Memex’s MERLIN Translates Operational Machine Data Into Real-time Success

Proactive Investors – November 24, 2014

Memex Automation (CVE:OEE) is taking the manufacturing world by storm with its M2M solution, MERLIN, which drives manufacturing efficiencies and enables shop floors to communicate with management in real-time.

MERLIN is a full suite of hardware and software.  The hardware adapters turn each of a manufacturer’s machines into a web server, while the software measures plant capacity and its utilization.  The hardware adapters connect machines to management via MTConnect, an open-source, royalty-free XML standard that convert the manufacturing asset into a web server.

The MERLIN software tracks a large number of MTConnect data inputs that measure overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in real time, as well as other operational machine information.  Customers can address production bottlenecks as they happen, convert idle time back into production and ultimately improve throughput.  Short for Manufacturing Execution Real-Time Lean Information Network, MERLIN is designed to boost shop floor productivity, increase income from operations and reduce operating costs.

The system also does away with the traditional labor intensive method of operators recording data on a time card, a second person entering the data and a third person massaging the data into reports,  reducing employee costs and eliminating roles that require people to manually collect, enter and work on the data.  Using the MERLIN system, the data is collected in real-time, analyzed immediately into actionable information, defining how to make more revenue and margin per asset for production teams.

“MERLIN has certainly proven its worth,” says CEO, David McPhail.  “The average IRR rates of invested capital are 400 percent based on 70 client installations.  The average breakeven is less than a three months.”

The company just recently signed an order from GE Power & Water in South Carolina, for the installation of 34 MTConnect-based universal machine hardware adapters.

“[GE Power & Water] have 400 machines in one plant. They ordered 34 MTConnect hardware adapters to start, and they’re phasing it in,” says McPhail.

The hardware adapters will connect to GE’s own dashboard software, allowing the company to better measure and manage production. Memex’s system is flexible enough so that it can be sold either together with its MERLIN software or as a standalone universal machine interface.  In GE’s case, the hardware adapters were sold independently of MERLIN’s software, as a method to obtain data from manufacturing machines.

“Our adapters are not limited. They speak MTConnect, giving companies the latitude to develop their own applications or use ours,” says McPhail.

The company’s clients also include Mazak, the world’s largest machine tool manufacturer, which said that MERLIN-related efforts to reduce downtime yielded a 42 percent improvement in utilization of the monitored machines. Mazak also reduced operator downtime by 100 hours per month, and enabled the production team to return in-house 400 hours per month of previously outsourced work.

Customers like Edmonton, Alberta-based Innovative Mechanical Solutions have also raved about MERLIN in industry press, pointing out how the system became an employee motivator, as it encouraged operator performance.

The word is spreading about MERLIN’s power.  At the IMTS conference, the largest manufacturing technology trades show in North America, Memex generated 738 unique new company leads. Interestingly at this year’s IMTS, Mazak demonstrated MERLIN running live throughout its 800,000 square foot plant.

“We’re now busy following up on all of these leads and converting as much to revenue as we can,” says the chief executive officer. “We’re in one of the true greenfield opportunities that exist in manufacturing,” McPhail says.

Given the market consists of 16 million computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines and three other machines for each CNC on the average factory floor, the market for MERLIN is huge, with some 64  million manufacturing machines globally.  Memex is targeting its massive addressable market directly and through its significant distribution channels, which include Microsoft, Mazak’s CNC and Optonics divisions, and a dealer network that includes coverage in the USA, Mexico, and Europe.

The company recently released a new MTConnect fully configurable hardware adapter that can be installed in less than one hour, and can be used with older FANUC-controlled machines.  Fanuc controls comprise approximately 50 percent of the market, according to Memex.

The company is also working on MERLIN 3.0, an HTML 5-based release of its platform.  The new release will add three additional modules, creating additional significant business intelligence to its current offering, says Memex.

“We will streamline the process and allow companies to make improvements not only on percentage of efficiency, but also in dollars of margin per machine per hour in the new release,” affirms McPhail.

About 95% of the company’s clients are based in North America, while the remainder is located in Europe and the Middle East. Currently focused in the US and Canada, the company has plans to start marketing and selling in Europe next year.

Memex is cashed up, having raised $2 million in August. The company is deploying capital to increase market awareness of its product and to convert opportunity into money.

The MERLIN system also has the advantage of widespread appeal.  Practically, the product applies to any discrete manufacturer.  For example, in April, Memex announced it sold $106,000 of MERLIN  to Toronto-based Club Coffee, a custom coffee roaster.  “While many of our clients are focused in aerospace and defense, MERLIN is “genre-agnostic” and applies to any process on any equipment,” says McPhail.

To see the full article, please click here.

David McPhail Inteviewed at FabTech on Manufacturing Talk Radio

David McPhail did a great interview at FabTech last week on Wednesday the 12th on Manufacturing Talk Radio! 

