Interview with Hoffmann Group’s new CEO

Dr Robert Blackburn, CEO, Hoffmann Group

Much coverage is being given about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This era takes us far beyond the steam and water that kicked off industry in the 1800s and builds upon the electronics and computers that seemed so high-tech in the 1980s. You can either be scared or be excited that Industry 4.0 is creating exciting changes in everything from how and where things are created to how they’re distributed.

Most manufacturing executives who have heard about Industry 4.0 are sceptical. Others think that this is just another piece of marketing hype or that only big manufacturing facilities need these technologies that promises to reshape the way things are made.

INTERNATIONAL METALWORKING NEWS FOR ASIA is fortunate to interview Dr Robert Blackburn, the new CEO of Hoffmann Group, during the recent MTA Singapore. Dr Blackburn is considered internationally to be a leading mind with strategic vision and to be a pioneer in the field of digitalisation.

Managing a manufacturing transition
Emerging countries in South East Asia is moving itself down a more advanced manufacturing path. And they need help transitioning to competitive manufacturing environments. But are they ready to enter the next phase in the digitisation of the manufacturing sector?

So what happens to a country when a new manufacturing mind-set becomes reality? How do small companies begin to transition internally, expand locally, or decide to seek opportunities through digitalisation. These are only a few a questions and concerns from small shop owners in Asia that were discussed across conference tables.

The transition to high-complexity manufacturing is not going to happen overnight. What better way to start and be ahead of the game is by using an intelligent dispatch machine that optimises tool administration, and can provide interfaces to the company network including materials management system.

Dr Blackburn, said, "When you’re a small shop owner premium tools are hard enough to get. They’re even harder to keep track. So in a very pragmatic way, we can take the smallest shop and we can provide them a solution, which is of a highest premium standard to protect quality tools from going missing. We always like to talk about the advantages our premium tools provide. But we also have tools in our portfolio that have very pragmatic purposes while at the same time offering a good quality.”
Tool24 Smartline is Hoffmann’s latest innovation for managing tools. GARANT Tool24 Smartline concept is impressively simple: sturdy tool cabinets with up to 90 drawers offer you round the clock access to the desired material. The intuitive software allows you to make your selection quickly, be it by scanner, key word search or article number.

“In a big company what does Smartline do? It allows you to immediately manage your spend on tool and know which worker is using what. But if you’re in a small shop sometimes it can be as simple as protection. You don’t want to be locking everything up. Just like what it does in a big company, the system opens for you and it knows which tool you need when,” he added.

Dr Blackburn explained, “What Smartline is offering sets a real impact in society for the smallest of the small workshops to the biggest most state-of-the-art factory. Let’s say you’re at the port in Singapore and you’re running a rather small business, who got a contract with an oil & gas firm. So instead of locking your tools up or throwing them in the back of your truck, you can put them in your van and inside a Smartline machine.”

Innovation: Market differentiator
He described innovation in Hoffmann’s segment in the tool industry, particularly in Asia, a market differentiator. “The market is moving quickly and developing up the value chain. The trend over the coming three years is all about embedding software or embedding intelligence in the tool. So, our ambition is to further build up intelligence and offer smart solutions that enable efficient communication between the tool and the machine. This is a challenge, but above all it’s a great opportunity for us. Obviously, Hoffmann is at the forefront of that development.”

Dr Blackburn added, “In our Garant tools we have the intelligence already inside. Within our portfolio we offer tools that communicate to the machine and send a signal when replacement is needed, for example. There’s a reason why we are a premium brand, and that’s what our customers can justly expect from a technology leader.”

Dr Blackburn defined the fourth industrial revolution all about connectivity. “But, while focusing on digitalisation and connectivity you have to provide quality, above all. That’s what Hoffmann Group stands for: the highest quality tools in the market.” What is also unique about Hoffmann is the omni-channel approach the company intends to bring to Asia. “In terms of digitalisation, we are continuously improving. We thrive for an integrated approach. That means for example, that we will integrate some of the expertise that our sales team in the field offers our customers in human form into our digital channels. Our consultants will be able to use the new channels to show their “face” to the customer on the website. This approach is unique in our industry.”

