By Mark Devlin, IEN Staff
September 11, 2008 -- Looking at this year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show, one could have a difficult time saying that U.S manufacturing is down. The show is heartening, with surprising levels of activity on the parts of both U.S and international exhibitors and visitors…
It’s a shame that neither McCain nor Obama are here; either camp could easily look around and say, “Manufacturing problem? What manufacturing problem?” Over 84,000 people have registered for IMTS as of Wednesday the 10th, and the event is sprawled all over McCormick Place in a manner reminiscent of what National Manufacturing Week used to be. Sneaks don’t fail me now.
While a couple aisles were jam-packed with info-hungry show-goers today, the more important observation to note is what seemed to me to be pretty consistent and good traffic. I haven’t yet found an aisle that could double as a bowling alley. Plus, representatives of the companies with whom I spoke were all very pleased with the show so far — that in and of itself was very positive.
Another general though admittedly obvious comment: the folks running NMW have quite a bit of catching up to do, even with IMTS’s lesser frequency. Bosch Rexroth, for instance, comes to IMTS representing four divisions, compared to one on the NMW slate.
What’s not surprising is the machining center business: speeds, feeds, precision, and levels of productivity are all up. Machining centers are taking up acres of tradeshow floor space, with most companies displaying multiple machines. Again, speeds and feeds and productivity issues are great and valid but, clearly, more visitors are looking to improve their existing operations instead of forking over 250-large for a new CNC machine. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the more accessible (and notable) products of the show so far.
Gauging Computer on Your Wrist
Marposs Corp. announced the slick Merlin Mobile device that connects to a plant’s wireless network and makes the storage, retrieval, and management of gauging data a truly portable proposition. Plus, it works with the company’s own OD and ID gauges via Bluetooth.
Looking more like something from Engadget than an industrial device, it’s got a GPS-sized 3.5 in. color LCD, security-encrypted WiFi, a removable SD flash memory card, and stores up to 50 part measurement programs, each with up to eight different parameters. Step-by-step, programmable options — each with up to three measures per step — greet the user. It runs Windows CE 6.0 for hours using Li-ion cells, and displays up to three bar graphs per page, as well as part counts.
Looking at this one, one might think the industrial world has become pretty cool, indeed.
Crank It Up? No Need.
Okay, CNC vises have been around forever, but they’ve not been without their issues. Consider, for example, the considerable setup time that operators have spent on compensating for fixed-end deflection alone.
The Chick Workholding One-Lok™ CNC vise represents a better mousetrap, with a design that has “virtually eliminated” jaw deflection while providing up to 10,000 lb of holding force.
Instead of cranking the unit through its range to match part size, levers on the side of the unit enable quick jaw positioning, while the crank applies the final holding force once you’re close. With a design based on the input of “thousands of end users,” the One-Lok incorporates a solid, sealed base (that’s easy to clean with a blast of air); the unit is also configured such that crankin’ it up pulls the jaws solidly together instead of stressing either end. A quick turn of a setscrew enables the user to quickly change jaws.
Look Ma, No Magnets!
. . . well, no magnets in the secondary track system, that is.
Destined for light-duty machining and material handling applications, for example, Siemens’ new 1FN6 series of synchronous, brushless linear motors have an air-cooled primary section and a patented, magnet-free secondary that doesn’t require special installation and alignment work as do magnet-imbedded competitive designs.
Without magnets in that section to attract chips and debris, maintenance is a simple matter of installing a wiper or brush on the moving part of the slide. Combined with the company’s drive systems, the 1FN6 produces thrusts and velocities that are said to be equivalent to competitive models.
Hit the G-Code. . .
It’s hard to believe that Surfware, Inc. and its CAD/CAM software have been around for 20 years now. Seems like just yesterday this stuff was gee-whiz. No disappointments or slowing down here, though, as the company has developed a new patent-pending technology called TrueMill. According to the company, “TrueMill is the ONLY toolpath that intelligently manages tool load by controlling the tool's engagement angle with the material while machining.”
TrueMill is a part of the company’s Surfcam Velocity 4 release which supports 2- to 5-axis machining.
Also at the show is a neat attention-getter called the Hands Off demo that scans a booth visitor’s hand and, from that, a toolpath for their own hand is provided in the machine code of their choice.
Connect Everything
Probably the most noise at the show concerns a piece of code called MTConnect. What is it? A new, open, royalty-free standard protocol that gives companies, for now, easy access to near-live machine operational data. (While open and royalty-free, companies have to sign an agreement stating, for instance, that the code can be modified but not copied or swiped in such a way that it’s made proprietary.) The software can be downloaded from the MTConnect site and “used as is, modified for special needs, reverse engineered, or used as a template to create one’s own software interface that meets the requirement of the standard.”
Currently governed by MTCTAG (MTConnect Technical Advisory Group), the standard has an impressive collection of industry support including such heavy hitters as Bosch Rexroth, FANUC Robotics, Mazak, and even Sun Microsystems — who helped create it.
A presentation at the MTConnect booth gets perhaps a tad overzealous in calling MTConnect “the next Rosetta Stone,” but it certainly appears as though it’s a powerful way to interconnect plant devices, equipment, and systems — all talking different languages — using XML to harmonize those disparate pieces of data in one universal tool: the web browser.
The IMTS display of MTConnect is pretty interesting. Touchscreen kiosks show an initial selection of exhibitor logos — companies who have equipment running MTConnect. From there, visitors just tap a logo to see a near-live operational data snapshot of a particular piece of machinery — speeds and feeds for instance.
Various companies over the years have used the term “a view into the process,” but it seems that MTConnect might finally deliver on that promise of operational data from anything with an IP address — anywhere, anytime, from any place using a web browser.
More tomorrow…