David does a fantastic job educating the hosts on MTConnect as well as Memex Automation’s ability to talk to ANYTHING on the shop floor. David puts everything in the language that everyone inside or outside of manufacturing can easily understand and appreciate.  David talks about MTConnect at the beginning and really gets into specifics at the end of the interview.

I thought the interviewers did an outstanding job in the types of questions asked as well as the follow up questions.

David starts speaking at the 129 minute mark on Wednesday.  David’s segment is about 25 minutes in length.

David brings out a very important metric.  If you ask a shop or plant what their utilization is, invariably they will state something in the area of 65%.  When you actually come in and measure it, the number is more like 27% to 32%  That is a HUGE difference! As David states, “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.”

To visit Dave Edstrom’s blog, please click here.

Manufacturing Talk Radio – David McPhail Interviewed at FABTECH

FABTECH 2014 brings together an anticipated 37,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibiting companies all under one roof. The show provides a backdrop for visitors to experience live equipment demonstration, find cost savings solutions, and network with industry peers throughout the 500,000+ square feet of show floor throughout the A, B, and C buildings at the Georgia World Congress Center.  The event also provides learning opportunities beyond the exhibits with over 100 educational sessions and expert-led presentations on the latest industry trends and technology in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries.

Hosts Lew Weiss and Tim Grady broadcasted live from the show floor with breaking news, insights and very special guests on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, November 11th – 13th.

David McPhail, President and CEO of Memex Automation, was a guest on Manufacturing Talk Radio on Wednesday November 12.

Click here to listen to David’s interview.  S2-E21FabTech Day 2.

Click here to visit the Manufacturing Talk Radio homepage.

Memex Automation’s MERLIN Being Demonstrated by Mazak Optonics as a Value-Added MTConnect-Based Solution

ATLANTA, GA and BURLINGTON, ON–(Marketwired – Nov 11, 2014) – FABTECH 2014 — “The implementation of MTConnect is one of the simplest and fastest ways to improve productivity and increase machine utilization. Mazak’s MTConnect implementation provided the highest ROI for any capital investment because of the significant increase in utilization of equipment for a very moderate expenditure,” said Mazak President Brian Papke.

Papke personally drove the project to implement the MTConnect protocol to determine machine availability with maximum accuracy at his company’s Kentucky-based North American headquarters — an 800,000 sq. ft. complex that produces a variety of multi-axis turning and milling machines at a rate of 200 units per month. An article recently published in a manufacturing productivity magazine reported that Mazak achieved a 42% increase in equipment utilization in its Kentucky plant.

Astrix Networks Inc., operating as Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) (“Memex” or the “Company”), is the global leader of manufacturing M2M productivity solutions. Memex was invited by Mazak Optonics to jointly demonstrate MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) with Mazak’s laser cutting systems at FABTECH 2014, Booth 3525. The joint demonstration will showcase MERLIN’s ability to connect all manufacturing machines to management, report plant-wide capacity utilization, and increase production and income from operations in real-time.

Mazak Optonics is the laser-cutting systems division of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation and the third division to demonstrate MERLIN as a value-add MTConnect-based solution. MERLIN was demonstrated by Mazak at IMTS in Sept. of this year, and at Germany’s EMO Hannover metalworking technology tradeshow in Sept. 2013.

“The availability of key data is crucial to managing operational performance. The combination of MTConnect and MERLIN will deliver performance details including dashboards that open up tremendous real-time visibility for both individual machines and the entire shop floor,” stresses Marc Lobit, General Manager Sales Support of Mazak Optonics.

MTConnect is an open, royalty-free machine communications standard intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing devices and software applications. Introduced at IMTS 2008, Mazak executives recognized its potential to facilitate plant-wide integration and enhance automation.

Memex Automation’s Chief Technology Officer Dave Edstrom was instrumental in creating the MTConnect vision in 2006, and was the President and Chairman of the MTConnect Institute for three-and-a-half years prior to joining Memex in Jan. 2014.

“We are very pleased to continue our collaboration with Mazak through our joint demonstration with Mazak Optonics at FABTECH,” said David McPhail, CEO of Memex Automation. “MERLIN is an MTConnect-based solution that universally connects all machines to management and shows manufacturers how to make more production, generating IRRs of up to 400%.”

About Mazak Optonics

Mazak Optonics Corporation is a major supplier of laser-cutting systems, offering 50 laser models and leading the industry in the implementation of emerging laser technologies. The company’s 50,000 sq. ft. North American Headquarters are located in Elgin, Illinois, and feature a 30,000 sq. ft. laser technology center housing up to 18 machines for demonstrations and training. Mazak Optonics is part of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation (Oguchi, Japan), the global leader for the manufacture of machine tools and systems for the precision machining of metal parts, including CNC turning centers, horizontal and vertical machining centers, Multi-Tasking machining centers, turnkey cells and software solutions. The North American Headquarters for Yamazaki Mazak are located in Florence, Kentucky. For more information on Mazak Optonics’ products and solutions, visit www.mazakoptonics.com, emailsales@mazaklaser.com or call 847-252-4500.

