When LinkedIn goes down …

Witty message… instead of getting frustrated makes you laugh.

Workforce Development Using MTConnect

Printing my comb

A Makerbot printing my comb ..

Makerbot in action

Raw Material: Which color comb do you want ?

The makerbot scanner

 Makerbot

The CAD application

Other cool stuff made by makerbot: Gears

 Other cool stuff made by makerbot: Lego blocks

Workforce Development Using MTConnect

Manufacturing industry relies heavily on the skilled workforce to drive innovation, productivity and remain globally competitive. The rise of the high-tech manufacturing is changing the environment drastically; there is a need to attract young skilled personnel to take over the existing aging manufacturing workforce. Employment in high-tech manufacturing is expected to grow by 23.8 % over next 10 years . The aerospace and defense industry has already a backlog of production that extends to 2030, requiring continuous requirement of new workforce. Unfortunately, the sector has failed to attract the young and bright student to choose manufacturing as their career path. Manufacturing has a perception of old, smoky work places with repetitive jobs, lack of technology and no advancement prospects. According to a recent skills gap report, more than 83 % of U.S. manufacturers report an overall shortage of qualified employees. There is urgent need to revamp traditional teaching meth¬ods used in manufacturing education to ensure a robust supply of essential human capital required for a thriving domestic manufacturing industry.

Reference: Workforce Development Using MTConnect, 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference.

Advanced Manufacturing Processes and Systems @ RPI

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is the first University to include MTConnect within the graduate level engineering curriculum. The new Advanced Manufacturing Processes and Systems (AMPS) class is part of the Manufacturing Innovation Learning lab (MILL) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy NY).  AMPS allows students the opportunity to gain valuable engineering skills in the area of advanced manufacturing  theories and processes.  Topic areas of study include; composites, additive manufacturing, open communication standards for manufacturing (MTConnect), micromachining, and high speed machining.  The class will involve industry experts to advise on content and assist with learning module development and delivery.  This academic program will be part of the School of Engineering graduate level Manufacturing Certificate Program.

This innovative AMPS class in the MILL reflects changes in the engineering field and in the marketplace defining a need for advanced skill-sets within the industry.  Industry is looking for future leaders who are versed in time-tested manufacturing techniques, yet experienced and fluent in leading-edge manufacturing technologies.  These requirements are further validated by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) reports discussing advanced manufacturing technologies.  PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and the Executive Office of the President. PCAST makes policy recommendations in the many areas where understanding of science, technology, and innovation is key to strengthening our economy and forming policy that works for the American people.  Information related to these reposts can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/library/docsreports.

Prior to the classes starting there were a number of challenges which would require industry companies to be involved. One particular challenge had to be met before the classes even started, implementing MTConnect on a machine at RPI. MacKintok and RPI reached out to TechSolve, a Cincinnati-based company who was more than ready to volunteer their services. The efforts of TechSolve laid the groundwork for both classes to be a success. With the MTConnect protocol implemented, RPI was looking for companies who developed MTConnect applications and companies who were end users. Along with MacKintok and Hamilton Numbers, MTConnect participating companies US Army Benet Laboratories and Real Time Development volunteered their time to lecture to the students about the history of MTConnect and how it is utilized in the factory.

Economics of Cloud Computing and Open Protocol on the Manufacturing Long Tail

Manufacturers are in relentless pursuit of continuous improvement in decreasing lead times, reducing costs and exploring new opportunities. Offering services along with products for additional revenue streams is becoming a commonplace. Additionally, long supply chains and fluctuating demands create a need to be agile and responsive to meet customer requirements. Effectively managing complex manufacturing operations requires accurate, granular, and real time data to make fact-based decisions. The manufacturing industry is unfortunately marred with closed architecture, highly customized and proprietary systems making it difficult to access data for analytics, business intelligence, and data mining. Even though large manufacturers might have resources for such technology, small and medium manufacturers (SMM), which account for 40% of US production output and 60% of employment, often don’t have the access and cannot justify the business case to implement manufacturing intelligence systems. Software application providers have traditionally concentrated on the larger firms which offer greater opportunity and scope. Ironically, SMMs have a great need for such manufacturing intelligence as they focus on higher-end, higher-margin products where cutting-edge technologies, responsive service, and lead times are very important. The recent advent of open source communication protocols like MTConnect and cloud-based applications has changed the business models for offering manufacturing intelligence technology solutions to SMMs. There is huge economic opportunity to serve this “long” manufacturing tail which comprise of more than 296K+ firms, employing more than 8M+ skilled labor and representing 99% of nations manufacturers. 

