Richard Wand, Author at MJ Engineering

2018 Winter Newsletter

Richard Wand on March 28, 2018

Meet the Latest Machines from MJ Engineering!

MJ Engineering recently completed two custom-designed machines for clients in the medical and automotive industries that save time, improve quality and accuracy, and reduce waste.

The syringe filling machine (right) can simultaneously fill four oral syringes (up to 20mL) with liquid medicines of varying viscosities at a pace more than double that of the client’s best operator. The machine eliminates air bubbles and has programmable fill levels, leading to accurate measurements of medicine every time. The oral syringe filler uses safety light curtains, and it has a foot pedal for handsfree operation, as well as stainless steel and aluminum parts for easy cleaning.

MJ Engineering’s battery bar verification machine inspects vehicle battery bars and rejects the ones that do not meet the part’s height, form, or thread criterion. The three-part process uses a combination of technologies: a height gage, a backlit conveyor belt that moves the part past two high-resolution Cognex cameras, and a New Vista thread verification system. With this machine, the client can inspect 100% of the battery bars more quickly, accurately, and objectively than a human operator.

Exciting New Products and Technology on Display

An abundance of exciting new products and technologies were on display at three well-attended manufacturing and automation shows held in the Midwest last fall.

At the Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Show, in Dayton, Ohio, Fortech, LLC, demonstrated new software that enables users to monitor equipment downtime. The system uses different input methods, including PLC error messages, other downtime reporting systems, and a unique video stream analyzing option (see the next article for more details).

At the Assembly Show in Chicago, Schunk displayed a multitude of pneumatic and electric grippers. Some of the newer grippers have a specialized design to enable them to integrate with today’s collaborative robots, including ones made by Fanuc, Kuka, and Universal.

The Fabtech show, also in Chicago, was by far the largest, with hundreds of companies offering equipment for cutting, bending, welding, and anything related to metal fabrication. Fanuc showed off its new seven-axis robot, which is designed to enable the robot to fit into tight and awkward spaces. The seventh axis is located between what would be the second and third axis on a traditional five-axis robot.

To learn about other new offerings in the automation and manufacturing world, and to get to know our current and potential customers’ products, it is well worth your time to attend these types of events.

Fortech Manufacturing Execution System (MES)

MJ Engineering recently investigated the capabilities of the new Fortech MES downtime tracking system. It is primarily a downtime viewing tool, but its capabilities extend beyond those of similar programs. This software is a high-visibility and diagnostic application that provides a micro and macro view of the manufacturing plant. It tracks downtime in two ways:

1. The software pulls information from the system’s PLC or an existing downtime tracking software. The MES system then displays this information on a graphical interface for viewing in real time. The A1Webcams camera system can be added to further track system performance, because it is integrated with a graphic display that can play video from any recorded event. The conditions displayed are: normal running, blocked, starved, and failure. When using the software, specific events can be selected, which will automatically pull the video from a DVR recording.

2. Data can be collected via live video stream. The system analyzes the live stream for abnormal movement. Initially, the normal movement is programmed, so the system will recognize any abnormal condition, including starved or blocked conveyors or dropped parts. It can even help with tracking employee safety.

To learn more about this system, please reach out to sales@mjengineering.com.

AMTS 2016

Richard Wand on January 10, 2017

We want to thank everyone that visited our booth at the AMTS show this past October 2016 in Dayton. We had a lot of visitors and some very interesting and stimulating conversations.

Some of the feedback from the visitors have prompted us to publish a line card that outlines the services that MJ can provide.

Spring 2016 Update

Richard Wand on March 27, 2016

CONGRATULATIONS!

We want to congratulate Phil Snyder on his recent accomplishment of passing the Ohio Professional Engineering exam. Phil has been working full time and studying for the past few months to reach this goal and now can relax. “Of course this means he will be accumulating more responsibilities”.

COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS

Is a collaborative robot the right choice for your automation needs? Is it fast, safe and a cost effective solution for YOUR application? There are many options for collaborative robots on the market and each one has specific benefits.

MJ Engineering has training and experience with the safe integration of collaborative robotic applications. We can evaluate your application and provide realistic expectations for both production rates and cost of ownership with short and long term perspectives.

