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MxD Floor Day

TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE MXD FACTORY FLOOR DAY

JANUARY 14, 2020

Predictronics had a rewarding experience at the MxD Factory Floor Day in Chicago, IL.

Predictronics Booth at MxD Floor DayOur Solution Engineer Varun Udupa exhibited a live demonstration of Predictronics’ predictive dynamic scheduling solution deployed in collaboration with MxD, Lockheed Martin, Northeastern University and FORCAM. This project merged MES data and PdM data into one unified dashboard and provides predictive scheduling with health monitoring capabilities.

The dynamic scheduling solution has been implemented in PDX, Predictronics’ unique end-to-end predictive analytics and industrial AI solution, which collects, analyzes, monitors, and visualizes data to pinpoint potential failures and allow for planned downtime and maintenance.

MxD, the digital manufacturing institute, partners with businesses and industries to help equip U.S. factories with the latest digital tools to improve productivity and efficiency. The purpose of this event was to celebrate the success of MxD members and their R&D projects. Attendees from various fields had the opportunity to interact with technology providers, learn about projects in MxD’s R&D portfolio, and view demonstrations of MxD’s manufacturing testbeds.

Below are Varun’s top takeaways from the event:

1. Predictive maintenance plus scheduling equals industry impact.

Predictive health data and maintenance scheduling are often looked at separately in manufacturing. A solution that combines the two would provide added value, such as utilizing machine health data to drive and optimize maintenance planning and spare part orders. This not only helps detect failures in advance, but it also prevents downtime due to the unavailability of spare parts or maintenance personnel. By demonstrating this solution on a live machine at the event, Predictronics and our partners helped spark interest in manufacturers.

2. Industrial AI is more accessible than ever for smaller manufacturers.

Smaller manufacturers typically do not have a significant budget allocation for predictive health monitoring solutions, but they possess advantages that larger manufacturers do not: flexibility and speed. This is typically due to leaner organizational structures, which allow for quicker project approvals. Therefore, it is often easier for them to initiate predictive maintenance solutions and reap the benefits of new technological advancements.

3. Data collection is still a primary obstacle.

One of the biggest challenges that manufacturers face when going through the digital transformation process is how to get started in data collection. Depending on the age of the machine, several hardware strategies may need to be considered. On legacy machines, various sensors may need to be installed to acquire the data relevant to failures. On modern machines, the controller may already be capturing some part of the data needed, but not necessarily all of it. The right data acquisition strategy is critical to enabling a successful predictive solution. View our Data Acquisition webinar for more on this topic.

Predictronics team members were pleased to see how a live demonstration of our predictive dynamic scheduling solution at MxD offered a better understanding of our products and allowed manufacturers to visualize possible benefits at their facilities.

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