MTConnect is an open, royalty-free standard intended to foster greater interoperability between controls, devices and software applications by publishing data over networks using the Internet Protocol. Benefits include real time production dashboard, alerts, equipment availability and usage, overall equipment effectiveness, production reporting/tracking, visualization of maintenance tracking, problem resolution and planning, energy conservation, quality, statistical process control, data mining, genealogy and security. Additional benefits can be achieved by integrating functions such as purchase order management, master scheduling, material requirement planning and shop floor control with other business functions such as accounting, sales, maintenance and shipping. 

The cloud computing pay-per-use model is cost effective, secure, and efficient. The end-user does not have to purchase all of the required hardware, software, manage networks, software licenses, and maintain IT support staff which is very advantageous for SMMs as they often have limited human and financial resources. Additionally, while SMMs can use this data for better operations management, they can also predict and adjust to changes in the economy, technology, customer behavior, and the global marketplace. 

This paper will discuss the impact of open protocols and cloud computing for providing manufacturing intelligence applications for SMMs. A case study describing the economics of using MTConnect compliant cloud based ShopViz application at a gear manufacturing factory will be described along with benefits, limitations, return-on-investment, and future work. 

Reference: Economics of Cloud Computing and Open Protocol on the Manufacturing Long Tail; Amit Deshpande, 2014 Conference of the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT); May 20-22, 2014; Virginia Beach, VA [ SUBMITTED].

MTConnect Challenge

Create ideas or applications using MTConnect – win cash prizes!

Are you a dreamer, or a doer? The MTConnect Challenge has something for both. The ultimate goal of the challenge is to engage and stimulate development of a broader base of advanced manufacturing intelligence applications that utilize the MTConnect standard. The challenge offers a total of $250,000 in cash prizes — you could win $100,000!

The framework: The MTConnect Challenge seeks ideas and applications that enable a more efficient and competitive domestic manufacturing infrastructure for the defense industry. Additionally, these ideas and applications should create valuable low-cost tools and applications that can easily be adopted by discrete part manufacturers to enhance their capabilities and support supply management.

• Dreamers – submit your ideas for Challenge 1: Your ideas are what the first competition is looking for here — the best concepts for manufacturing intelligence applications using MTConnect. Think big! Challenge 1 is seeking ambitious yet achievable ideas that capture the public’s imagination and harness innovation and breakthroughs for the Department of Defense and U.S. industrial manufacturing supply chain. This competition started on, April 12, 2013 and runs through May 31, 2013.

• Doers – create an application for Challenge 2: If you’re the type to roll up your sleeves, the second competition is looking for development of software applications that address the objectives of this challenge.

This competition begins on July 1, 2013 and runs until January 31, 2014.

MTConnect Challenge needs YOU: Diverse variety of entrants – students and professionals, scientists, laypersons, and organizations of all kinds, including manufacturers – are encouraged to participate.
What is MTConnect? MTConnect is an open-source, royalty-free communications standard intended to foster greater communication and connectivity between manufacturing equipment and devices.

For more information, visit MTConnect.Challenge.gov

Empowering Power Savings

Manufacturing is among the most energy-intensive sector and account for almost 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Energy consumption monitoring has been done since the industrial revolution days and is traditionally viewed as a “bill to be paid” which is increasing on an average by 10% per annum. There is a wide gap between monitoring energy consumption and actually correlating that data to the operational activities in a factory to devise strategies for energy usage optimization. With the advent of standard like MTConnect, we can now in real-time “tag” every kilowatt spent against a particular machine, part, work order or client. In addition, we have the ability to include infrastructure items like pumps, chillers, air compressors, HVAC and lighting to provide a holistic view of energy consumption. ITAMCO and TechSolve will explain the use of MTConnect technology to enable dramatic energy savings by understanding energy usage and demand patterns which enables energy costs to be a controllable operating expense. A case study will be presented where Energy Performance Indicators (EPI’s) and return on investment will be quantified for MTConnect implementation at ITAMCO located in Plymouth, Indiana.

