You don’t know what you don’t know.
Especially when it comes to new technology – for machine builders every second counts, and that means there’s little or no time to figure out what’s available and how it might fit into the development cycle.
It’s like upgrading your cell phone. You know you should. But you don’t have the time to sit down and figure out all of the new plan’s features – and how to use them. So you keep what you’ve got – old technology, old habits. And if you do upgrade, do you have the time to figure it all out? I hate the thought of potential left untapped for weeks or even for the life of the phone because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I call this a disincentive to using new technology. It happens with personal electronics, and it happens with machines. So here’s what makes me a better technology user – and I’m guessing it might be the same for you:
- Auto fill feature. For example, a bill of materials that puts the right components in place based on some original, simple selections. If I put in a drive, the right circuit breaker is added, making it easy to adjust and match the horsepower I picked for my drive. Add in a list of standard accessories, complementary products and useful add-ons and an edit button I can use to make adjustments and quickly see the results, and I’ve just saved significant time learning what’s available and how it can all fit together.
- .DWG files and not just PDFs. Blank slates are efficiency killers when it comes to the design process. If I can get started with the schematics in my CAD software file format, ready to be customized, then I have jumped past the need to parse through the manuals to find and review the example wiring diagrams and the terminal number tables before even starting the base schematics for the new components.
- Preset programming files for logic and HMI. Preconfigured screens (with diagnostics and machine-specific text) and standard communication routines will put the right data and the right commands in the right place. That means less time spent learning a specific ‘language’ and more time applying skills and creativity to the task at hand.
These three features can save, and have saved, weeks of engineering time. And they make it easier to add your special genius – the differentiators that separate you from your competition. If you have faced the same problems – too much time spent searching for information, cutting and pasting into separate fields, drawing and redrawing – then take a look at the Connected Components Accelerator Toolkit features designed to make your design time more productive.
quote from: Randy Holterman Programme Manager, Rockwell Automation