MACHINE TENDING NEEDS

REASONS to AUTOMATE MACHINE TENDING:

SAFETY – Automation is a great tool to help reduce the risks associated with manual tending of automated machinery.
1. RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) – utilize a robot to provide repetitive tasks that currently require a person to tend the machine.
2. Injury avoidance – the robot can be used for a task that normally would expose an operator to hazards on an ongoing basis.
MANPOWER UTILIZATION – Do you have machine tending tasks that require a person at the machine full time performing the load and/or un-load task? Could this persons abilities be better utilized by freeing them to perform other value added tasks?
QUALITY – An automated machine tending system can incorporate pre and post inspection such as:
1. Size – Dimensional verification
2. Presence – Are all of the critical attributes present
3. Color – From simple is it red or green to – is it the correct color of red or green.
INCREASED PRODUCTION – Automated machine tending can provide high speed continuous tending of your process equipment.
TRACEABILITY – The automated system can track specific parts (with a RFID tag or 2D code) and general production information. This information can be permanently logged and also evaluated to help increase productivity and quality.

BENEFITS OF USING MJ ENGINEERING TO AUTOMATE YOUR MACHINE TENDING APPLICATION;

MJ Engineering is a registered engineering firm in multiple states with the ability to evaluate your process to determine the best automated approach and deliver an automated tending solution and that meets your objectives..
Factory supported and trained on multiple automation platforms and vision inspection systems.
Experience in a wide range of applications. MJ Engineering is an expert in material handling, automated assembly and material removal.
Ability to analyze the overall process and provide options to best fit your specific needs

Ability to create robotic simulations to prove out concepts prior to large capital expenditures.

Summer 2015 Update

Richard Wand on July 20, 2015

MJ HAS MOVED!

MJ has moved into a larger facility due to growth. The new facility has an improved office layout and over 11,000 sq feet of shop space. The phone number(s) have remained the same.

750 Cross Pointe Road, Suite P
Gahanna, Ohio 43230

DAYTON AREA AMTS SHOW

Come visit us at the Dayton Area AMTS Show on October 22nd and 23rd at Booth #1212. MJ will have a robot utilizing 3D vision to demonstrate the capabilities of random bin picking.

Dayton Airport Expo Center
3900 McCauley Drive
Vandalia, Ohio 45377

Please contact us for free entry passes.

COLLABORATIVE ROBOT – FANUC CR35IA

MJ Engineering can provide a comprehensive review of your automation application to determine the feasibility of using a collaborative robot. Fanuc now has a 35kg collaborative robot that can be used in both traditional and collaborative mode to greatly improve the functionality and speed of the robot cell.

Visit the FANUC website for more details: http://robot.fanucamerica.com/products/robots/collaborative-robot-fanuc-cr-35ia.aspx

Spring 2015 Update

Richard Wand on April 20, 2015

MJ ENGINEERING SAFETY PRACTICES

MJ Engineering has been improving our safety program and have now received qualification from PICS Auditing on our safety program. PICS provides contractor pre-qualification services for companies related to safe operating practices and safety training. The pre-qualification works by first determining the typical tasks that MJ employees will be involved with both at our facility and at the customer facility. From that task list a comprehensive list of requirements is developed that address both the required practices and training required. MJ then improved our safety program to meet these identified needs. The last step is a manual audit of our program by the PICS organization to verify we have met the needs and that we do have the appropriate safety program in place. The Manual Audit is a thorough review of a contractor’s policy and procedure manual. The review considers the services performed by the contractor and ensures that the manual complies with legislative requirements and industry best practices.

WWW.PICSAUDITING.COM

KUKA SYSTEM PARTNER

M J Engineering is proud to announce that we have accepted the offer from KUKA Robotics to join their system integrator program. “The KUKA System Partner program cements successful, long-term cooperative system partnerships with selected companies. In this way, KUKA Roboter GmbH combines its own specialist expertise in the field of robotics with the industry-specific know-how of each system partner.”

HEAVY LIFTING AND REPETIVE MOTION TASKS

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURIES (RSIs) Account for one in four lost-time injuries and illnesses
reported by employers to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

OHIO BWC Safety Grants – up to $40,000
“The program is available to any Ohio state-fund or public employer who wishes to purchase equipment to substantially reduce or eliminate injuries and illnesses associated with a particular task or operation. The program is designed to work and partner with Ohio employers to establish safety intervention best practices for accident and injury prevention.”
https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/employer/programs/safety/empgrants.asp

CONTACT MJ ENGINEERING TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP!

AUTOMATED PACKAGING AND PALLETIZING

CUSTOM PALLETIZING AND PACKAGING: MJ Engineering can provide custom packaging and palletizing applications using robots for a wide range of products, including:

· Boxed product
· Bags
· Unique product shapes and sizes
· Non-standard pallet configurations
· Special packaging requirements
· Multiple products or package requirements

ADVANTAGES:

· Small footprint: We can provide cells that require less floor space than the competition
· Hi Speed: Pick and pack applications up to 90 parts per minute.
· Reliable: Industrial robots have a proven history of long term reliability.

ROI: quick return on investment, typically 12 months or less on a three shift operation.