30-11-2012, 03:08 PM
New integrated manufacturing system boosts fab productivity
[attachment=41889]
Introduction
Modulight, an optoelectronic component
maker based in Tampere,
Finland, has integrated all of its
manufacturing facility’s functions into a database-
centered manufacturing system. The database
stores all data related to production and
product development, and helps Modulight to
manage and monitor operations in real time.
This can also be performed remotely. The system
has improved the level of operations in
almost every sector, including maintenance,
sales, management and customer service. This
article discusses the practical benefits of introducing
rigorously defined database-centered
manufacturing to a production environment.
The Web interface
Modulight’s system has been built around a
single relational database, which operates on
a standard multiprocessor IBM server running
Microsoft SQLServer. The production equipment
is directly connected to the database
(figure 1), and primary access to the system
is realized via an integrated Web-based user
interface. Some of the specific elements of the
access part have been realized by developing
stand-alone programs with a graphical user
interface using industry-standard software
development tools such as Labview and
Visual Studio.
Challenges of the holistic approach
The completeness is, however, also a drawback.
The holistic approach that is required
certainly makes implementation time consuming,
and the benefits only start to appear
after a certain maturity. We have found that
this is for three reasons:
early development of the system requires
a lot of basic specification and implementation
work, which by itself does not produce
anything tangible;
gaining user confidence and acceptance
takes time;
the system needs to be run for some time to
produce enough data to support advanced
decision making.
However, we also believe that gradual implementation
is the best choice because this
allows us to tackle the biggest challenge:
obtaining user acceptance via constant dialogue
and the integration of the development
team with the production team.
Practical benefits
The database-centered manufacturing system
also provides support for decision making at
the daily production level. The system recognizes
failed components, thus preventing
unnecessary further processing. It can also be
taught to evaluate the need for additional
process steps, if the targets were not achieved
with the pre-defined processing parameters
in the previous steps. All this reduces the
possibility of human error and frees human
resources for more productive tasks.
[attachment=41889]
Introduction
Modulight, an optoelectronic component
maker based in Tampere,
Finland, has integrated all of its
manufacturing facility’s functions into a database-
centered manufacturing system. The database
stores all data related to production and
product development, and helps Modulight to
manage and monitor operations in real time.
This can also be performed remotely. The system
has improved the level of operations in
almost every sector, including maintenance,
sales, management and customer service. This
article discusses the practical benefits of introducing
rigorously defined database-centered
manufacturing to a production environment.
The Web interface
Modulight’s system has been built around a
single relational database, which operates on
a standard multiprocessor IBM server running
Microsoft SQLServer. The production equipment
is directly connected to the database
(figure 1), and primary access to the system
is realized via an integrated Web-based user
interface. Some of the specific elements of the
access part have been realized by developing
stand-alone programs with a graphical user
interface using industry-standard software
development tools such as Labview and
Visual Studio.
Challenges of the holistic approach
The completeness is, however, also a drawback.
The holistic approach that is required
certainly makes implementation time consuming,
and the benefits only start to appear
after a certain maturity. We have found that
this is for three reasons:
early development of the system requires
a lot of basic specification and implementation
work, which by itself does not produce
anything tangible;
gaining user confidence and acceptance
takes time;
the system needs to be run for some time to
produce enough data to support advanced
decision making.
However, we also believe that gradual implementation
is the best choice because this
allows us to tackle the biggest challenge:
obtaining user acceptance via constant dialogue
and the integration of the development
team with the production team.
Practical benefits
The database-centered manufacturing system
also provides support for decision making at
the daily production level. The system recognizes
failed components, thus preventing
unnecessary further processing. It can also be
taught to evaluate the need for additional
process steps, if the targets were not achieved
with the pre-defined processing parameters
in the previous steps. All this reduces the
possibility of human error and frees human
resources for more productive tasks.