Start Magazine 2001 Technology and Business Award

Ann Arbor, MI - September 28, 2001 – Entivity, A Phoenix Contact Company, and Watlow Engineering announced today that Watlow Engineering has won a 2001 Start Magazine Technology and Business Award using Entivity’s Think & Do® Software. This project won the top award for the engineering: $200 million to $500 million category. Watlow Engineering, Chesterfield, Mo., provides automation solutions to 75-year-old Watlow, St. Louis, Mo., a designer and manufacturer of industrial heaters, sensors, and controls to provide customers with complete thermal-system solutions.

Watlow Engineering group supports Watlow’s manufacturing facilities in the United States and the world by optimizing the processes and machines by which the heaters, sensors, and controls are made. Watlow serves industries that include plastic processing, semiconductor, food equipment, packaging, medical equipment, aerospace, scientific equipment, and nuclear power generation. Watlow manufacturing facilities are not locked into Watlow Engineering. The engineering group deals and operates with Watlow facilities as customers, and the Watlow facilities are free to look for outside sources for the services that Watlow engineering provides. A major challenge occurred when a major customer was not satisfied with product designs that were available. Watlow was faced with losing the customer’s business. Timing was critical in addition to the quality of the end result. Watlow Engineering needed to provide Watlow with product-design enhancements, process improvements, and process automation. Some of the specific requirements needed were the ability to handle larger orders, lower the cost of manufacturing, allow new-product configuration, make product-design changes to meet the specific demands of a particular Watlow customer.

The project team for Watlow Engineering chose some additional goals for the solution, including greatest human safety, a powerful user-friendly control system, and rugged, durable construction. The project team identified the control system as a key element in the success of the project. They decided on a PC (personal computer)-based control system with a single software solution. The control system had to provide plasma-welding control, two-axis servo control, pressure monitoring, digital and analog I/O (input/output), auxiliary encoder feedback, and a graphical touchscreen HMI (human/machine interface).

The heart of the control system was created using the Think & Do® Software running on Microsoft Windows 2000. Think & Do® Software provided the means for machine control by intuitive flowchart programming, HMI graphics, I/O connectivity, data gathering and analysis, and application diagnostics. All of this in one software package running on a standard Pentium III PC. The flexibility of this PC-based system provided the opportunity to exchange data with other software applications with ease, a valuable tool for data collection and analysis. Some other elements include a PCI (peripheral component interconnect) motion-control by Galil Motion Control, an Ethernet analog and digital I/O base, and a 15-in. color touchscreen monitor. The safety portion of the control system used E-stop and safety relays from Banner Engineering.

Dual network cards in the PC allow communication with the Ethernet I/O via IPX (internetwork packet exchange) and connection to the Watlow network via TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol). This provides remote access to the PC using PC Anywhere by Symantec Corp., Cupertino, Calif., and Think & Do®’s remote-connection features.

Watlow Engineering can support the utilizing facility in setup, training, and troubleshooting. Changes in the Think & Do® flowcharts and data items can be made, transparent to the operator. Data collected during the complex process can be analyzed, manipulated, and reported using Think & Do®’s advanced features and other Windows-based programs and applications such as Excel. That has all been done so far, but further features are being developed this year, including data gathering digital-video displays to assist in operator setup and troubleshooting, and advanced HMI graphics. In addition, Think & Do®’s newest version, Studio, will be installed in the control system. Studio takes advantage of the Microsoft Viso product and offers additional features which Watlow will use to create additional data-management and gathering functions.

In the future, Watlow will be implementing tools such as live video of the process viewed from remote locations, automatic paging, email and other means of notifying persons about the status of the process and the orders that are being processed. All of these additional features are made possible by means of the extreme flexibility of the PC-based control system, Windows 2000 operating system and Think & Do® software. Watlow Engineering will also be adding this technology to new machines and processes to provide Watlow with these same powerful features throughout their facilities.

The success of this application opens the door to many future opportunities to improve. The application supports Watlow Engineering’s conviction that it must practically, aggressively, and successfully implement cutting-edge technology to serve its customers best and stay ahead of competitors. Start T&B judges recognized Watlow Engineering’s creation of a new PC-based motion-control infrastructure adeptly one step at a time with long-term goals.

What the Judges had to say:

Julie Fraser
“Watlow has created a solution that not only satisfies a customer requirement, but improves operational capabilities. Using a specific plant’s needs, they’ve created a new infrastructure for the customer.”

Dan Miklovic
“Watlow shows that a vendor can serve internal customers as efficiently as external customers.”

Dick Slansky
“Excellent application of PC-based motion control to significantly improve an existing production process. Picked best-of-breed in OCS (open control software) S/W (Entivity/Think & Do®).”

Sally Albright
“Apparently there is no problem in manufacturing that a well thought out combination of hardware and software cannot solve. There are no longer problems, just challenges.”

Laurie Balch
“Watlow is approaching its vision just as it shouldóone step at a time. This company is keeping its future clearly within its sights and taking the right measures to attain its long-term goals.”

About Entivity

Entivity delivers software and web-enabled services that improve productivity in the development, deployment and operation of automated material handling and manufacturing systems. Unlike traditional automation suppliers with proprietary architectures, Entivity is focused on intuitive, open architecture solutions that readily integrate with hardware and software components from virtually all suppliers. Entivity's software and service products accelerate system implementation while closing the traditional gap between automation and information systems. For additional information, visit the Entivity web site at www.entivity.com or call 800-722-6875.

About Watlow Engineering
Chesterfield, Mo.
www.watlow.com

Watlow Engineering, Chesterfield, Mo., provides automation solutions to 75-year-old Watlow, St. Louis, Mo., a designer and manufacturer of industrial heaters, sensors, and controls to provide customers with complete thermal-system solutions.