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MTConnect is Fast Becoming Factory Floor Lingua Franca

By: James Callari 13. September 2012

article courtesy of Joe Jablonowski

Would you buy a computer that could only “talk” with just a couple of other devices, like a printer and one other desktop? Neither would most people. They’d make sure their new unit has all the ports and protocols that will get them to the whole outside world.
 
The same should hold true for machine tools and other factory-floor devices, argue the people behind MTConnect, the standard for interconnection of manufacturing equipment. At the Emerging Technology Center—just off the main concourse in the North Building—representatives from the MTConnect Institute can demonstrate why you should make sure any computer-capable equipment you’re shopping for will also support the interoperability protocol, regardless of what communications system is already built in.
 
It has to do with managing the data on your shop floor. By monitoring inputs like machine availability and performance you can get a 20-percent improvement in overall efficiency, some analysts say. Enabling those connections is why the protocol was launched in the first place. Now the latest edition of the standard, Version 1.2, also handles data about mobile assets like non-vendor-specific cutting tools: How long has this cutter been in use? When was it reconditioned? Future versions—the protocol purposely was designed to be extensible—will further handle information on individual workpieces.
 
At its heart, MTConnect is just a vehicle for information, a streamlined way of connecting production equipment with the kind of software that can help manage it. Once installed, it fades into the background, kind of like Bluetooth, says Dave Edstrom, president of the MTConnect Institute. Since it’s an open standard, it doesn’t limit choices for future expansion.
 
Introduced at IMTS 2008, MTConnect is now used in nearly 1,000 installations, with many of those being pilot projects for proof-of-concept. According to Edstrom, some users consider it a competitive edge and are leery of discussing their experiences; others have become apostles, with their stories appearing in metalworking magazines and on the institute’s website, mtconnect.org.
 
The institute itself has about 100 corporate members, and the majority of those also serve on the technical advisory group that drives evolution of the standard. The biggest names in machine tools, numerical controllers and factory-level software producers are aboard, but so are makers of conveyors, tool presetters and inspection equipment. Many, of course, are exhibitors here in Chicago.
 
Which brings us to the demonstrations here at IMTS. Dozens of firms ranging from Okuma to Optical Gaging to AgieCharmilles are linking machine operations in their booths to monitors in the central Emerging Technology Center. Additionally, companies like Mazak and Bosch are showing within their own exhibit how they integrate data from clusters of machines in order to understand hidden costs or discover untapped capacity. Stop by the ETC to see which other firms have joined the MTConnect bandwagon. While you’re there, ask a staffer from partner organizations like the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology or TechSolve for details on how to implement intercommunications on your own factory floor.

 

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Next Edge Factor: Injured Athlete Keeps Competing with Custom Leg

By: Peter Zelinski 13. September 2012

The next episode of The Edge Factor Show promises to tell the most dramatic story to date of manufacturing improving lives and expanding the scope of what human beings can do.

“Metal & Flesh” tells the story of Mike Schultz, a renowned motocross and winter sports athlete whose competitive career might have ended when he lost his leg in a snowmobile accident. The reason it didn’t end is because he refused to let even this loss stop him.

Inventing and engineering his own artificial leg design, Schultz created the prosthesis that enabled him to return to high-level competition in his chosen sports. Now, he has begun to manufacture the leg for other amputee athletes, including one who recently lost his leg during military service in Iraq.

The full episode of the show is still being filmed and won’t be seen until next year, but a preview is now playing in IMTS’s Advanced Manufacturing Center, Booth W-160.

The Edge Factor Show is an ongoing film project that highlights dramatic manufacturing successes and the excitement of working with real-life manufacturing technology. The show recently spawned “EDU Factor,” a project that will produce interactive educational resources on manufacturing technology for engineering and vocational educators. 

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Industrial Automation Show Makes North American Debut with IANA

By: James Callari 12. September 2012

 

In a first for IMTS, the well-regarded Industrial Automation show is now on site in the East Hall of McCormick Place. More commonly known as the “IA” show, the Hannover, Germany-based event has been held at a number of other venues around the world, including China, India and Russia. IMTS 2012 marks the first time the show has come to North America, and it is very appropriately co-located with this continent's largest manufacturing event.
 
