Vorne Industries, Inc.

July 5, 2005
Bolt-On Production Monitor Delivers Real-Time Data
Vorne Industries has introduced the XL800 Production Monitor, a breakthrough product for performance management, productivity improvement and lean manufacturing. It is well-documented that optimum performance results from challenging employees with attainable goals while giving them the information and tools to effect change. Until now, the solution for most companies has been to integrate PLCs, displays, and software, thus creating expensive custom systems that were inflexible, hard to maintain, and financially out of reach for many applications.The XL800 offers a compelling alternative by integrating everything needed in one package; providing an easy-to-implement “bolt-on” solution that can be up and running in minutes (Vorne’s Lean Approach to Lean). Equally important, it requires no change to existing processes while providing over 100 key performance indicators to front-line employees and managers alike – all in real time.Conceived as a “Swiss army knife” for plant floor productivity, the XL800 is a “six-in-one” product that combines a large-area visual display, a high-performance production monitor, expandable I/O, a multiple channel communication hub, a program executioner and a data warehouse – all in one package.The XL800 visual display provides an open canvas for delivering real-time information that informs, alerts and motivates employees. The display screen incorporates ultra-bright LED technology and anti-glare lensing for crisp factory-floor readability – even at distances of 100 feet and beyond. Up to 16 concurrent visual controls enable mixing text, graphics, and tables in any combination on any screen. Popular screen formats include KPI tables, break timers, down event statistics, SMED/changeover timers, production status indicators, shift scorecards, safety messages with visuals, human resource announcements, and current date/time. Screens automatically change context with plant-floor events (e.g. line down, break start, shift change), and virtual pages allow unlimited amounts of data to be displayed.The XL800 production monitor includes eight tightly focused performance management modules: Count, Rate, Cycle Time, Production Time, Visual OEE, Target, Goal, and Process Time. Designed for plug-and-play simplicity, just two sensors can generate 100+ process variables and provide highly accurate automated run/down detection. For example, the Visual OEE module delivers a real-time OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) score concurrently for job and shift, as well as the underlying Availability, Performance and Quality metrics. The net effect is to provide immediately actionable information that truly opens a window to plant floor performance. The XL800 I/O block provides sensor and auxiliary connections with six high-speed inputs and an on-board sensor power supply; as well as an SPDT relay output for additional annunciation. I/O is expandable with 16-input expansion cards and 6-relay output cards.The XL800 communication hub provides multiple options for plant floor connectivity with three standard ports: 10/100 Ethernet, RS-232, and RS-485. Option slots provide future connectivity for additional ports.One recommended configuration is using the free Vorne Display-Pro XL software to generate dynamic web pages that deliver real-time plant floor visibility across the entire enterprise via a simple web browser. View the XL800 webcam with live Display-Pro XL output at www.vorne.com/xl.The XL800 program executioner can be used to fine-tune operation for specific application by simply connecting triggers to commands. Triggers are automatically generated by I/O points, setpoints, the production monitor, the time scheduler and other XL trigger sources. High-level commands are available for process timer control, I/O control, numeric and string manipulation, math operations, display screen control, and more. Commands can be sequenced in up to 1,000 flash memory programs.The XL800 data warehouse provides a unified register architecture that supports both data distribution and data acquisition. Hundreds of user data registers are available to be loaded with information by external devices such as PLCs, ERP systems and MES software. All process variables generated by the XL800 production monitor are also exposed through data warehouse registers. Register data can be linked and embedded in visual display messages, accessed through any of the communication ports, or even reflected back to Display-Pro XL for inclusion in dynamic web pages with enterprise visibility.
The XL800 is available in four display configurations: the 32080T (26” wide), the 32120T (38” wide), the 32160 (50” wide), and the 32240 (74” wide, above). All models include a three-year limited warranty, free technical support and free Display-Pro XL software.