By: KATHRYN GERARDINO-ELAGIO 

International Metalworking News for Asia June 2017

Revolution in industrial cutting

“It’s More Than Just a Revolution in Plasma. It’s a Revolution in Industrial Cutting.” This is the message Hypetherm Asia Pacific aims to convey to the press and their channel partners present during the recent "Meet the New Plasma Media Event" in Singapore.


Plasma cutting systems have been used to cut metal for over 50 years and provide numerous advantages over other cutting methods. But despite the fact that plasma cutting systems have been used in industrial applications for many years, some people are still unaware of its benefits and how it can be an essential productivity enhancing tool.

Among the tell-tale signs that Hypetherm is betting its future on helping shape the world is the launch of XPR300^TM and EDGE^® Connect. Philip Parker, Product Marketing Manager of Hypetherm Mechanised Plasma Systems Team, and Nathan Pascarella, Product Marketing Manager of Hypetherm Automation flew all the way from New Hampshire, USA to help introduce XPR300 and EDGE Connect CNC, and to leverage these next-generation technologies through discussions and presentations.

XPR300

Philip Parker, Product Marketing Manager

Philip talked about most significant advance in mechanised plasma cutting with the introduction of an entirely new class of plasma called X-Definition™. This new plasma is available for the first time in a 300 amp plasma system called the XPR300. He emphasised, “The XPR300 has unmatched performance and unbeatable operating cost.” Philip said the X-Definition class plasma combines engineering advances and refined high definition plasma processes to deliver unmatched plasma cut quality on mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminium. Laboratory testing shows ISO-9013 Range 2 cut quality on thin mild steel and extended ISO Range 3 cuts on thicker metals. To reach this point Hypertherm engineers had to develop a number of new patent-pending processes like Vented Water Injection™ (VWI) and plasma dampening, and new vent-to-shield technologies. The end result is squarer cut edges, markedly less angularity, and excellent surface finish on non-ferrous metals like aluminium and stainless steel.

“The arrival of X-Definition Plasma and our new XPR300 is a huge step forward in the capabilities of plasma technology,” said Philip. “The combination of faster cut speeds, unparalleled cut quality, intuitive features, and automatic system monitoring make it our most advanced and productive plasma yet. It really opens up a wide range of opportunities for companies by providing cut quality and consistency that may make it suitable for applications which have previously been associated with laser, but with the much lower initial investment costs associated with plasma,” he added.
Despite being Hypertherm’s most advanced system yet, the XPR300 is easy to use. Sensors in the power supply deliver refined diagnostic codes and significantly enhanced system monitoring information. This reduces troubleshooting time and provides proactive data to improve overall system optimisation and uptime. Additionally, the system is designed with fewer consoles and connections so operators can spend less time setting-up and more time cutting.

For example, an EasyConnect™ feature allows operators to quickly plug the torch lead into the torch connect console without the use of tools, while a patent pending QuickLock™ electrode delivers easy quarter turn tightening to further reduce setup time. Another new design feature is a quick change torch that enables an operator to rapidly change torches with just one hand. All consoles feature advanced autogas capability allowing operators to select and implement cutting jobs directly from the CNC, along with Wi-Fi in the power supply to enable system, or even multiple system, monitoring from afar.

EDGE Connect CNC

Nathan Pascarella, Product Marketing Manager

According to Nathan, the EDGE Connect is the latest CNC designed and built by Hypetherm. This exciting new product combines ease of use and reliability features into the three new hardware configurations powered by Phoenix^® software, the EDGE Connect provides end users with the performance features they need and channel partners with flexibility for installation and integration.
“Our customers wanted greater functionality integrated into their cutting machines coupled with our embedded expertise. EDGE Connect delivers that through our new software applications running on this new hardware platform,” he said.

Nathan added, “The EDGE Connect offers greater flexibility for machine operators with ProNest CNC, a feature that allows SureCut outcomes to be programmed quickly and efficiently from the touchscreen interface. It is a great complement to our offline CAM software, providing a solution when offline CAM programming might not be available.”

Cutting machine customisation is further enhanced by quick and easy set up through an EtherCAT communication platform and custom software configuration that allows for up to 12 axes through an online configurator. The hardware platform is the foundation and software selections enable any EDGE Connect to be set for various cutting applications. Furthermore, cutting machine manufacturers can develop their own operator consoles and auxiliary programs using the Soft Op Con API and PLC Connect.

