A dynamic group of manufacturers, developers, technology builders and distributors recently gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio for the second edition of the MC2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing conference. The two-day event kicked off on April 10 with a keynote address on continual change from Steve Fritzinger, virtualization alliance manager for NetApp and economics contributor for BBC.
The success of the conference underscored the rising impact of MTConnect on the technology and business of manufacturing. The open-source communication standard utilizes XML and HTTP for improved communications and interactivity between equipment and devices. The conference revealed increasing acceptance and use of MTConnect, as well as its applications for gathering and utilizing shopfloor data.
Other notable proceedings included keynotes presented by John Meyer, senior technical competitive analyst with IBM, and Douglas Woods, president of AMT; panel presentations; business sessions; workshops and hands-on labs; and the announcement of the MTConnect Challenge. The challenge is a Department of Defense-sponsored competition for MTConnect applications with a total of $250,000 in cash prizes.
Controlling variability in a closed-loop manufacturing process requires inspection data collected before, during and immediately after machining — and a means to act on that data in real time. Here’s one system that accomplishes this.
