When it comes to new production lines, the automotive industry focuses on reducing its supplier base to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Tangible benefits are lower development costs and a faster time-to-market for new models. Chris Evans, Marketing and Operations Group Manager at Mitsubishi Electric – Automation Systems Division UK believes machine builders can realise the same benefits with single sourcing.
Product compatibility and system flexibility are key to realising supply consolidation for machine builders. Mitsubishi Electric provides a full solution of machine and production line automation technologies.
Single Sourcing
Having robotics in the overall product line-up makes Mitsubishi’s offering unique for single sourcing. Design of inverters, servos, PLCs, motion, HMIs and robots focused on interoperability from the outset. This means they are easy to integrate and work synchronously. Solutions integrate into a common automation platform for plug-and-play performance. Supporting the fill line-up of Mitsubishi’s automation products is BPX, one of Mitsubishi’s leading european distributors
Programming, commissioning and operating with Mitsubishi’s iQ-Works software suite offers huge benefits. It simplifies controlling machining, processing, packaging and pick-and-place tasks – while managing a complete assembly line, including safety systems and the interface between machines and operators.
For the machine builder, reducing machine development costs is very attractive. Furthermore, factors such as ease of automation equipment integration and a common programming environment saves the “double or treble input” of control tag data, saves design time, reduces engineering costs and delivery lead-times.
Growth of Robotics
Offering robots is a big differentiator for Mitsubishi Electric. The company provides industry focused robot seminars, such as for Food & Beverage, Packaging, Automotive. These help engineers identify opportunities for the MELFA range of articulated arm and SCARA robots. Most are surprised at the low package cost, combined with ease of use and simple integration.
Robot integration is fast using the iQ-Works software suite. It provides common programming and configuring of PLCs, HMIs, inverters, servos and robots. This means that for many robot applications, integration in-house is practicable.
Says Evans, “What many customers only see once they are using our equipment is the unrivalled level of technical support we provide during the development cycle. Furthermore, end-users benefit from lower TCO for machines automated using Mitsubishi Electric.
Using Mitsubishi automation helps machine builder deliver cost competitive machines. This allows machine builders to compete better and improve profitability. For the end-users, their overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) improves. Finally. you can’t deliver both without reliable products that are compatible and easy to integrate other than from a single supplier.
For more information see Chris Evans’ full article here
