A modular approach to CIM: build your own process monitoring system.

In recent years, more and more process monitoring vendors have taken advantage of the power and flexibility of standards-based architectures - first with systems based on Unix and more recently on Microsoft Windows. The latest monitoring system to join the Windows category comes from Nicollet Process Engineering of Minneapolis.

Called Plastics Process Monitoring Version 3.0, this Windows NT system contains a variety of new features not found in Nicollet's earlier offerings. With Version 3.0, Nicollet has introduced brand-new process and production monitoring software modules for injection molding, blow molding, and extrusion. And Version 3.0 has enhanced scheduling capabilities.

WHY PLATFORM MATTERS

Nicollet's move to Windows NT allows the company to meet several goals with practical consequences for processors. Consider the issue of flexibility. All of the new version's modules for process monitoring, production monitoring, and scheduling can be mixed and matched on a machine-to-machine basis. Processors can create "hybrid" systems by putting full process monitoring on some machines and simpler production monitoring on others - all sharing the same local-area network.

This modular approach makes it easy to upgrade your system. "You can start small and migrate to the full-fledged system without retraining," says technology director Richard Koontz. A logical upgrade sequence might be from job queuing to production monitoring, to limited process monitoring, to full SPC, and ultimately to a tie-in with company-wide systems (such as MRP II or MES).

Nicollet's move to Windows-based systems may offer a cost advantage to processors. One reason, Koontz argues, is that it's cheaper to develop software for Windows than for Unix or other operating systems. And Windows NT enables data-processing needs to be distributed among several PCs, allowing the company to tailor hardware costs to a processor's budget. For instance, a network might include one high-end Pentium PC and 37 lower-end machines, says Brian Deviley, senior software development engineer. "We can adapt the hardware to meet your budget."

100 STANDARD REPORTS

Compared with Nicollet's previous systems, the new version's data-acquisition functions for injection molding haven't changed much, says plastics division manager Joe Pack. It still collects data on a nearly unlimited number of molding parameters for every shot with sampling times as fast as 1 millisec.

Chief among the changes in Version 3.0 are enhanced report-generation capabilities. There are nearly 100 standard reports and 12 graphical reports. Custom reports are possible too. "You can look at your data your way," says Pack.

The program also includes new ways to view the data on screen. For example, "snap reports" let users call up short production reports with a click of the mouse button. And a feature called "Sneak Peak" tells at a glance whether a short list of user-specified parameters are in statistical control. From the Sneak Peak box, users can access more detailed process information - even down to the single-shot level.

Another big change in Version 3.0 is the enhanced scheduler. Over the next two months, three types will be available: a standard version, an optimizing schedule, and a full-fledged finite-capacity scheduler.

Here are more important features:

* Molders have easier access to past shot profiles.

* Any machine's monitoring display can be accessed from any other display.

* The software tells you which machines deserve the most attention for quality assurance.

* Auxiliary equipment can be integrated into the network through the SPI communications protocol.

* For molders who don't want to become computer experts, Nicollet offers remote system configuration and diagnostics, as well as custom-report design within 72 hr.