To help manufacturers maximise data-driven productivity, Coventry-based Fanuc UK Ltd (www.fanuc.eu) has unveiled MT-Linki, a fully scalable out-of-the-box solution for machine tools; it can monitor and manage data from up to 1,000 machines — both Fanuc and non-Fanuc controlled equipment and devices — via an OPC UA server protocol.

Crucially, MT-Linki pools the production data over a secure network into a single centralised point, so it can be analysed remotely from the production office without the need to visit each individual piece of plant equipment on the factory floor.

As such, any necessary countermeasures can be actioned immediately.

The system, which offers scalable architecture to accommodate future factory growth, is said to be easy to set up, with no special hardware required.

Data acquisition is managed by dedicated collector PC software and then stored securely on a server PC, which also provides a Web-based user interface for data access, visualisation and analysis.

The interface can be accessed via any PC or Internet-enabled tablet within the factory network.

MT-Linki’s ability to assess the production status of the entire factory floor at a glance — in real time — is particularly beneficial.

Any alarms or anomalies that could affect production can be spotted and addressed, while critical production data such as feed rates, spindle/servo loads and machine temperatures can also be accessed.

The program allows factory managers to review operational results on an individual machine level, allowing production rates to be easily compared with forecasts.

Other productivity-driven functions include the ability to assess the utilisation factor of plant equipment.

This allows manufacturers to see any under-used machines and make changes to the production schedule for optimised resource planning.

Furthermore, the diagnostic capabilities of the MT-Linki system can help factory managers to identify bottlenecks. Data records are retained on alarm, program, signal and macro-value history, which can be used to further optimise production performance by eliminating repeat ‘pain’ points.

While up to 100 machines can be handled by just one MT-Linki server, the collector PC and server PC functions can be run from one standard PC for factories that operate just a handful of machines.

For sites operating over 100 machines, data can be pooled from 10 server PCs via an integrated server, thus expanding the system architecture’s monitoring capabilities to up to 1,000 machines from a single point of access.