In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all confronted with a dynamic and difficult situation. Our families, friends, customers, employees and communities have been dramatically affected by the impact of the virus and its impact on the global economy. We would like to share with you how ProCom is responding to this new situation.
We have installed a prevention team at an early stage and have started to provide employees with advice and measures to protect themselves and others in the best possible way.
On 12 March, ProCom rehearsed the expected emergency and sent all employees to their home office. As the résumé of the day was very positive, our teams have been working from home since 16 March. We have reduced business trips to an absolute minimum until further notice. This means that our contact with you in the near future will be by telephone and digital – definitely but not less. We have adapted our working hours to the situation and made them more flexible. ProCom works less in absolute terms, so that parents, for example, can supervise their children more easily. The planning of the teams guarantees continuous availability and coverage of all customer needs. In these times, ProCom thus focuses even more on its core tasks and issues. We let rest processes that do not serve the concrete operational business aside and the reduced travel activity helps to increase time reserves in order to maintain smooth operations despite reduced working hours for our customers and partners.
At a glance:
- Customer appointments take place virtually – we use tools that allow convenient face-to-face meetings.
- Availability of employees by telephone or e-mail is guaranteed at all times, as before.
- Support for our customers is fully available.
- Seminars/trainings are offered as webinars in small blocks. Offers are in coordination.
- Production: Our production team works in isolation at the company headquarters and our production facility allows a sufficiently large safety distance between each other.
- Software development runs as usual.
- Consulting from our side remote and/or via video conference possible.
- New installations are possible via the usual remote maintenance access.
We hope that you and your families, employees, and all other partners are and stay healthy! We would be happy to discuss with you the effects the Corona pandemic may have on you and our joint business. Our employees have started to contact customers and partners personally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.
Your ProCom Team
The Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) provides information in a single clear figure about what percentage of the available time has been worked productively and with high quality – so far, so good.
However, how can you use this value as a speedometer for your entire company, not only to secure competitiveness and jobs, but also to reduce your personal stress level? You can find out about these topics in our free webinar.
You will experience a success story to touch and get your personal questions answered.
In addition, you will also see how the industry 4.0 platform “Clouver” uncovers further available production potentials and how you will significantly increase your productivity with an analysis of the reasons for downtime.
Webinar: “Securing competitive advantages with OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)“.
Lecturers: Heinz-Joachim Schulte (Managing Director, OEE Institutes)
Matthias Winkelhoch (Consultant Industry 4.0, ProCom)
Date: 27th September 2019
Time: 14.00 – 14:45 pm
Language: German
Free Registration: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1534271021284301323
We look forward to welcoming you to our webinar!
ProCom at EMO trade fair (September 16-21, 2019, Hanover, Germany) in Hall 9, Booth F32 in the Industry 4.0 area
Aachen, Germany, July 23, 2019 – The CNC300PRO is ProCom’s most powerful controller of the CNC300 product family for maximum speed and precise laser cutting. The new, ultra-modern IPC can be scaled as needed in terms of memory and processor performance, offering the best possible configuration for any application. The associated CNC software “ergoCNC” was also improved. This software supports flying cuts, among other things, for which the laser is switched with microsecond response time during movements. The fast cut mode and ping-pong positioning also offer significant time savings thanks to optimized tool paths. To achieve the highest cutting quality, the distance to the workpiece is dynamically adapted by adjusting the height in real time. Other technological features, such as tool radius correction or 5-stage puncturing strategies, offer precise results. Due to its ergonomically designed touch interface and task-oriented screens, ergoCNC can also be conveniently operated by machine operators without extensive prior experience.
The ergoCAM software is the perfect addition for optimizing cutting programs to achieve higher cutting quality, more throughput, or better material utilization. The CNC300PRO controller is also ready for the Clouver Industry 4.0 application from ProCom. This solution links production and business operations and provides management, factory managers, and machine operators with information that can assist in uncovering hidden costs or minimize downtime.
More information about CNC300PRO
Features of the CNC300PRO
- Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 – longlife cycle
- RAM: 4GB, 8GB or 16 GB
- SSD: 126 GB or 256 GB
- Long-term industry PC mainboard
- Industry 4.0 ready
- EtherCAT interface
- OPC UA interfaces
- Electrical connection 24 VDC
- Windows 10 LTSB
Video: flying cut, managed by ProCom’s software ergoCNC.
More information in our press release.
Many reasons for a downtime remain undetected, because machine operators quickly fix them without recording it. In whatever fact the problem resides, if you know it, you can improve it. Herefore, Clouver now provides statistics for production managers! With the new Clouver widget „Interruption Statistic Widget”, the overall equipment effectiveness will increase and thus the result will be better.
Our brand new Clouver widget „stacked bar chart“ delivers a comfortable overview of machine conditions over an extended period of time.
Track your machines’ long term performance and increase productivity.
