Shop-floor web-cam helps remote troubleshooting.

Toledo Molding & Die of Toledo, Ohio, claims to be the first U.S. industrial blow molder to use press-side video cameras for remote troubleshooting of production problems. This maker of automotive ducts and air-induction parts installed camera inspection systems at a new plant in Elba, Ala. The plant has several Tracker accumulator-head machines from Uniloy Milacron, Batavia, Ohio. "Eyes and voice together are better than voice alone when troubleshooting problems or training operators," says Steven Wagener, blow molding facilities manager for TMD. The camera set-up, developed with Milacron's assistance, allows an operator in Alabama to point a lens at a molded part or area of a machine to help communicate with experts or instructors in Ohio. The low-cost cameras plug directly into Milacron's Xtreem XP machine controls and images are accessed via the Internet.

"The ability to troubleshoot using cameras in real time is increasingly vital as our operations expand," Wagener remarks. He notes that TMD's Alabama facility is 500 miles away from its plants in Ohio. Uniloy: [phone], www.uniloy.com