Assessing the Challenge
Operational Equipment Efficiency (OEE) is the gold standard for measuring manufacturing line performance. But how do you measure your manufacturing line’s performance when your machinery is too outdated to do so itself? The answer is found in developing a data collection system that reliably captures data and measurements of Legacy equipment from various probes and sensors. Whether you are experiencing a bottleneck in your manufacturing line, or simply want to improve your OEE, Cyth has provided the all-in-one measurement system to help track and optimize all aspects of machinery too outdated to do so itself.
The Challenge
Developing a high-performance data collection system that reliably captures various sensor and measurement data to help determine OEE (Operational Equipment Efficiency) to track and optimize manufacturing line output and performance of legacy equipment.
The Solution
By harnessing the power of LabVIEW software and Circaflex hardware, we developed a “Bolt-On Digitizer” which provides numerous reconfigurable measurement inputs packaged in a compact design, to digitize and record any desired measurements in a manufacturing line that otherwise is unable to collect data itself.
The Cyth Process
A medical device manufacturer came to us with the need to capture, record, and analyze their manufacturing line’s machine performance. They were interested in measuring machine downtime and improving product output, to optimize their Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). However, many of their machines were too outdated to provide their own sensor and measurement data. For example, the customer wanted to collect data from an ultrasonic welder, an injection molder, and a high-temperature curing oven. This required the addition of specific sensors and the development of a custom measurement device that could take the necessary measurements for each machine.
Cyth designed the first system with the required electrical inputs, along with a custom LabVIEW application and Graphical User Interface (GUI). Our team recognized the need for a system with reconfigurable software that accepted a wide variety of digital and analog sensor types and counts. By leveraging the NI Single-Board RIO (sbRIO) and Cyth’s embedded Circaflex board, our team was able to support the multiple mixed-signal types within the device. The result was a single “Bolt-on Digitizer” design that could be used on any of the client’s machines and production lines with no modification whatsoever.
The digitizer, built inside a compact design, takes in digital and analog signals and timestamps the measurements with other required client information before writing the data to a .CSV data file and a database. Likewise, it hosts a configuration page where the operator sets parameters such as I/O count, signal name, datatype, and scaling. Lastly, once configured by an operator the system operates headless (without the need for an operator) and can be accessed remotely over the network to view the system status and measured data.
The Bolt-on Digitizer features reconfigurable software to support multiple mixed-signal types and any kind of sensor – digital or analog – that is required to measure a system's data.
Delivering the Outcome
Upon installation of the bolt-on digitizer, and configuration of the device to suit the client’s needs, data tracking and recording of the client’s machines and manufacturing lines began. The customer has valued our easy-to-use graphical user interface and the system’s ability to run headless while providing data over the network.
As the client continues data collection on machines in their manufacturing lines, they look forward to saving substantial time and revenue down the road.
Technical Specifications
1 x Cyth Circaflex 315 (920-00315-04)
1 x NI RIO SOM 9651
1 x Analog Input M12 A Code Female Connector
4 x Digital Input M12 D Code Female Connector
1 x Ethernet RJ45 Connector
2 x USB 2.0 Connector
1 x HDMI Panel-Mount Connector
1 x 24V Power Supply Connector
3 x Status LEDs (Database, Run, & Event)
1 x Enclosure,12” x 10" x 4.7”, 307mm x 257mm x 121 mm