The Use of Compiled CNC Program in Smart Machining

In many commercial and defense applications, the data contained within the part program can be very sensitive and must be protected at all times. To achieve this program security, many organizations have security cleared personnel load the part program into the control and then have to remove/delete the file immediately after the part program has completed machining the part. This is very cumbersome and an undesirable way to secure the part program data. Also this method is open to errors made by the operator who might change the machining parameters on the fly. Effective version control and program code management is nearly impossible. The recently launched GBI Revolution machine’s MTI control eliminates this current problem due to the fact that every time a new program is loaded it is compiled prior to machining. The computer industry might be going away from compiled programming languages to more interpreted language but the manufacturing industry is just embracing the idea of pre-compiled NC code. The compiled file is stored within the control and used to machine the part, but the actual raw data can not be accessed, edited or downloaded. The original program can be immediately deleted from the control leaving the compiled file within the control for as long as needed with no safety concerns for the raw part program data. This security feature will be immensely valuable to any commercial or defense manufacturer that is concerned with part program data security. It will ensure process compliance and assurance especially in case of subcontracting manufacturing to external organizations.

Business in India - The Implications of Mythology, Culture and Beliefs

Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. West -- the myths that mystify | Video on TED.com

Devdutt Pattanaik takes an eye-opening look at the myths of India and of the West -- and shows how these two fundamentally different sets of beliefs about God, death and heaven help us consistently misunderstand one another.

Online MTConnect Demonstration

At IMTS 2008, MTConnect was demonstrated with more than 30 machine tool vendors connecting their machines to a central system communicating real time data. A huge touch screen allowed the participants to select a machine and monitor its operation. A similar application is now available online at the http://demo.mtconnect.org website (as shown in the Figure below).


The application collects real-time data from various vendor machines compliant with the MTConnect standard. One can monitor the machine status and also MTConnect applications utilizing the data (Application section). The online demonstration was showcased at EMO 2009 trade show and will be displayed at the upcoming DMC 2009 conference.
There is a lot of confusion around the functionality of MTConnect. People tend to think that MTConnect can perform SPC, OEE, alarm management and other process improvement activities. In reality, MTConnect is a communication standard for CNC machines and other manufacturing equipments. MTConnect is not an application, software nor does it specify data analysis methods to calculate any particular KPI. It does not calculate OEE, Cpk or perform SPC. It provides a standard neutral platform on which these applications can be developed with standardized data interfaces. The application functionality is dependent on the developer or the organization requirements. This has two major benefits. First the application becomes plug-and-play and will have full compatibility with any machine (or device) which is MTConnect compliant. Secondly, it drastically reduces the system integration efforts. The Figure below shows the interface of the TechSolve SMPI test bed situated at Cincinnati, Ohio. Click here to monitor the real time machine status.

Cloud Computing Architecture for Manufacturing Data Management

Intense global competition has forced many US manufacturers to examine their current business practices as well as evaluate how to meet these challenges and remain competitive. Major emphasis has been placed on disruptive innovation and manufacturing research with recognition of the need for better Manufacturing Data Management (MDM), automation, continuous improvement, and process optimization through data mining. The benefits of effective MDM include reduced downtime, improved operator productivity, optimal machine scheduling, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), alarm/alert management, and better product quality. Conversely, small to medium manufacturers do not have the capital needed for data management technology and resources. In addition, these manufacturers are not able to justify the return on investment; plus they have to train personnel, maintain support staff, and manage upgrades and maintenance of the applications. In this paper, the implications of using the on-demand cost effective cloud computing philosophy for MDM are discussed. The dynamically scalable resources are externally hosted by a third-party and follow pay-per-use methodology with no software licensing, high service level agreements, and secured transactions. The cloud computing architecture has been developed as part of the supervisory system thrust area for the Smart Machine Platform Initiative (SMPI). The supervisory system is defined as a system that integrates and coordinates multiple process monitoring and control modules such that a globally optimal machining solution could be delivered real-time for desired quality and maximum productivity. The paper also features an in-depth discussion of the implementation architecture, benefits, case study, limitations, security concerns, and future work needed to ensure success of the cloud computing for effective manufacturing data management.

Reference: Cloud Computing Architecture for Manufacturing Data Management, Amit Deshpande (TechSolve), Kevin Bevan (GBI Cincinnati), Mark Doyle (I/Gear), 2010 Conference of the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT), April 13-15, 2010, Huntsville, AL (Accepted)

Outsourcing: Do We Lose or Gain?

