Gaining Knowledge About Assembly Applications
Posted on 09/25/2017 | by The Orbitform Blog Team
The Orbitform Data Logging system is a simple solution for customers looking to gain intelligence about their assembly applications. Manufacturing engineers and plant floor technicians can export and log data created during an industrial assembly process when they incorporate the Orbitform data logging system.
The Orbitform data logging system utilizes an industrial touchscreen panel that communicates with the machine’s PLC. The data logging and communication functions are carried out by proprietary data logging software that is installed on the PC. This software is custom tailored to the specific application and can be designed with as much (or little) flexibility as the customer desires. Once exported, the data can be simply stored, or it can be processed for statistical process control (SPC) and quality analysis.
The data logging hardware and software are configured to automatically launch and run when the Orbitform machine powers up, making it entirely standalone and turn-key. The data is generally collected from the programmable logic controller at the end of every auto cycle and is stored in the form of a data file (.csv or other) that can be opened by any document reader, such as Microsoft Excel. The data files are stored on the local PC hard drive but can be retrieved by the customer either remotely or locally. Also, the data files can be automatically uploaded to a local storage device, or a cloud-based storage service, based on the customer's data management preference.
The forms of data produced by the process that a customer may want to capture are limitless but could include assembly process limits, forming data such as force / distance / dwell time / pressure / etc., testing data, cycle data, time/date stamp, part number, job number, or employee/shift information. The gathered data could be raw data produced by analog sensors or calculated data produced by PLC logic, and can be in any form, whether it be floating point, integer, ASCII string, or discrete “bits”, such as those indicating a pass/fail status of a part.
If you think assembly process data management and data analysis could help your manufacturing operation, please contact us by clicking here.