About Memex Automation Inc.

Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) is the leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in real-time. OEE is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE enterprise-wide, machine by machine. On April 15, 2014, PEM awarded the Company the 2013 Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees. Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN its 2013 Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Machine Monitoring. Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tools, announced in April 2014 that Memex Automation became a Partner in THINC. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information

Sales:
Memex Automation Inc.
John Rattray
VP Sales and Marketing
Phone: 905-635-0590
Email: jrattray@memex.ca

Press:
market2world communications inc.
Paul Brent
Senior Communications Strategist
Phone: 613-256-3939
Email: paul@market2world.com

To see the full press release, please click here.

Memex Automation’s MERLIN Being Demonstrated by Mazak Optonics as a Value-Added MTConnect-Based Solution

ATLANTA, GA and BURLINGTON, ON–(Marketwired – Nov 11, 2014) FABTECH 2014   “The implementation of MTConnect is one of the simplest and fastest ways to improve productivity and increase machine utilization. Mazak’s MTConnect implementation provided the highest ROI for any capital investment because of the significant increase in utilization of equipment for a very moderate expenditure,” said Mazak President Brian Papke.

Papke personally drove the project to implement the MTConnect protocol to determine machine availability with maximum accuracy at his company’s Kentucky-based North American headquarters — an 800,000 sq. ft. complex that produces a variety of multi-axis turning and milling machines at a rate of 200 units per month. An article recently published in a manufacturing productivity magazine reported that Mazak achieved a 42% increase in equipment utilization in its Kentucky plant.

Astrix Networks Inc., operating as Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) (“Memex” or the “Company”), is the global leader of manufacturing M2M productivity solutions. Memex was invited by Mazak Optonics to jointly demonstrate MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) with Mazak’s laser cutting systems at FABTECH 2014, Booth 3525. The joint demonstration will showcase MERLIN’s ability to connect all manufacturing machines to management, report plant-wide capacity utilization, and increase production and income from operations in real-time.

Mazak Optonics is the laser-cutting systems division of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation and the third division to demonstrate MERLIN as a value-add MTConnect-based solution. MERLIN was demonstrated by Mazak at IMTS in Sept. of this year, and at Germany’s EMO Hannover metalworking technology tradeshow in Sept. 2013.

“The availability of key data is crucial to managing operational performance. The combination of MTConnect and MERLIN will deliver performance details including dashboards that open up tremendous real-time visibility for both individual machines and the entire shop floor,” stresses Marc Lobit, General Manager Sales Support of Mazak Optonics.

MTConnect is an open, royalty-free machine communications standard intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing devices and software applications. Introduced at IMTS 2008, Mazak executives recognized its potential to facilitate plant-wide integration and enhance automation.

Memex Automation’s Chief Technology Officer Dave Edstrom was instrumental in creating the MTConnect vision in 2006, and was the President and Chairman of the MTConnect Institute for three-and-a-half years prior to joining Memex in Jan. 2014.

“We are very pleased to continue our collaboration with Mazak through our joint demonstration with Mazak Optonics at FABTECH,” said David McPhail, CEO of Memex Automation. “MERLIN is an MTConnect-based solution that universally connects all machines to management and shows manufacturers how to make more production, generating IRRs of up to 400%.”

About Mazak Optonics

Mazak Optonics Corporation is a major supplier of laser-cutting systems, offering 50 laser models and leading the industry in the implementation of emerging laser technologies. The company’s 50,000 sq. ft. North American Headquarters are located in Elgin, Illinois, and feature a 30,000 sq. ft. laser technology center housing up to 18 machines for demonstrations and training. Mazak Optonics is part of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation (Oguchi, Japan), the global leader for the manufacture of machine tools and systems for the precision machining of metal parts, including CNC turning centers, horizontal and vertical machining centers, Multi-Tasking machining centers, turnkey cells and software solutions. The North American Headquarters for Yamazaki Mazak are located in Florence, Kentucky. For more information on Mazak Optonics’ products and solutions, visit www.mazakoptonics.com, emailsales@mazaklaser.com or call 847-252-4500.

About Memex Automation Inc.

Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) is the leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in real-time. OEE is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE enterprise-wide, machine by machine. On April 15, 2014, PEM awarded the Company the 2013 Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees. Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN its 2013 Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Machine Monitoring. Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tools, announced in April 2014 that Memex Automation became a Partner in THINC. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

 

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information
Sales:
Memex Automation Inc.

John Rattray
VP Sales and Marketing
Phone: 905-635-0590
Email: jrattray@memex.ca

Press:
market2world communications inc.

Paul Brent
Senior Communications Strategist
Phone: 613-256-3939
Email: paul@market2world.com

To see the full article, please click here.