Historically, commodity trade has been a win-win situation for the participating countries which leverage their specialization. Developed countries like US have a distinct advantage of outsourcing low-cost low-skill products like shoes, clothes and concentrate on innovation and high technology products like airplanes, computers, cell phones, cars etc… This keeps costs low and increases the purchasing power of the US consumers. One aero plane built can buy tons of shoes and agricultural goods. Also producing an aero plane requires high skill workers and technology thus boosting salaries and standard of living. After having enormous profit from free trade the developed countries (USA, Europe and Japan) are suppressing the liberalization of markets where they have comparative disadvantage like the food markets. These nations have refused open trade in agricultural goods in an effort to protect farmers from being displaced [1]. Is this ethical to adhere to open trade/market only till it is profitable?

The latest political buzz is about the software and IT outsourcing to countries like India. The software outsourcing was one of the main agenda during the last presidential elections. Previously high skill computer jobs of programming and IT services were considered outsourcing proof. How are you going to transfer and control pieces of code and services across continents and manage the process? The dilemma of software outsourcing started with the advent of internet and better electronic communication infrastructure. Software development, maintenance, and services can now be outsources to countries like India. We reduce cost, save money on healthcare (employee health insurance), possibly save some vital resources and curb inflation through outsourcing. Motivations for outsourcing are cost driven, strategy driven or politically driven [2]. Software outsourcing to various parts of the world is primarily cost driven. However with better skilled talent in mathematics and science in developing countries outsourcing can also be strategy driven. For example IBM now focuses on capturing 50% Indian domestic market by 2010 [7]. As of July 2007, IBM employed more than fifty thousand employees in India. Google outsources its IT hardware and now setup research facilities outside US and Europe. GE global research has setup operations in China (Shanghai) and India (Bangalore) while scaling down operations in the West. GE argues that the strategy is not only cost effective but the young talent in the east is better helping them on their path of innovation. According to Seattle Business [11]-

“A Seattle-based labor union says newly surfaced documents show that Microsoft Corp. has looked to outsource to Indian companies high-level jobs in software architecture and development. ..the previously confidential agreements between Microsoft and Indian outsourcing companies Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services debunk the popular notion that only lower-level technology positions are vulnerable to outsourcing….”

The US unemployment rate is at record high at 9.4%. It is predicted that it will reach double digits by the end of the year before improving. Large corporations are now outsourcing high salary high skill jobs overseas. Who is gaining? Is it ethical to lay off thousands of people in US and expand overseas? IBM, GE, Google now maintains high skill R&D jobs abroad while reducing the workforce in the US. The justification is always the Free Trade philosophy. Even though it’s not illegal the question is – Is it ethical? Infosys technologies headquartered in Bangalore, reported 17% increase in revenue last quarter. The increase is attributable to the increased outsourcing projects and stronger dollar. How is this possible when the US is in recession with more than 4% reduction in GDP and almost all enterprises experiencing the spiral decay in the economy and domestic demand? Outsourcing phenomenon is certainly legal but let’s take a closer look at the ethical implications.
A corporation’s motive is to make money and increase shareholder value. Milton Friedman, a free market economy proponent stated-

“… In a free society, there is one and only one social responsibility of the business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud [8].”

According to free market ethics theory outsourcing is the correct option for the US high tech companies. So what if it takes laying off thousands of US workers and hire abroad. Actually it is wrong for the managers to think about the goodwill and society’s interest in taking decision. Decisions regarding the issues concerning the society should be handled within the legal framework and political arena. Analyzing the outsourcing issue by free market ethics framework leads us to the conclusion that US companies decision is completely justifiable and appropriate.

Now, let us analyze the issue from the utilitarian framework of ethical decisions. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its contribution to overall utility: that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all people [13]. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome [13]. We need to analyze three main issues - job loss in US, job gain in India and overall effect on the economy. Research says that only one third of the layoff people find equivalent jobs or higher paying job. On the other hand, a job for Indian worker who currently works for less than 1$ per day can be huge. Quantification of the both the effects are difficult. Some secondary impact includes effect on the local governments as tax revenue decline. Local communities get affected as the schools and higher education systems get lower tax revenues. From the economy perspective outsourcing will help corporation save money and remain competitive in the global economy. Corporations can invest the bloated profits in research and move up the ladder to offer higher value corporate packages of research, software and services which have higher profit margins [4]. For example IBM is currently working actively in the areas of utility grid optimization & energy conservation, genetics-based personalized medicine, fraud detection & prediction, and traffic management using sensors and congestion-pricing models [4]. Specialized skills are required which create higher paying jobs ultimately leading to more innovation and growth. Outsourcing has actually strengthened the US economy. According to recent reports, Indian outsourcing companies are hiring US citizens for the operations in the United States. For example, Tata Consultancy’s US headquarters is located in Cincinnati, Ohio which has generated numerous employment opportunities in the tri-state area.