Creativity and innovation

Israel Gonzales, Regional Director

One of the more interesting takeaways during the media event is Israel Gonzales, Regional Director, Hypetherm Asia Pacific sharing about the company’s vision. He said, “Hypetherm’s vision is to be the agent of innovation in industrial cutting operations globally, working together as a company of owners to make positive change, create shared value and bring out the full potential of every associate.”

The company aims to be recognised beyond plasma, metal, 2D, and cutting systems & consumables. They want to be known as a company that provide the full value stream, including upstream and downstream; not just products and not just at time of sale, rather a trusted adviser and service partner over the full product/customer life cycle.

Israel believes that “The Human Touch Matters!” The company’s overall objectives are: high performance, access and fast delivery, reduce operating costs, high uptime, optimise total cutting value stream, provide training, make purchasing easy, keep me informed, and objective advice on technology.

“Quantify the relative importance of each of the nine services crucial to the customer experience, and understand the relative size of the gap between what the end user desires and what is actually being delivered by Hypetherm and our partners, today on a global scale,” he said.

Finally, Lester Lee, Regional Marketing Manager, Hypetherm Asia Pacific, shared two strategies for creating competitive advantage: 1) Cost Leadership- a cost leader is where the company has decided to create the cheapest product on the market. This strategy requires the product to be commoditised and take advantage of the economies of large scale. 2) Differentiation- The differentiation strategy is where we decide to choose a certain attribute of our business offering to focus on. In order to make this strategy work you have to select an attribute that a big enough section of the market care about enough in order to pay a premium price for your product.

By: KATHRYN GERARDINO-ELAGIO 

International Metalworking News for Asia June 2017

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: We have changed the location of our conference from Chonburi to Bangkok and extended the scope from high performance machining to include other manufacturing process focused on the automotive sector. Please see the details below.

If you have any questions, kindly E-mail: 

S.E. Asia: Kathryn Gerardino-Elagio (kathryn@ringiertrade.com)

China: William Yan: (william@ringiertrade.com)

Taiwan: Sydney Lai (sydneylai@ringier.com.hk)

HK, Europe & North America: Mike Hay (mchhay@ringier.com.hk)

Embracing digitalisation the smart way

The recent TIMTOS 2017 Summit brought together industry experts with an eye toward making the vision of smart manufacturing a reality and promoting Industry 4.0. The summit consisted of 30 minute lectures, broken down into five tracks that run simultaneously. Some highlights of the keynotes are:

Dr Ken Chen, Vice President of Siemens Ltd, Taiwan’s topic is “Paving the way to future smart machine.” His speech talked about how we can build manufacturing process that automatically improve themselves as a result of their experiences, including the basic rules that govern learning processes. According to Dr Chen, machine with intelligent capability brings the future of machine and behave like human being with this Siemens can give the answer for the future of smart machine.
Bryce Barnes, Senior Manager Connected Machines and Robots, Cisco, spoke about “How the Internet of Things will Transform the Global Machine.” According to Bryce Manufacturing and the Internet of Things are two worlds coming together.

He explained, the first industrial revolution used water and steam power to mechanise production. The second used electric power to create mass production. The third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a fourth industrial revolution is building on the third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
Bryce said that the fourth industrial revolution leads to digital transformation that allows us to re-imagine how we enable, differentiate and define how we work, live, learn and play. It is predicated on a hyper-connected world; one where people, processes, data and things (digital and physical things) communicate freely with one another and add and extract unprecedented value of their endless interactions.

He mentioned that connected machines represent huge opportunities, and that 92% of machines are not network connected all over the world. Bryce finds that most CNC machining is still operator driven or craft driven. The movement from build at any cost of efficiency is accelerating. As a service strategies are evolving but not fast enough. Finally, mechanical & process innovation are essential but not enough. The call to action for these outcomes is IOT for machine tools. But what is driving IOT for machine tools? It’s the asset utilisation, optimised consumables, accurate job costing and loss reduction.