Click here for more information. 

Click here to download the PDF copy of the presentation. 

Reference: Empowering Power Savings, Joel Neidig, Amit Deshpande, MC2 Manufacturing Conference 2013, April 10-11 2013, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

2013 MC2 Conference Registration is Now Open

Registration is now open for the 2013 MC2 conference. Click here to register.

Gartner's top 10 strategic technologies for 2013

1. Mobile devices battles
2. Mobile applications and HTML5
3. Personal cloud
4. Internet of things
5. Hybrid IT and cloud computing
6. Strategic big data
7. Actionable analytics
8. Mainstream in-memory computing
9. Integrated ecosystems
10. Enterprise app stores

Source: Gartner

Where to be born in 1988 versus 2013

Tomorrow's World

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130102-tomorrows-world 

What happened in 2012 ?

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121228-2012-distilled

“Pain Relief” for Medical Parts Manufacturing

The medical part manufacturing industry has been growing at a rate of 12% for the past decade and expected to exceed $228B by 2015. The industry has a healthy future especially with the aging population and increased spending by the public and private sectors. The over 16,000 small to medium medical part manufacturing firms in United States today, face unique set of challenges with small complex part sizes, unique materials and government regulatory approvals. Accessibility to real-time and historic data for monitoring, optimization and auditing the machinery involved in the manufacture of the variety of medical device is essential to stay alive in the cutthroat competitive environment. The presentation will focus on quantifying the benefits of using the revolutionary MTConnect standard for the medical part manufacturing. A case study conducted at RMI will be presented, quantifying the return on investment of using MTConnect technologies for producing the Minute-Man insertion device used for spinal implant. RMI, a manufacturer of high precision spinal and orthopedic implants located in Noblesville, IN, will share their experience of using fact-based decision making for not only improving productivity and quality but managing delivery dates which wouldn’t have been possible without MTConnect. MTConnect is truly a pain relief solution of the industry which ensures pain relief for millions of us.

Reference: “Pain Relief” for Medical Parts Manufacturing, Jim Evans, Amit Deshpande, MC2 2013 conference (in-review), April 10-11, Cincinnati, Ohio.  

CCAT & MTConnect Institute Workshop

I will be presenting the benefits of real time monitoring, interoperability standards and how small-medium manufacturers can effectively implement manufacturing data management at the upcoming MTConnect Workshop. MTConnect Institute and Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) is hosting a workshop about MTConnect — the first comprehensive, process information model that integrates data from manufacturing shop floor devices to business applications.

Where:
Connecticut Center for Advanced
Technology - M&S Theater
222 Pitkin St., East Hartford, CT 06108

When:
Friday, December 7, 2012

Space is limited; pre-registration is required. Go to: www.etouches.com/MTConnect

FOR MORE INFORMATION/REGISTRATION
Contact Ed Marinko at 860-291-8832
Email — emarinko@ccat.us
www.ccat.us

Reshoring

Rising Chinese wages and a surge in U.S. competitiveness are forcing many American manufacturers to ratchet back their foreign operations, according to a study by The Boston Consulting Group. The shift means that more companies see the value in Made in America, a philosophy always embraced.

Why They’re Coming Back
According to that same study, the China exodus could create 2 to 3 million U.S. jobs by 2020. They predict nearly half of those jobs to be factory positions. Here are some facts:

• When compared to manufacturing in the U.S., many companies are actually losing money in China because of lower worker productivity, higher logistical cost, and indirect risks of operating in a foreign country, like product quality failure.
• Productivity growth in the U.S. is at an all-time high, with American workers churning out consistently higher quality products. Yet the country still offers one of the lowest manufacturing cost structures in the industrialized world.
• Key industries expected to shift operations back to the U.S. include: transportation goods, appliances, electrical equipment, furniture, plastic and rubber, machinery, fabricated metal, and more.
• Even foreign companies are adding more operations in the U.S. to accommodate domestic and export markets.

And then there’s also the consumer side of things. According to a Harris poll, three in five Americans are more likely to purchase a product they know is manufactured in the U.S.