Deontological ethics or deontology is an approach to ethics that holds that acts are inherently good or evil, regardless of the consequences of the acts [14]. A central theme among deontological theorists is that we have a duty to do those things that are inherently good. Our obligation or duty is to take the right action, even if the consequences of a given act may be bad [14]. Kant, a strong proponent of Deontology, states that the universal rights and duties should be “absolute”. Evaluating an ethical problem within the deontological framework can be difficult especially when the definition of universal rights and duties is not clear. What is “fair”- Maximizing the shareholder value? Offering a job to well qualified Indian worker? Or letting go an American job according to the market forces? The first two questions lean towards outsourcing as the correct way to move forward. But the third question indicates otherwise. Will you give up your job because there is low cost labor available out of the country? No. If it is your job you will oppose the outsourcing decision. This essentially contradicts the absolute universal rights and duties as proposed by Kant.

Virtue ethics is a branch of moral philosophy that emphasizes character, rather than rules or consequences, as the key element of ethical thinking [15]. Virtue ethics sets standard for moral excellence in contrast to Deontology and Utilitarianism which sets limits on moral minima [6]. When studied in business sense virtue ethics framework needs the definition of “community” in terms of business sense and moral decisions consistent with the company principles and guidelines. Some IBM principles include:

“We are sensitive to the needs of all employees and to the communities in which we operate”
“The marketplace is the driving force behind everything we do”
“We never lose sight of our strategic vision”

Evaluating the principles IBM’s decision of outsourcing is justified.

To conclude we think that the external and secondary effects of outsourcing are difficult to quantify. The political, social, legal and marketplace influences the decision. Also outsourcing decisions analysis cannot be generalized across the industry but should be considered on case by case basis. As of now outsourcing trend seems positive and gaining grounds. The effect on the economy and labor market of the “outsourced” and “outsourcing” countries remain to be seen.


References

1. Who Benefits from Outsourcing? Albino Barrera, Accessed 29-Jul-2009. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3115.
2. Outsourcing Decision Support: A Survey of Benefits, Risks, and Decision Factors, Kremic, Tibor, Tukel, Oya Icmeli, Rom, O. Walter Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 11, No. 6. (2006), pp. 467-482.
3. Business process outsourcing in India. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Aug 2009, 11:55 UTC. 6 Aug 2009 .
4. I.B.M. Showing That Giants Can Be Nimble, Steve Lohr, New York Times, Published: 18 July 2007.
5. Does Outsourcing Cost More Than It Saves? William J. Holstein, New York Times Published: 9 August 2009.
6. Law and Ethics in the Business Environment, Terry Halbert , Elaine Ingulli, Publisher: Cengage Learning, Pub. Date: February 2008, ISBN-13: 9780324657326.
7. IBM local outsourcing pie to be 50% by 2010, Pankaj Mishra, Economic Times - ET Bureau, 10 Feb 2009.
8. The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, New York Times, 13 September 1970.
9. Google Invests in India - Outsourcing Again, Engine Search Round Table, October 13, 2004.
10. Microsoft plans to outsource more, says ex-worker, The Seattle Times, September 3, 2005
11. “Microsoft outsourcing high-end jobs”, union says, Seattlepi Business, 16 June 2004
12. “How Outsourcing Affects The U.S. Economy!” Business Journal, 8 August 2009
13. "Utilitarianism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Aug 2009, 03:09 UTC. 4 Aug 2009 .
14. "Deontological ethics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Jul 2009, 16:57 UTC. 29 Jul 2009 .
15. "Virtue ethics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Jul 2009, 03:47 UTC. 30 Jul 2009 .