Meng-Shiun, Tsai Ph.D. on the topic of “Design and manufacture of machine tools and wisdom control technology,” mentioned two main points: one is how to build a multi-physical digital design system, and the second is how to develop intelligent technology alone. The goal of developing a multi-physical design system is to predict the accuracy of the workpiece contour, surface roughness, and machining time before processing by means of a virtual simulation after a given machining program, and through CAD/CAM software to 3D images to produce processing surface line. The goal of developing stand-alone intelligent technology is to develop the value-added and detection system of the controller and hope to diagnose the tool wear through line measurement. Life estimation provide a set of on-line measurement mechanism to predict the surface quality of the process. The report shows the results of its team in integrating servo and cutting simulation systems, 3D CAD/CAM virtual simulation and intelligent human-machine development.

Manfred Koch, Head of Industry Cluster Machine Building of SICK AG, talked about “Smart Machines Need Smart Sensors.”

He said that machinery, in particular in the area of machine tools, is facing a continuous change in innovation. In the beginning of industrialisation, mechanisation was the first step from handmade products to machine supported production. This step has ensured to cope with the increasing demand of society for higher volume of goods at lower costs, to produce faster along with the changes as well as to favour new production methods with better efficiency.

“Next innovation steps were influenced by automation technology which led to the use of electronic sensors and machine controllers with the benefit of precise, reliable and flexible machine processes, for instance in movement, positioning and safety. For decades, the improvements followed incremental steps and excelled machine improvements towards higher production speed, quality and resource efficiency,” Koch added.

He explained that today’s society has access to new IT capabilities with the result of paperless, flexible order configuration which even allows tracking of the shipment on a smart phone. Thus, the trend is changing from mass products with little variants, e.g., cars, to increasingly individualised products with “lot-size one” especially in consumer products such as sport shoes.

Koch said that these mainstreams, enhanced machine automation and IT use of customer foster a new era and force machine builders to fulfil challenges such as Flexible Automation – Quality – Track & Trace and Safety. The new requirements need answers as well in sensor technology. Modern, innovative sensors use  ASIC technology, which provides the ability to process signals faster, less sensitive to environment influence and more precisely. Moreover, they have the capability of pre-processing information already inside the sensor. Examples are data analysis for predictive information or even the ability to differentiate objects simply based on their characteristics.

Batch changes must already be supported by the sensor, saving set-up time and ensuring appropriate set-up. In combination with intelligent communication, smart sensors provide the ability of increased application functionality. Big data can be made available, but does not necessarily have to be sent via a programmable logic controller or other machine controllers. Avoiding such bottlenecks, data can be transferred parallel to the higher level machine or plant control directly.

Finally Koch said smart sensors serve both worlds: on the one hand proper machine functionality, process flexibility and a higher transparency related for instance to optimised set-up or trouble shooting. On the other hand, smart sensors give added value for the overall production information flow.
Jeng-Shyong Chen, a Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering National Chung-Husing University discussed “Digital and Intelligent Machine Tool Technology.” In his speech he mentioned the megatrends of machine tool technology. Indus 4.0 smart factory is about intelligent functions and software, while advance materials is on ultrasonic machining and 3D printing. The roadmap to Machine 4.0 Project begins with 5-axis ultrasonic machining (2017), intelligent ultrasonic machining system (2018) and intelligent hybrid manufacturing system (2019).
Chen explained that from the conventional metal machining to the advanced material machining and 3D printing, aerospace will switch from aluminium to composite materials, while mobile phones from metal case will shift to ceramic case and 2D/3D glass, electric vehicle on the other hand will change from metal frame to composite frame, and we will see fewer and fewer of die/moulds in the 3D printing technology.

According to a survey from Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, 39% of respondents said post-processing requirements are a top challenge in using AM now and in the future.
The 3D metal printing has been proven to fabricate complicated geometric parts in an efficient way, but this technology must evolve to be able to engineer the mechanical properties of a part (both in internal and surface portions), too, he added.

Andreas Schuhbauer, Market Segment, Manager Machine Tool Automation, KUKA AG, talked about “Smart Factory: How Smart?” Here he stated the challenges of the future. Schuhbauer said that the world of work is going to undergo fundamental change. But take note that this is a development, rather than an abrupt change. One that will be accelerated by the following megatrends.

He explained that in a smart factory, machinery and equipment will have the ability to improve process through self-optimisation and autonomous decision making. And the processes impacted will include: factory and production planning, product development, logistics, enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution systems (MES), control technologies, and individual sensors and actuators in the field. Therefore, smart production will use a flexible tool and positioning technology and robots that cooperate during a production step.