Test Clouver free now. Click here for further information.
bullmer at the Texprocess trade fair, 14.-17.5.2019, Messe Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Hall 4, Stand B60
Last week: Launch of Clouver at #Bullmer‘s Chinese customers such as Lilanz, Esquel, world’s largest woven shirt maker, and Yude, producing for Anta, one of the world´s largest sports article manufacturers. We encountered great interest in our solution and a very valuable exchange of ideas. The first operational steps of Clouver went very well! Clouver – #ProCom´s #I4.0 solution for cutting industries – is now available in Chinese language.
Bullmer, as leading supplier of automatic cutting solutions, now integrates Clouver in its product range. With Clouver, ProCom’s Inudstry4.0 solution, you get a comprehensive insight into real-time production flows and ensure a maximum degree of machine availability. Come and find out about it on Texprocess, 14 – 17 May 2019 in Frankfurt am Main (Hall 4 Booth B60).
Do you often deal with questions as “Why was the production standing still? Why was material missing? Why did the machine only work at 60% output? Why did the scrap increase and why did it come to an adjustment of the machines parameterization?”
In order to get the right answers to these important questions you need appropriate information that will provide necessary hints to understand the cause of your loss of productivity.
Using Clouver will help you there. With the OEE value, Clouver provides you with an indicator, and thus with the ability to detect and resolve productivity losses from downtime or short term interruptions, from production output or scrap. Find the right approaches to sustainably increase the production efficiency.
But what exactly is the story behind the term OEE? OEE stands for Overall Equipment Effectiveness.
Determined from availability, performance, and quality, this value indicates what percentage of the time the machine has been productive and how much of its productivity has been lost due to interruptions, downtime, or rejects. In the automotive industry the regulation automotive standard IATF 16949 since September 2018 prescribes, that maintenance and service goals must inter alia be documented with the OEE standard.
If you would like to learn more about OEE or increasing productivity with Clouver, please contact us!
The new CNC300ECO controller from ProCom is not only smaller, lighter and more powerful than its predecessor, but also easier to operate, and it makes cutting processes fit for Industry 4.0. This solution offers added value for laser, plasma, knife-edge and waterjet cutting. Current and future Industry 4.0 requirements can be met with the integrated OPC-UA interface, the Clouver gateway integrated into the CNC controller, mutual gigabit-LAN interfaces, and EtherCAT communications with sensors, actuators and drives.
Gains in functionality are accompanied by gains in user friendliness. The software solution ergoCAM allows for more intuitive work preparation and enhances quality and productivity while minimizing cutting scrap. Also the usability of the CNC operations and programming by ProCom moved to the next level. To mention just one advantage: For each operational step in ergoCNC, operators see only the views and functions relevant to their current activity. This clarity enables straightforward, intuitive operation even by untrained personnel. Moreover, tight coupling with the Clouver Industry 4.0 solution helps operators recognize relevant operational states faster and diagnose possible faults more easily. Support for touch displays, optional integration of mobile terminals and the associated remote control capability round out the list of features.
Visit ProCom at SPS IPC Drives, 11/27-29/2018 in Nuremberg, Booth 6-150H
The CNC300ECO controller was created within a BMBF sponsored project in which ProCom, another controller vendor, three machine manufacturers and two institutes of the Technical University of Aachen developed “multimodal, task-oriented operating systems for flexible and user-centric human-machine interaction on production machines” (MaxiMMI).
Clouver gives machine manufacturers the chance to offer their customers added value and increase machine availability. The IoT solution for Industry 4.0 implements this by collecting important production data in real time, stores it in the cloud, and makes it available for evaluation. An essential functionality from Clouver for manufacturers is the new Maintenance Monitor. It provides the basis for condition-oriented servicing. By using the operating hours count, the oil level, or other criteria specified by the machine manufacturer, it determines the optimum time for the next service. Servicing and maintenance are therefore easier to plan and more cost-effective to the machine owner than with fixed maintenance intervals. Machine users also benefit from reduced downtimes.
The Maintenance Monitor provides the ability to define warning and alarm thresholds and transmits corresponding information via neat dashboards or through other channels. This creates additional reliability. In addition, machine manufacturers can use Clouver to compare machines of the same type with one another or to monitor prototypes. For detailed analyses, the measurement data from arbitrary sensors can be recorded alongside conventional usage data, for example in order to visualize vibrations, consumption, or wear and tear, as well as to analyze trends.
For more information, please visit http://www.clouver.de
ProCom at SPS IPC Drives, 11/27-29/2018 in Nuremberg, Booth 6-150H
For the SPS IPC Drives trade fair, ProCom presents its hardware and software solution for laser, knife-edge, plasma, and waterjet cutting machines. The solution consists of drives, a CNC controller, software, and an IoT component. With this complete package, manufacturers can increase the utility of their machines and provide end customers with additional services such as predictive maintenance, analysis of the machine fleet, and recommendations for measures to increase productivity. Development teams can benefit from the ProCom solution, as the monitoring of prototypes during field testing can be improved and user behavior analyzed in greater detail.
