Factory Automation
Factory automation is a valuable use case for many companies in the industry looking to accelerate and optimise their manufacturing process. A large part of factory automation is the information gathering, analysis and monitoring that must be in place for efficiency, quality and safety purposes.
Monitors with integrated touchscreens are a powerful and economical way to display complex information to a user in an easily readable and accessible format. Coupled with the right embedded SBC and software support, the system can gain its own intelligence to become IoT and AI ready for Industry 4.0.
Using a fully integrated monitor solution factories can display detailed information about the production line in real time to operators who can control the machinery from the same device with touch technology or integrated buttons. Adding intelligence allows the system to make these decisions independently of the operator to further increase productivity.
This creates a foundation for a smart factory environment, facilitating the gathering and analysis of data across machines. Enabling more efficient processes to deliver greater quality at a lower cost in an accelerated method.
This allows actions to be taken quickly to keep people safe and avoid equipment damage. It also saves time diagnosing issues in machinery and allowing engineers to get to the problem area faster to resume the production line.
Shortening the amount of time spent resolving issues increases efficiency by maximizing the amount of time spent producing.
Factories can be rigorous environments with equipment subject to wide temperature and humidity ranges or even intense shock and vibration as part of daily operation. The expectations are high with production line equipment expected to be in service for 5+ years
The challenge is rating technology to withstand and operate within these environments whilst maintaining sustainable long-term supply which is especially difficult for displays.
Selecting industrial TFT panels with wide environmental specifications ensures the display component of the monitor can stand up to these challenges.
Other components of the monitor such as the touchscreen, housing, power supply and embedded system or controller also need to be rated to withstand the environment otherwise the monitor as a unit could still fail.
Our expertise and strong supply chain allow us to manage changes in supply to ensure product compatibility which allows us to guarantee the product will be available for at least 5 years.
For one such customer, we take our standard 21.5” POS Line monitor and customise by adding touch for interaction with a true flat safety glass finish for protection then provide a seamless mounting solution accompanied by an intelligent embedded system to create a semi-autonomous production control unit.
As every application is unique, we cannot possibly make a single product to suit every application. That’s where our custom monitor solutions are ideal. Physical modifications to display, glass, touch, embedded system or controller and housing can all be made and tested to rigid standards to integrate seamlessly into the application.
On a project by project basis we can evaluate the necessary hardware, software and support requirements for IoT and AI integration to create an intelligent system.
Click here to find out more about our customisation options for Industrial Monitors
