Privileged access to real-time data is today a prerequisite in many industries that want to manage production and check machine availability. Amada’s V-factory is designed to facilitate this demand in a comprehensive yet easy-to-use format. The system comprises a connecting box and software, with the latter allowing users to access a dedicated webpage called ‘My V-factory’, which is compatible with all PCs, tablets and smartphones (Android and iOS).
Convenient access to this web-based platform ensures Amada customers can check machine status in real time, namely, is the machine running, being set-up, in standby mode, waiting alarm response, or idle? Such functionality is helpful for company owners and production managers who are remote from the shop floor, or those called off site, as well as companies running unmanned shifts. Operators also benefit from quick and easy access to data.
A wealth of information is available, including a complete history of all programs and detailed data about parts and machine performance. For instance, V-factory might indicate that 60 hours were attributed to waiting for materials last month, thus highlighting a clear problem which needs to be addressed.
The system provides comparisons between on time, alarm time, set-up time and standby time, offering a good tool for production analysis reports. Laser cutting costs can also be established for material, assist gas and energy consumption, while for press brakes it is possible to gather data on the most commonly used tools and number of hits (strokes), for example.
A further feature is the availability of machine diagnostic data, which leads to early problem identification and reduced downtime. Information about daily machine maintenance is also collected.
“Data is changing the world,” states Ricardo Gaudêncio, senior engineer at Amada UK. “It’s our responsibility as machine manufactures to offer customers the power and potential of data analysis, so they can expand their businesses and improve machine availability and production results.”
As well as supporting new machines, the intuitive V-factory is suitable for use with any existing Amada machine tools featuring the AMNC control. A standard installation will only take a few hours to set-up and no pauses in production are required.
Ultimately, the release of V-factory from Amada makes it simple to check current machine status, regardless of location. Moreover, production trends and machine availability can be easily understood using clearly defined comparisons in graphical format.
Proteus Industrial Switchgear, which has recently installed an Amada fibre laser cutter, is already experiencing the benefits of V-factory.
CNC Programmer Andy Roberts says: “We’ve found the V-factory system very easy to use; it allows us to see how effectively we’re using the machine and, being a new user of fibre laser technology, we can see where we can improve on that efficiency. The operation results show how long the machine has been running each shift, while the alarm page helps us to eliminate machine stoppages.”
