Technische Informationssysteme GmbH, an Austrian company also known as TIG, recently introduced TIG 2go, a low-cost, entry-level manufacturing execution system (MES).
It also introduced a new subscription model for its established and fuller-featured TIG authentig MES.
TIG specializes in providing MES software to the plastics industry. Engel, an injection molding machine manufacturer, bought TIG in 2016. TIG operates as an independent subsidiary.
“Our clients are mostly coming from injection molding,” Hannes Zach, TIG’s head of sales, said. “We are specialists in injection molding and everything having to do with the plastics industry.”
Increasingly, processors are looking to such systems to improve efficiency and production, he said. In addition, MES software can help companies document and track part production.
TIG 2GO
TIG 2go is a new product that allows processors who can’t invest in a complex MES software package to keep track of their production on a “smart dashboard” that can be displayed anytime worldwide on personal computers, tablets or smartphones.
Users connect machines — including injection molding machines, extruders and auxiliary equipment — to the TIG 4.0 cloud platform using TIG-supplied IoT data acquisition hardware. TIG 2go operates in TIG’s dedicated cloud, independent of the customer’s IT infrastructure.
TIG’s IoT hardware is connected to each machine that a customer wants to monitor, and the data is transmitted through a secure connection. TIG 2go makes it possible for customers to digitally identify the state of each machine, including the quantity and quality of parts produced and the number of rejected parts. Customers can evaluate historical data for a period of up to three months.
Depending on what data a connected machine can deliver through a PLC — such as machine status or machine alarms, etc. — more advanced information can be collected and displayed, including process values and the amount of scrap produced.
The information is clearly arranged, the company said, and it can be called up at any time with the push of a button on a computer or smartphone. It’s also available at a low cost. Users pay about $1 per day for each machine monitored. If customers want more information than TIG 2go can deliver, they can switch over to the more complete TIG authentig MES package.
TIG AUTHENTIG
TIG also announced last year a subscription- based or license-based model for its TIG authentig MES software, which handles digital production planning and process monitoring and control.
The new subscription service offers an easy and cost-effective way to work with an MES. “Thanks to the low initial investment, the TIG authentig subscription model guarantees a fast return on investment,” the company said.
The subscription plan is a particularly attractive option for companies that have smaller operations of only 10 to 15 injection molding machines, Zach said. That’s because they pay a small monthly fee per machine for the MES service instead of having to purchase the system up front.
TIG authentig connects employees to information about machines, storage systems, robots and peripheral devices and helps companies implement Industry 4.0, according to the company.
At the touch of a button, display screens give TIG authentig users access to real-time productivity, delivery and quality information throughout a client’s operation.
TIG authentig offers an overview of the complete production operation, including information about which machines are working, quality information and other details. A fully graphic planning control center displays delivery dates for all production orders to the minute and clearly indicates delivery delays.
Authentig also can download any machine settings for a particular part or project and store that information. It then can upload that information again to the same or a similar piece of equipment when making the same part. When settings are modified, the changes are recorded in a change logbook, which is part of the MES software.
TIG authentig integrates all manufacturing- specific data in a single system and, as a result, drives measurable improvements in productivity, reducing the amount of scrap and enabling high-quality process documentation, the company said.
TIG also is testing new “assistance systems” within the MES to provide guidance to staff. The goal is for the MES to send suggestions to an operator if there are problems with a machine. The software collects data about how staff resolved similar problems to suggest solutions to new problems.
More than 350 customers from the automotive, medical technology, electrical and packaging industries have adopted TIG authentig software to monitor more than 10,000 injection molding machines worldwide, according to the company.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Technische Informationssysteme GmbH York, Pa., 717-764-6818,
Bruce Geiselman
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
