Machines and connectivity
Monitor CNC machines, molding machines, presses and packaging lines, and get their data off the floor with sensors, MTConnect, OPC UA and ERP integrations.
12 articles
All articles
Machines and connectivity
Production line monitoring without PLCs
Yes. A laser counter at every step, read against Step 1, gives you line yield, the units lost at each step and the step that stopped first, with no PLC access.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
Counting parts and cycle times on CNC mills and lathes
Count CNC parts and time each cycle from outside the control: what one cycle is, one operation per job, parts per cycle, and a hand count that proves it.
Applications Engineering Team ·
Machines and connectivity
Connecting machine data to your ERP
Get machine hours and part counts into Epicor, SAP or JobBOSS: what the ERP needs per job, how to match runs to jobs, and which integration path fits.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
What IoT machine data adds to an MES
An MES is only as accurate as its machine data. Measured stops and part counts replace typed-in ones, so its downtime and OEE factor split come out right.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
How to monitor a packaging line and count every unit
Count output after the last reject, take the ideal rate from the slowest machine, and find which filler, capper or labeler stopped first. With a worked shift.
Applications Engineering Team ·
Machines and connectivity
How to monitor injection molding machines
Count shots, multiply by working cavities and keep mold-open pauses out of downtime. Learn why a molder's count reads double or half, and how to check it.
Applications Engineering Team ·
Machines and connectivity
How to monitor an old machine with no network port
A sensor on the frame reads running, stopped and every cycle from outside, so a 30-year-old machine with no port reports uptime and part counts like a new one.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
How to monitor CNC machines of any brand or age
Put a sensor on every CNC for run state, cycles and stops on any brand or age, then read the control over MTConnect where it pays. Includes a worked shift.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
What manufacturing data to collect, and how to collect it
Collect machine state, part counts, stop reasons and scrap first. See what sensors, controllers and operators each capture, and what to ask a vendor.
Ulises Carrasco ·
Machines and connectivity
What Industry 4.0, IIoT and digital twins mean
Industry 4.0 is the goal, IIoT carries the machine data and a digital twin is a live copy that also acts. See what each means for a small plant, with numbers.
Mahmoud Parto ·
Machines and connectivity
How SCADA differs from IIoT and cloud monitoring
SCADA supervises and controls a process from PLC data. IIoT collects machine data for analysis. Learn what each does, where they meet and when to run both.
Ulises Carrasco ·
Machines and connectivity
MTConnect, OPC UA and Modbus compared
MTConnect reads machine tools, OPC UA models and secures plant data, and Modbus moves bare registers. See how each one works and when your machines need it.
Mahmoud Parto ·