“Since human labour is a very important cost driver, robotic co-workers are mainly used to improve worker productivity. In human-robot collaboration, the robot assists the human operator. This means: The machine does not replace the human, but complements his capabilities and relieves him of arduous tasks”, Schuhbauer added.

Having heard all these, embracing smart manufacturing ultimately determine a business' success. We are at a point where paradigm shifts and technological changes are a necessity, but we are seeing businesses fail at taking complete advantage of the benefits they offer. Successful supply chain management systems allow for visibility into integrated metrics that can help drive profitability and move the supply chain from a push-based to a pull-based model. When done right, businesses maximise cash flow, minimise lost sales and reduce overstocks.

By: KATHRYN GERARDINO-ELAGIO 

International Metalworking News for Asia April 2017

Learn from the experts! Be part of the action! Come Join!

The 2017 Asia High Performance Machining Technology Conference (June 27-28) brings industry leaders together to discuss Precision Machining, Intelligent Automation, Testing & Measuring, and Equipment ROI, plus Practical Solutions and Ideas. It includes a Mini Expo, Factory Tour, Technical Seminars, and Networking opportunities, all included with 2 days of valuable information exchange on the latest topics, with lunch and drinks and other activities.

International Metalworking News for Asia April 2017 issue is already out!

http://edms.industrysourcing.com/ezine/17/04/imna.htm

Industry 4.0 is emerging as a critical component to manufacturing competence. A trend that will further intensify in the coming years. Leading companies are appearing on the horizon with ideas that will change the face of the industry.

Job shops in South East Asia’s developing economies are now starting to identify technologies that would complement their manufacturing businesses. Here at International Metalworking News for Asia, we strive to present technical articles, stories and products that can help expand outside traditional manufacturing.

DMG Mori supports its customers on their path to consistent digitalisation based on the app-based control and operator system CELOS® with intelligent software solutions and a lot of digital products and services. By now every fourth machine is thanks to CELOS® compatible with the future. Find out what other products the company presented during its recent open house in this month’s Metal Cutting section.

To remain competitive and profitable, shops continually seek the most economical and productive ways to accomplish their work. Industry 4.0 is presently the top level of manufacturing evolution, requiring strong management commitment, specialised personnel and significant investment. The Tooling & Workholding section features simple, cost-effective analyses and actions that can have a large positive effect on the productivity of small to medium-size operations.

Users nowadays are looking for tangible benefits to reach the next level of process simulation in their sheet metal forming software. This month’s Sheet Metal Forming section unveils Auto-Form Engineering’s latest software version. The software enables users to reach the next level of process simulation through a new set of powerful enhancements and functionalities.

Although Industry 4.0 is dominating the discussion of the future like no other topic, efforts to lay out Industry 4.0 in South East Asia is still embryonic. At present, enterprises in the region whose status can be described as Industrial 3.0 or even lower than that know they need a lot of improvements, especially in cost control, production efficiency and process management. 


Nevertheless, these economies are pushing towards development. And in the future, I’m positive that we will see more demand for services, potentially turning them into a major power behind the digital market.

Key Trends significant to IIoT

Manufacturing is on the crossover of a revolution all over the world. Advancements in technologies are not only making manufacturing effective, but also enabling the work to be “Smarter”. Technologies, based on the IoT, are growing exponentially and are becoming more efficient and significant in industries such as Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, and Retail. The IoT has created a new wave of transformation for manufacturers over the past decade.

By 2020, Frost & Sullivan estimates nearly 12 billion devices in the manufacturing world are expected to be connected via advanced machine-to-machine (M2M) based technology.

The market research has identified some of the key trends significant to IIoT:
1. Industrial Mobility
2. IoT gateways
3. Smart Sensors
4. Big Data Analytics
5. Virtual and Augmented Reality
6. Manufacturing Cloud
7. Additive Manufacturing

A number of leading manufacturers such as Bosch, Siemens, and General Electric (GE) are early adopters of smart manufacturing. However, today, a number of niche companies namely Waygum, GainSpan, Splunk, and so on are leveraging the technology and making advancements in the industry vertical. A key to successfully migrate into IIoT is to ensure high productivity and efficiency at reduced costs. Innovative evolution and digitization have driven new and different applications of IIoT, especially in the manufacturing vertical.