Industrial Automation North America (IANA) is organized by Deutsche Messe AG and its U.S. subsidiary, Hannover Fairs USA. It features an exhibition of more than 100 booths displaying a wide variety of products for factory automation, microsystems technology, software and electrical systems. The event also features three conferences for executive management, plant managers, engineers and industry professionals.
 
“Thanks to our longstanding and excellent working relationship with AMT, we are able to bring three outstanding conferences to IANA and IMTS,” says Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of the managing board at Deutsche Messe AG. “We have also been working for many years with CFE Media, ISA, NFPA and Penton at Hannover Messe in Hannover, so we are very excited to work with them in their home market. Together we have created programs that complement the IMTS conference and offer IANA and IMTS attendees a great chance to keep up with the latest best-practices, solutions and technologies in manufacturing automation.”
 
Those conferences include:
 
  • Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit is for senior-level global automation and manufacturing executives. Speakers from companies such as Beckhoff, B&R Automation, Lenze, Schneider Electric, and Siemens will talk about topics ranging from data security, energy management and mobility to process optimization, sustainability manufacturing and workforce development. The summit also features case studies on plant automation for profitability, asset-performance improvement and maintenance-costs reduction. It runs Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 12–13.
     
  • Motion, Drives & Automation Conference has two tracks—“Motion Control in Automation” and “Hydraulics and Pneumatics in Automation”—that explain how to improve the efficiency, performance, productivity, lifespan and environmental footprint of manufacturing equipment and industrial automation systems. Topics include energy efficiency, equipment monitoring, machine efficiency, noise reduction, safety and security. Attendees can expect to see innovations in electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic motion systems, as well as in condition monitoring, electronic control, sensing and vision. It runs Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 10-11.
     
  • ISA Inside: Training Sessions at IANA offers one-day courses on such topics as Control Using ANSI/ISA Standards, Industrial Wireless Systems, Measurement and Control Fundamentals, Manufacturing Execution Systems, and Safety Instrumented Systems. The conference partner is the International Society of Automation (ISA), which is recognized worldwide for its non-biased, vendor-neutral education, training and standards programs for automation professionals. Sessions run Thursday and Friday, Sept. 13–14.
All IMTS attendees have full access to the IANA exhibit. Space is still available for conference sessions. You can sign up in the main IMTS registration areas or go online for a full review of IMTS conferences here.

 

 

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Building a Smartforce for U.S. Manufacturing

By: James Callari 12. September 2012
article courtesy of Greg Jones
 
In July, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report on “Capturing Domestic Competitive Advantage in Advanced Manufacturing” outlining a list of recommendations, some of which mirror the things that we have been saying and doing in the industry, as well as some of the things you’ve heard coming off the campaign trail.
 
The whole report focuses on three top-level items:
 
  • Enabling innovation
  • Securing the talent pipeline
  • Improving the business climate
 
For the purposes of this discussion, I am focusing on “securing the talent pipeline” and the six recommendations outlined in the report.
 
The President’s Council wants to:
 
1)      Correct public misconceptions about manufacturing and recommends building excitement and interest in careers in manufacturing.
2)      Tap the talent pool of returning veterans.
3)      Invest in community-college-level education.
4)      Develop partnerships to provide skills certifications and accreditation.
5)      Enhance advanced manufacturing university programs.
6)      Launch national manufacturing fellowships and internships.
 
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
 
To get a glimpse of how the industry is getting behind initiatives that will encourage parents, students and educators to get excited about careers in manufacturing, take a step out on the Mezzanine above Hall C1 in the North Building to get a view of the NIMS Skills Center at IMTS.
NIMS, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills has been managing the student area at IMTS for years. The institute sets skills standards for the industry, certifies individual’s skills against the standards and accredits training programs for machine operators.
 
At IMTS 2012, the NIMS Skills Center includes “Career Launch Pads” for high school, community college and engineering school students to talk with “MTAmbassadors,” people close to the students in age who already have careers in engineering, applications, service or sales in our industry.
 