Main components of the solution are the CNC300ECO controller and an intuitive software package optimized for diverse cutting processes, especially laser cutting, and the Clouver cloud-based Industry 4.0 solution. The latter links up the production process with its digital image providing the transparency required for business models such as “pay per use”.
Visitors can experience the interaction of the controller, software, and Clouver at the ProCom stand (Hall 6, Booth 6-150H) while applying their data. Anyone who brings a DXF file can follow via Webcam as a 2D portal machine in Aachen runs through the required movements with a laser pointer. Clouver consecutively evaluates the process and provides key parameters and statistics needed for greater productivity, longer machine service life, and state-based maintenance.
For more information about Clouver, please visit: www.clouver.de/en
How productivity can be increased, competitiveness promoted and flexibility increased will be the topic of the “IoT Day” on 16 October 2018 in Kulmbach. The event, which ProCom is organising with the support of Innovation Centre Region Kronach e.V., is aimed at managing directors, production managers and IT managers from the cutting industry and related sectors. The Network Forum focuses on the new opportunities offered by Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.
At the conference, well known speakers from industry and research will present their views and insights on Industry 4.0: Dr. Bastian Halecker, Managing Director and founder of Nestim GmbH, will report on how smart IoT solutions can create new markets. Heinz-Joachim Schulte, founder of the OEE Institute, explains the importance of productivity measurement. Philipp Blanke from the Machine Tool Laboratory at RWTH Aachen University and Josef Klein, Head of the Technology Centre at Hugo Boss, will address various aspects of the application of digital solutions. Özhan Oguz, Principal Business Development at Bosch Rexroth, will round off the conference part with his lecture on the factory of the future. The event will be complemented by afternoon workshops on Industry 4.0, followed by the closing speech by Prof. Dr. Gunther Herr, founder and managing director of the WOIS Institute. He will explain how companies can improve their competitive position through disruptive business models and digitization.
The ProCom IoT Day is an event of ProCom GmbH, supported by the Innovation Centre Region Kronach e.V.
For more information about the ProCom IoT-Day, Registration document and information about the evening event click here.
You can find more informationen on www.clouver.de/en/
ProCom at METAV, 20.-24. February 2018 in Düsseldorf, hall 14, booth A107 at the Innovation Park of IndustryArena GmbH
METAV trade fare presents ProCom automation, the new
IoT-solution for industry 4.0 in the cutting industry: Clouver.
Clouver targets both machine manufacturers and producers, who wish to offer their customers surplus value and to assure their future sustainability through developing their industry 4.0 adaptability.
Clouver interlinks production with its digital image, creating transparency at all levels of your company. Enabling you to analyze production processes, identify hidden production costs and bottlenecks in advance. With Clouver service of machines and the optimization of running production is made significantly easier. During the cutting process, Clouver collects specific technical as well as economic data in real time, merging it with other applications of customers and compacting it with other relevant data; at any moment in the process each one involved will receive custom-fit information specific to a field of work. In short:
- The machine operator is aware of its state of operation and service enabling them to diagnose what needs to be done.
- The factory manager oversees the entire production, is able to intervene and readjust whenever necessary.
- The CEO receives and retains an overview over the entire business and its production, allowing him to make strategic decision immediately based on big data.
Clouver offers local storage of data as well as the opportunity to file and analyze selected cloud based data through its edge-option. In this way, Clouver-users may at any time determine who can access which data at which time and to which degree of detail.
Enabling Clouver-users to further their own production processes or those of their clients, to offer added value, to develop cloud based business models, yet guaranteeing maximum data security at the same time.
You can find more informationen on www.clouver.de/en/
Family Scheidt transfers all shares to Dr. Max Scheidt.
Dr. Max Scheidt, Managing Partner, now holds all shares in ProCom GmbH. Franz Scheidt founded the company 40 years ago; he handed over the management to his son in 2010 and then moved to the corporate advisory board. Since then, Dr. Max Scheidt and Dr. Andreas Nolden manage ProCom, based in Aachen and Berlin.
With more than 120 employees and an international customer base of approximately 150 customers, ProCom serves industrial and production companies as well as transmission system operators and energy traders. The family-run company with its automation and energy business units is growing steadily and is increasingly international.
Dr. Max Scheidt: “I am proud to continue ProCom in the second generation. The changes in the energy industry and production technology – in Europe and in many other regions – are constantly presenting market participants with new challenges. Assisting them in accomplishing the tasks through our consulting and IT solutions has brought us significant growth in recent years. Megatrends such as “Digital Change” and “Industry 4.0″ are key topics that are currently profoundly changing our industries. The careful and efficient use of resources of all kinds is at the forefront for our customers and moves ProCom. I look forward to sharing this expansion course with Dr. Nolden and our team.”