Mitsubishi Electric is constantly developing their portfolio of integrated automation components and services to help customers realise their individual business objectives.
Nowadays, companies are facing a wide range of challenges: growing global competition, changing customer requirements and an on-going digitalization of our world. To keep pace, decision makers within manufacturing industry must consider new approaches in order to keep their business models relevant. The crucial factor for success is to remain competitive by reducing costs and time-to-market for new products by using faster, more flexible and efficient production systems.
“Mitsubishi Electric have recognised the growth potential offered by new technologies, digitalization and the increasing pace of change. Our business model has been updated accordingly with the changes consolidated and represented by the e-F@ctory concept.” reports Hartmut Pütz, President Factory Automation EMEA at Mitsubishi Electric.
“We have learned that close cooperation with other companies from different industry sectors speeds up development and introduces valuable new ideas. For this reason the e-F@ctory Alliance has been established, a partner network of more than 300 companies working together on a worldwide level. These companies represent different backgrounds within the value chain: from devices and system integration to software providers. Together, we are more competitive as we are able to provide our customers with better solutions for their individual requirements.” explains Hartmut Pütz.
Addressing the challenges of Industry 4.0 today
Mitsubishi Electric are dedicated to developing technical innovations which address different application demands on a production level, alongside specific sector solutions for Food & Beverage, Water Utilities and Life Science, to name a few. All solutions are aligned to meet customer requirements such as; increased overall efficiency and cost reduction targets, while providing the answers to specific challenges such as, traceability, quality, safety and sustainability.
Faster machine integration
Production line integration of machines is an area where huge savings can be made right now in terms of programming and commissioning. An example of where Mitsubishi Electric can reduce commissioning time and life-cycle costs is in their latest PLCopen suite, which can be used to harmonise logic, motion, safety, communication and data exchange within a connected automation system. Another example of where Mitsubishi Electric can reduce development time is in their PackML OEM Template Package: a PackML compliant program which has full documentation for fast, reliable implementation on any machine or production line using an iQ Platform PLC from Mitsubishi Electric.
Predictive maintenance
Working with e-F@ctory Alliance member Schaeffler has also produced an online solution for preventive maintenance based on a smart condition monitoring device and Mitsubishi Electric developed software. The solution provides a convenient and easy to install package that connects seamlessly to factory automation and management systems. Users gain independent visibility of the health and maintenance status of rotating equipment such as motors, gearboxes, pumps and fans, enabling them to reduce down-time and increase production efficiency with a short ROI.
The model variant FR-A800E is a new introduction to the recently launched FR-A800 range of drives. The ‘E’ version provides a dedicated Ethernet port which enables direct connection to increasingly popular Ethernet networks for control of inverters within a larger automation network. There is also a new iPhone App available with this model that provides flexible access and control while on the move.
Optimised supply chain
The company’s latest Guided Operator Solutions system demonstrates how to improve quality and performance in manual picking processes, line side assembly processes and hand assembly manufacturing cells. The system uses a PLC to coordinate indicator lights, touch sensors, light curtains, door mechanisms and HMI screens in order to effectively sequence manual tasks. Eliminating human mistakes is one of the main quality challenges facing manufacturing industry today and this solution has already proved extremely effective at solving this issue in various manufacturing applications in the electronics, industrial and automotive sectors.
Approaching the Internet of Things
Recent estimates already put the number of devices that are connected to the internet at about 5 billion and this likely to soar over the next few years. Combine that prediction with the amount of data that is being generated means fast and secure data storage is now, more than ever, crucial for effective automation deployment. In this context a solution for achieving safe, convenient access to Cloud connectivity at device level was always going to prove popular.
Mitsubishi Electric is therefore offering different options for manufacturing companies to make use of all the benefits resulting from Cloud Computing and secure data storage. The solution is called Edge computing and can be realised using different combinations of products and technologies provided by Mitsubishi Electric and e F@ctory Alliance partners Adroit Technologies or eWon. Together, they offer managed connections to existing cloud services and therefore provide maximum flexibility.
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