Sustainable Aerospace Manufacturing

Recently, I gave a talk on Sustainable Aerospace Manufacturing at the 2011 MC2 conference. The presentation video is now available. 

[MC]2 2011 - Day 2 - Sustainable Aerospace Manufacturing

The PDF copy of the presentation is available here.

More information on the session and MC2 conference available here. 

The Debt Limit Drama

The US Government debt reached the highest limit of $14.3 trillion on May 15, 2011. The government’s budget deficit this year alone is set to be a record breaking $1.5 trillion. It is estimated that two dollars of every three dollars it spends are borrowed. In relative terms, if an individual’s income is $100,000 per year, it means that he is spending $160,000 per year and adding $60,000 per year to credit card debt which already stands at $650,000 [1]. If the limit is not increased by August 2, 2011, there is a possibility that US will default and would be forced to stop paying its creditors – from bond investors and contractors to some government salaries. It is estimated that the social security and health care programs are in $43 trillion deficit. To cover this, the government would have to eliminate virtually all other spending or significantly increase the tax rates. However, raising taxes is a double edge sword. In addition to political issues, it can lead to reduced disposable income and consumer spending which will derail the economic recovery. After the 2008 financial meltdown, the unemployment rate climbed to10%, and even after 3 years is in the range of 8-9%. Even after keeping the key interest rate at a historical low (nearly zero), the economic recovery has been slow and sporadic.

Since 1962, the debt ceiling (the amount the government can borrow) has been increased 72 times. Repeating the same act for 72 times without proper long term strategic planning certainly indicates failure. There is a need to tackle the problem at the root cause. Factors affecting the deficit must be addressed instead of just raising the debt limit as and when money is required. One view of the situation is that the short term fixes gives Congress the reason to slash unnecessary spending programs. Another view is improper decision analysis. Decisions based upon the spending levels of previous years ignores the current situation: health care cost, the creation of the Part D drug benefit, increased homeland security spending post-9/11, wars, aging American population, increased social security and Medicare expenses and low tax revenue. On the other hand if the debt ceiling is not increased the consequences will be fatal. The government may default on its obligation to the creditors. The US might lose its highest credit rating. Standard & Poor forecasted a negative-outlook for U.S. debt and stated that there is a 33% chance of a credit downgrade within the next two years. The interest rates may rise which in turn will increase the cost of borrowing for the government.

It is predicted that the Congress will indeed increase the limit but will wait till the last moment. In my opinion, this is a better option than allowing the nation to default. However, there needs to be radical reforms and sustainable recovery plan. Four detailed outlines have already been discussed in the past five months, two by bipartisan commissions, one by the President and one by House Republicans. Focus should be on a long term strategy to reduce debt instead of the short term fixes and continued borrowing. The short term view will inevitably continue the vicious cycle of changing the legislation to increase the debt limit. Fundamental assumptions within the restructuring plan must be questioned. The plan should be based on current data and not the merry yester year economic indicators. A thorough restructuring plan will ensure that the nation is back on the road to financial security and prosperity.

References:

1. Solving America’s Debt Problem, The One Cent Solution, Stewart Welch III, 4/25/2011.

2. For public, debt limit fight risks dangerous game of chicken, USA Today, 4/28/2011.

Machine Tools Market to Hit $80.7B by 2015

A new research study predicts that the global machine tool industry is in the first stage of a rebound that will lift it to a market capitalization of $80.7 billion by 2015. Titled "Machine Tools: A Global Strategic Business Report," the report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. reviews market trends, drivers, product overview, competition, product introductions/innovations, and recent industry activity. The complete story available at American Machinist.

Reference: Machine Tools Market to Hit $80.7 Billion by 2015, Research Finds, American Machinist.