Entrepreneurship

Last week, I had a meeting with Sudhir, a successful entrepreneur who started a software firm more than 15 years ago in Cincinnati. Although the meeting was for some other topic we diverted to the all exciting topic of entrepreneurship. Here are some of the comments by Sudhir-
* I enjoy leading projects and meetings, the sales calls and ability to win projects, however, I am a engineer at heart.
* It’s fascinating to see people and company grow. The feeling of satisfaction is great.
* Never complain that it’s too much work (I guess it is an underlying assumption)
However at the end he made an interesting comment. When he started the company in Cincinnati he tried to do everything himself. He was the CFO, CEO, CTO, developer, sales person, marketing officer and sometimes even the janitor. Although he loves his entrepreneurship journey he says that he is an engineer at heart (He holds a PhD. Degree in engineering). He likes creating new things and systems. It would have been better if he had a team where each one is assigned to a particular task like marketing, sales, technology and human resource. That’s what he is going to try for his new start-up in the Silicon Valley. He says that this approach has its own pros and cons. Getting the right team together is the key. It infuses different ideas and thoughts. Effective communication and team work will ultimately be vital for success. However things can also go wrong very easily. Different attitudes, different ideas and personalities can clash instead of synchronization. It’s just like a marriage – You have your responsibilities, commitments and compromises. The moral of the story for any entrepreneur is: Weather you want to do all the initial work by yourself or you want to team up at the founding stage and concentrate on a particular task. Whatever you choose, proper planning, confidence (not arrogance) and commitment are the pillars for success.

Plant Floor Data Collection: Benefits of Historian vs. Relational Database

Plant floor data consists of several thousand data points collected each second. Data normally comes from raw sensors (which have a very high sampling rate), controllers, process variables and assembly machines. Relational databases (RDBs) support simple operator queries, answering questions such as “What is the largest shipment today?” They are built to manage relationships and are ideal for storing contextual or genealogical information, but not the best approach for vast amounts of process data collection and optimization.

Advantages of Historians over RDB-

*Built-in data collection: Manufacturing systems are closed and proprietary. A custom code has to be written for each type of equipment. RDB’s are not designed for built in data collection thus custom. Historians can be compliant with manufacturing standards like Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) and MTConnect for near real-time data collection from manufacturing equipments and sensors. Historians are designed for manufacturing and process data acquisition. They maximize the power of time series data and are a perfect solution for answering questions that manufacturing typically needs to address real-time decisions in production.
* Operational excellence: One can easily get answers to questions like power consumed by a particular machine or process delay times in the last week. The raw data can be rolled up to key performance indices like OEE, SPC, Cpk etc… Trending and analysis of historical data allows root cause analysis in case of a failure.
*Higher data compression: Historians collect huge amount of raw sensor data. Better compression technique requires less space and thus reduce cost.
*High availability: Historian allows data redundancy through buffering the data right at the source. This allows high availability and reliable data even in case of network failure.
*Better data security: Historians are designed to address regulatory requirements such as the 21 CFR Part 11 by implementing electronic signatures.

Reference: The Advantages of Plant-wide Historians vs. Relational Databases Comparing Two Approaches for Data Collection and Optimized Process Operations, White Paper, GE Fanuc.

Retrofit, Rebuild and Remanufacture

Often there is confusion between what constitutes a retrofit, rebuild and remanufacture for a machine tool.

Retrofit: The term retrofit usually means an upgrade to just the CNC control without refurbishing any mechanical component. In computer world it can mean an upgrade to the operating system and other applications without upgrading the hardware. A retrofit costs about 30 percent of the price of a new machine.

Rebuild: Rebuild generally means that all of the mechanical components of the machine are cleaned, inspected and then reassembled using new or re-machined components. A rebuild costs about 33 percent of the price of a new machine.

Remanufacture: Remanufacturing (rebirth) includes all the activities in a retrofit and rebuild plus design changes which improve the machine’s performance beyond its original specifications. Remanufacturing is justified only on specialized high investment equipments requiring better performance than the existing satisfying the process requirement. The cost of remanufacturing depends upon the extent to which design changes are required.

Reference: The 3 R’s: Retrofit, Rebuild and Remanufacture by Scott Ashworth

The credit crisis explained

Do you have an innovative idea?

The federal stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) is now a law. The State of Ohio is accepting proposals to fund potential meritorious project ideas which have a high probability of success and create sustainable jobs. Entrepreneurs who have great ideas –for innovative products or services - this is your chance to get the required capital. More details are available at http://recovery.ohio.gov.