Connecting the dots: General Industry Coverage

Without precise comparative data, the concept of interchangeable parts, as advanced by cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney in the early 1800s, could not have changed the face of manufacturing. Today, collecting, analyzing and applying data to improve productivity and achieve tighter tolerances is central to virtually any manufacturing process.

Taking this concept one step further is the enabling of CNC machine tools and peripherals to share part production data to improve productivity and minimize material waste. For example, the products LNS America Inc. produces, including bar feeders, chip and coolant management systems, vacuum unloaders, workholders and air filtration systems, enable CNC machines to operate more efficiently, according to Randy Lewis, the company’s control manager. “Several years ago we recognized that by making it possible for our various products to communicate with the CNC machine tools they work with, we could improve the customer’s productivity,” he said. “That’s why we developed e-Connect, which is a database and data transfer system.”

Courtesy of LNS America

The production/remnant management flow for the e-Connect system from LNS America.

Lewis added that the system can share real-time data between a lathe’s CNC and an LNS bar feeder while using the LNS parts library function. The library can store 500 part programs, each of which has a unique identification number. Through e-Connect, the bar feeder automatically detects the program the lathe is running and loads the correct setup data for that part from the library to changeover—on the fly—without operator intervention, thereby eliminating downtime. This enables running a large family of parts or even a group of unrelated parts with little or no operator involvement after the initial setup.