Indiana Veneers has seen good times come and go in its 117 years in business, but the current global recession has given it new challenges to face and adapt to. The Indianapolis-based company specializes in hardwood veneers exported to 42 countries for use in furniture and paneling. Due to the dramatic fall-off in business, it has been forced to operate leaner控制工程网版权所有, with production geared more tightly to customer demand. It has turned to real time data coming from its PLCs for use in determining profitability and satisfying customer delivery expectations.
        “When we buy trees to fill an order, it’s almost speculation for what we’ll find once we slice them open,” says Skip SmithCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, technology director. It’s only after the wood moves through gradingCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, sorting控制工程网版权所有, and bundling that the company can determine margins and expected profitability. The company has come to rely heavily on the tight connectivity between its Mitsubishi Electric IQ Series PLCs and the Mitsubishi MESInterface IT module that is resident within the PLC.

        Skip SmithCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, technology director at Indiana Veneers: Before using Mitsubishi’s MES Interface IT module to connect PLCs and the corporate database控制工程网版权所有, “we might have gotten incomplete or inaccurate information due to the relative slowness of OPC polling.”

        The unique configuration has enabled the company to streamline and accelerate real-time visibility by eliminating an OPC connection that wasn’t fast enough to accurately poll and capture the complete data set associated with a bundle due to the high rate of speed at which bundles are processed on the conveyor line. The resident MESInterface IT module now takes data directly from the PLC and sends complete data packets to the Microsoft SQL database控制工程网版权所有, making accurate information immediately available to decision makers.