Converters.

Controlling in automated letter mailing systems

nospam@example.com (Bruce) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0600

Specified application

The other day (refer to "Data Logger ..." article) I showed how companies are using the ipcas Data/Event Logger in combination with a light barrier to automatically count paper sheets in printing applications. Yet other companies devised the means of combining the Data/Event Logger with a barcode reader to crosscheck and verify processed addresses with respect to requested mailing lists in automated letter mailing procedures.

Implementation

How is it done? – A customary barcode reader is simply attached to conveyer at the output side of the printing machine or at the end of an automated letter processing procedure. The data logger is then connected to the device and to the industrial network or PC. Using the barcode reader, the data logger identifies and compares the addresses and possibly even the letter contents of the processed letters with the list of requested addresses and the required letter content.

An idea of what the monitoring mask might look like can be gleaned from a Windows.Form application among many possible others (see Application range of included software below).

Thanks to the ipcas Data/Event Logger mailing companies can now always be sure they've sent the correct mail to all of their desired addressees.

For further information, please go to ipcas Data/Event Logger specifications.

Printing converters for injection molding machines

nospam@example.com (Bruce) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:53:57 -0600

Legacy to USB interfaces …

A little more than a decade ago, log printers connnected to injection molding machines for log printing used to have serial or parallel interfaces. Now that retailers are running out of spare parts for serial/parallel log printers due to the decline of serial interfaces, the changeover to USB printers has become a salient issue for investment.

… for modern log printing applications …

The ARBURG "Allrounder" (injection molding machine) is a typical example how the ipcas

RS232 to USB Printing Converter

is being applied to link up machines with old interfaces to operate with modern printing technology using the customary USB printers for log printing. The control unit of the "Allrounder" is simply connected with a serial (RS232) cable to the serial port of the RS232 to USB printer converter.

… easy to start

Due to the implementation of software specially designed for the ARBURG "Allrounder", the printer converter does not have to be configured. The RS232 to USB Printer Converter is immediately ready to run when connected. Besides, the converter can be used both for old and new control units.

For more specifics, view RS232 to USB Printer Converter webpage.

For machines with parallel interfaces, view Centronics to USB Converter webpage.

Also view coverage in LinuxDevices.com.