Getting young people excited about careers in manufacturing by having them talk about their school and career choices with young engineers who are already in the industry is just one way that we can build a smarter workforce for U.S. manufacturing.
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2013 U.S. Budget Proposes Enhanced Tax Incentives

By: James Callari 11. September 2012

President Obama’s 2013 Budget Proposal outlines a few major—but positive—changes for small- to medium-sized business owners, according to Brian Cameron of Paradigm Partners, an international consulting firm specializing in complex federal and state tax and funding incentives across a host of industries.
 
Included in this proposal are changes to the R&D Tax Credit, adding a new job creation incentive, increasing the Domestic Production Deduction (DPD) as well as introducing the “Buffet Rule” as an alternative to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
 
“Most small- to medium-sized business owners will be able to take advantage of most, if not all, of these proposed enhanced tax incentives,” Cameron says.
 
R&D Tax Credit
 
The R&D Tax Credit, also known as the Research Tax Credit, provides an incentive to companies and their owners for performing activities called Qualifying Research Expenditures (QREs). The budget proposes to make the credit permanent, thus eliminating the uncertainty that companies face when making a commitment to perform ongoing research and development.
 
“The President has also requested that the credit be simplified and that the rate of the Alternative Simplified Credit be increased from 14 to 17 percent,” says Cameron. He adds that the R&D tax credit has been around since 1981, yet many business owners have never heard of it or, worse, falsely think they do not qualify.
 
“Unlike a tax deduction, the R&D tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of a company’s tax liability,” he says. “In addition to the current year’s tax savings, a business can claim the credit back up to three open tax years and receive back any ‘overpaid’ taxes with interest.”
 
Tax Credit for New Jobs and Wage Increases
 
A tax credit for new-job creation and wage increases is proposed for qualified employers and will be available for just one year, beginning January 1, 2012. Cameron says the credit would be equal to 10 percent of the increase in eligible wages for 2012 over the employer’s wages in 2011. The credit tops out at $500,000 because the maximum amount of the increase in eligible wages is $5 million per employer.
 
Cameron says another aspect of the President’s overall plan is to increase U.S. manufacturing.
 
“He is targeting the domestic production incentive, also known as the Domestic Production Deduction, which provides an incentive to companies that manufacture here in the United States,” he says. “The Administration is proposing to reform the current deduction for domestic production by more narrowly focusing it on manufacturing activities—for example, removing coverage of oil production.”
 
Cameron says the savings derived from eliminating some previously covered activities would be used to expand the deduction for manufacturers, as well as increase the DPD from its current level of 9 percent to 18 percent for advanced manufacturing technologies.
 
The “Buffet Rule”
 
The budget characterizes the Buffet Rule as: “No household making over $1 million annually should pay a smaller share of its income in taxes than middle class families pay.” Its name is derived from Warren Buffet’s observation that his effective tax rate is lower than his secretary’s.
 
Cameron says the budget proposes that those making more than $1 million should pay at least 30 percent of their income in tax.
 
“The President is proposing that this Buffet Rule replace the current AMT,” Cameron says. “The elimination of the AMT could provide an opportunity for many taxpayers to take advantage of tax incentives previously unavailable to them, including the R&D Tax Credit.”
 
The Senate rejected Obama’s Buffett Rule legislation in April, but Cameron says that this will be a very hot topic during the election campaign and, if the President is re-elected, will be introduced again.
 
Summary
 
According to Cameron, many manufacturing groups hope the incentives remain part of the budget when passed. From an R&D Tax Credit perspective, he says many more companies will be able to add staff and commit other resources to research and development activities with the knowledge that the credit is now a permanent fixture in the tax code.
 
“The Buffet Rule could potentially open up the credit to tens of thousands of taxpayers of small- to medium-sized businesses,” Cameron sats. “As general tax credits are unable to reduce AMT, replacing the AMT with the Buffet Rule will enable small business owners to take advantage of many more tax incentives, including the R&D Tax Credit.”
 
Cameron says that the proposed increase in the DPD should help increase U.S. manufacturing and add new employees needed to support the increased manufacturing.
 
Brian Cameron is Chief Executive Officer for Paradigm Partners. He can be reached at BCameron@Paradigmlp.com

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