Mazak Supports MTConnect as a Valuable Productivity Tool

Mazak Corporation continues its steadfast commitment to the MTConnect open communications protocol and to the (MC)2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference held by the MTConnect Institute.

From the inception of the protocol, Mazak has always been a strong supporter of MTConnect. The company firmly believes in the value of the protocol as an essential tool for manufacturers to increase productivity through the ability to monitor machine tool operating status and throughput. Scheduled for April 10 – 11 at the Millennium Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio, the (MC)2 conference will focus on both the business and technical aspects of MTConnect – fostering conversations about implementing the standard, as well as the increased productivity and return on investment it can provide today’s manufacturers.

As manufacturing surges and more work is reshored back to the United States, interest in MTConnect steadily increases with manufacturers looking to incorporate advanced technologies that will help them lower cost per part and increase output. Currently over 100 Mazak customers are in various stages of MTConnect implementation and are already experiencing tremendous gains in machine tool utilization and overall productivity.

Through MTConnect, Mazak ensures that its customers can easily monitor various machine components and functions through a series of sensors. Customers are then able to retrieve raw machine data and incorporate it into aggregate charts and graphs that depict production over specified periods of time. This information allows manufacturers to accurately pinpoint and correct for manufacturing bottlenecks or causes of machine downtime to improve spindle utilization and further streamline production operations

“More of our customers are discovering the value and capabilities of MTConnect, and Mazak has been deeply involved with supporting and advancing the standard. This is why we participate in the (MC)2  event,” said Brian Papke, president of Mazak Corp. “MTConnect’s value to our customers is in the ability for them to establish extensive and open channels of communication for plug-and-play interconnectivity between devices, equipment and systems to improve operational efficiency and optimize productivity. And as MTConnect grows and expands in its circle of connectivity, manufacturers will continue to unlock new and beneficial applications such as those involving downstream solutions where manufacturing systems can intelligently adjust sequences of part programs and production schedules to optimize production and help reduce manufacturing costs.”

The MTConnect standard is currently in its third release, v. 1.2. This latest release provides important and significant features, such as a new ground breaking mobile assets framework, as well as significant changes to support a vast array of sensors and time-series data. Mobile assets are those assets in the manufacturing process that can be associated with multiple devices during their lifecycle. These Mobile assets may be removed from a device without effecting its function, but these assets cannot produce data themselves. So they rely on manufacturing devices or other systems to collect data about them. The first type of mobile asset in the 1.2 release is for cutting tools.

Mazak is a featured sponsor of (MC)2, and Mazak’s Digital Solutions Specialist Neil Desrosiers will be on hand to lend his expert advice and answer technical questions. He will also serve as a discussion panelist for one of the event’s Business Session discussions entitled MTConnect Sensors: Anywhere and Everywhere.

(MC)2 attendees will gain valuable knowledge concerning the protocol during conference tracks that will be both technical and business oriented. Technical tracks will emphasize the “hands-on” side of MTConnect, while the business tracks will focus on quantifying increased productivity and on actual industry applications of the protocol. Additionally, (MC)2 will showcase commercially available products that use the MTConnect standard.

The (MC)2 event will offer many benefits to a wide range of attendees, including end users, equipment suppliers, software developers, distributors, independent software vendors and consultants. In addition, everyone from C-level executives to students to those who just want to gain a better understanding of MTConnect is welcome to attend.

Click here for more information and to register for (MC)2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference