TPT January 2012

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70 January 2012 ›
Technology update
Professional Chinese
manufacturer of slitting lines,
tube mills, tube toolings, etc.,
since 1980’s, the one-stop
solution for the global market
with efficient after-service.
HDCT
Slitting Line
Software
systems for
production
and control
IN today’s market, where margins for error
are very low, businesses need not only a
successful strategy but also highly efficient
production and logistic processes, with
controlled costs for each article and stage
of the process, according to Stain, Italy.
It says it is vital to measure all operating
processes in real time and with reliable
data in order to identify and measure all
the hidden costs, which require timely
corrective and preventive actions if they
are to be minimised.
This is not referring to evident costs,
which have obviously been eliminated;
but instead refers to the numerous little
wastages that are not eliminated simply
because we are unaware of their existence.
Recovering efficiency can no longer involve
a single major point of improvement,
because if this had already been done
Stain would not be in the marketplace now.
Stain has made and installed MES
solutions for steel mills, pipe manufacturing,
plastic moulding and drawing, die-casting,
taps and fittings and machining for over
20 years. Its experience has taught it that
gaining in overall efficiency is the sum of
numerous small improvements throughout
the production process.
It is therefore fundamental to measure
all the production and logistic processes at
the factory in real time to discover hidden
costs, which cannot be eliminated until
they have been identified and measured
accurately.
For example, companies often fail to take
into account that the incidence of micro-
stoppages is a major factor in achieving a
significant improvement in efficiency.
If a machine stops for more than a hour,
everyone knows about it, but if the cycle
time is altered by a mere three seconds in
a minute to meet process requirements and
someone forgets to reset the standard time,
you risk discovering it much later when you
read the written report the following day, and
the loss is 5 per cent on the total number
of items produced during the shift. To
eliminate these hidden costs in production
and logistics Stain has developed the
STAIN+ suite based on Siemens PLC
technology, which automatically gathers
machine data and integrates it with ERP,
with automated production and logistic
flows via a fully modular user-friendly
solution. STAIN+ is a set of tools that
provide a lens for discovering hidden costs
in the various departments, and collecting
machine information automatically and in
real time, and a gauge for measuring the
benefits achieved by corrective actions
implemented in view of continuous process
improvement.
STAIN+ is a comprehensive, modular
suite integrated with packages that include
data collection and production progress
monitoring, automatic identification
of each bin using barcode or RFID
technology, computerisation of logistic
flows in the departments, allowing the
real-time management of stocks and work
traceability, tool management (spindles,
implements, inserts, dies and moulds),
quality and statistical process control
(SPC), and preventive and corrective
maintenance.
Stain – Italy
Website:
ISEND SA has developed its own
technology to develop, manufacture
and maintain non-destructive testing
(NDT) equipment based on eddy current
technology. ISEND is entirely engaged with
the continuous investigation and innovation
to be able to offer a constant improvement
of its technology and its equipment to
companies from the iron and steel industry
but also from other industries such as
automotive, energy and petrochemical.
ISEND SA has developed a wide range
of different inspection systems with the
best features on the market. Its equipment
is able to perform an on-line inspection
of semi-finished products, as well as an
inspection of finished products off-line.
Each one has been specially designed for
one kind of defect and product category.
The Encircling Inspection System is
the most versatile system of the ISEND’s
range to control punctual flaws in all
varieties of bars, tubes or wires using eddy
current technology. The system consists
of an encircling magnetisation unit or
an encircling support which houses an
encircling coil.
This encircling coil, independently of
their size and form, involves the material
inspected. As a result, it allows controlling
the entire product perimeter with accurate
results. During the inspection there is no
contact between the probe and the material
controlled. Cylindrical canyons are used to
protect the coil from the product vibrations.
Moreover, this system can be
complemented with the ROTODiscover®
inspection system, which is able to detect
longitudinal defects.
ISEND SA – Spain
Fax: +34 983 132 308
Email:
Website:
Detecting punctual flaws