Traditional Manufacturing Consulting Firms should explore the Blue Ocean Healthcare Services Market

Recent advances in technology is revolutionizing industrial productivity, lowering cost structure and presenting new opportunities to provide the world market with innovative products. Traditional trade barriers between nations are vanishing; with the proliferation of internet and subsequent communication technologies, market information is available world-wide in real-time. Although these wonderful features of the world economy have been harnessed by corporations around the globe, there are hidden detriments as well. These rapid changes have commoditized traditional marketplaces faster than ever before, forcing companies to become entangled in price wars to stay competitive, resulting in ever-shrinking profit margins [6]. In order to succeed in the future, companies should focus on BLUE OCEAN strategies by creating and competing in “uncontested market space” and “making competition irrelevant” instead of fighting for market share in highly competitive RED OCEANS [6]. One critical element in a BLUE OCEAN is to align corporate functions and activities in order to achieve differentiation and low cost simultaneously [6]. Technology innovation, although advantageous, is not the defining characteristics of a BLUE OCEAN firm; nor is the myth that incumbents are at a disadvantage in creating blue markets. A large research and development (R&D) budget is not the prerequisite for creating blue markets: the key is proper managerial action and strategy, which can create long lasting brand value [6]. BLUE OCEAN strategy adopters benefit from economies of scale and have “first to market” advantage which makes would-be competitors entry difficult [6]. In summary, to be successful and profitable, corporations competing in traditional RED OCEAN markets should shift their focus on identifying strategies for creating, capturing and protecting BLUE OCEAN products and/or services.

In the mid-1970’s, the Japanese automaker Toyota created a BLUE OCEAN in America with its small and reliable line of automobiles. Toyota introduced and successfully implemented the tenants of Lean Manufacturing (often simply stated as: "Lean") which resulted in its affordable and reliable line of vehicles [4]. Lean Manufacturing is a production practice which considers the expenditure of resources for anything other than the creation of customer value to be wasteful; thus, a target for elimination [3]. The main objectives are to design out overburden (muri), inconsistency (mura) and eliminate waste (muda) [3]. These concepts, which were successfully implemented in the manufacturing industry, can also be applied to the service sector. The healthcare (service) industry differs in many ways from the manufacturing (product) industry; however, if thinking simply from a process perspective, many similarities exist. Similar to building a car, the task of providing healthcare to patients requires workers to execute multiple simple and complex processes in a defined sequence to provide value to the customer (i.e. patient). Waste, in terms of money, time, supplies and inventory, should be eliminated in these value additive healthcare services. Traditional manufacturing consulting firms should exploit the BLUE OCEAN opportunities within the service industry and expanded their product offerings in the form of healthcare. Firms should collaborate with healthcare organizations to implement business improvement, productivity and downtime reduction solutions. These solutions can minimize process variation and eliminate wasteful activities which lead to increased capacity, throughput and result in improved patient care and satisfaction. And most importantly, reduce the ballooning healthcare costs.

Application to healthcare has been limited and focused mainly on operational aspects using original Lean concepts. A more integrative approach would be to pay more attention to socio-technical (interaction between people and technology) dynamics of Lean implementation efforts. Every car produced on an assembly line has the same specifications, so standardized time (or “takt”) and resources for production of a car can be determined [3]. Unlike vehicle manufacturing, each patient is different in terms of needs and condition; a patient with nominal fever is not the same as the patient requiring an urgent surgery. Another industry difference is in demand and inventory storage. The demand for vehicles can be estimated based upon production capability, seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) and dealer demand forecast [5]. Unlike vehicle manufacturing, it is difficult to estimate the number of people who will become ill or have accidents and require hospitalization. If vehicles are overproduced they can be stored for future sales; in healthcare, it is impossible to use up excess capacity if no patient demand exists.

In summary, Lean concepts have the potential to greatly improve healthcare and present a huge BLUE OCEAN market for consulting businesses. At the same time, methodological and practical considerations exist which need to be factored into any decision. If all aspects of implementation are not considered or understood, Lean can and will fail, adding to current costs and making it difficult to improve upon existing healthcare services.

References
1. Lean Manufacturing, Wikipedia, Accessed: 3-Oct-2010. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing
2. Toyota Production System, 3-Oct-2010,URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System
3. Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Taiichi Ohono, Diamond Inc. Tokyo Press, Japan
4. The Toyota Way, Jeffrey K. Liker, McGraw-Hill Press, 1998
5. How Toyota Became #1, David Magee, Penguin Group, 2007
6. Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne, Harvard Business Review, 2004

Original Source: “Blue Ocean Strategy Concept Paper”, Deshpande A., Evans A. & Roberts M.