Okuma Constant CARE: Remote CNC Machine Monitoring Provides Speedy Support
07.27.2012
Okuma Constant CARE remote CNC machine monitoring, combined with Okuma’s open architecture THINC®-OSP CNC control, ensures that help is there when you need it.
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REMOTE CNC MACHINE MONITORING PROTECTS PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY
In today’s demanding world of CNC machining, getting help at the moment of need is an invaluable commodity, and fast response times are essential to protect productivity and profitability. CNC machine tool reliability is at an all-time high, but problems do occur. And when they do, you need fast, reliable and cost-effective service to get you back up and running.
Information and timely response are keys to solving problems, and you can’t wait 24 hours for a service call. You need a resource, a partner you can trust and rely upon to provide real help and real solutions, in real-time.
Okuma realizes that time is of the essence, and by working with our distributors and partners, we use remote monitoring technology to leverage the information in the CNC machine tool to accelerate service response times.
REMOTE SERVICES AND INTELLIGENT DISPATCH
To provide CNC repair solutions quickly and accurately, service professionals need real-time information. Okuma Constant CARE provides a competitive advantage when diagnosing issues and preventing or limiting extensive machine downtime. With the open architecture THINC-OSP CNC control, and the functionality of Constant CARE, remote connections are made to a CNC machine, allowing service engineers to quickly grasp the situation and start providing accurate troubleshooting information. Additionally, information can be stored and passed along to other individuals within the support organization, which streamlines communication and collaboration.
Internet connectivity for CNC machine tools need not be constantly available to utilize Okuma’s Constant CARE. Mobile devices, such as MiFi, can be used to connect, reducing concerns about security, IT permissions and cost.
Remote CNC machine diagnosis also allows for Intelligent Dispatch of service engineers. Since our service engineers diagnose the problem before their arrival onsite, they arrive with the knowledge of how to solve the problem and with necessary parts in hand.
At the press of a button, Okuma customers are connected to one of 32 service support centers where trained and certified support engineers begin diagnosing issues and provide real help at a moment’s notice.
CONSTANT CARE REDUCES DOWNTIME
There are several tangible benefits to using remote diagnostics on CNC machine tools. Machines can be connected on an as-needed basis to get live support and troubleshooting. When a service call is necessary, the technician can be more prepared because they have increased information about the problem. And CNC machine data can be backed up and restored.
Machines that are connected in “always on” mode can be monitored to provide proactive alerts, and predictive maintenance. This data can also be organized to provide status reports on a monthly, daily or even a live basis.
Constant CARE software allows a customer to contact a service technician remotely through an Internet connection made with the CNC machine. Once connected, the technician can see everything that the operator sees on the screen and, with the customer’s permission, can be given control of the system to take corrective actions.
Forward-thinking customers that embrace this technology save money on repair costs and improve machine utilization through decreased downtime, providing a significant competitive advantage.
CONSTANT CARE ALLOWS CUSTOMERS TO FOCUS ON WHAT THEY DO BEST
There have been great advancements in CNC machining technology: designing and building CNC machine tools with the ability to provide almost unheard of positioning and repeatability accuracy; advanced CNC control technology with faster processing speeds; multitasking machines with 9 axes of control; higher levels of reliability.
However, in today’s world we are all being challenged to do more with less. What this means to most CNC machining shops is that we can no longer afford to carry the cost of redundant machine tools and processes. We can no longer invest in capital equipment and only use it for one or two shifts and be cost competitive. This means we are more dependent on fewer CNC machine tools working more hours. We need to invest in technology to run as many hours as possible unattended. All of this tests the reliability of our products to their very limits.
To work at these levels of performance, there must be a partnership established between the CNC machine builder and the customer. Although our service response time has gone from days or weeks to hours, it is often reactive. It needs to be predictive.
The customer needs to know the CNC machine tool is available when needed. Planned service down time is controlled and scheduled. We have the foundation in our CNC control technology, applying sensor technology, mapping our CNC machine tools at installation and monitoring these conditions remotely through our network of distributor service centers and Okuma America Corporation, 24/7. We provide the highest level of service for our customers to ensure their CNC machining centers are available on demand.
Our customer only needs to focus on what they do best, and sleep well, knowing that Okuma and our partners are ensuring the highest level of uptime possible.
For more details about Okuma CARE, contact your Okuma Distributor.
