"Vacuum equipment" is essential to a variety of industrial research fields, including semiconductors and medical equipment. In this large-scale facility, various experiments in a pressure-controlled environment are possible. This section introduces a manufacturer of vacuum equipment who introduced Pro-face Remote HMI remote monitoring software as a successful solution to operation efficiency. Let's look at the challenges conventional vacuum equipment face and how remote monitoring, through adoption of Pro-face Remote HMI, increase efficiency.
With "handy" devices limited by movability, experiments using vacuum equipment are often interrupted.
Vacuum equipment precisely controls the opening and closing of valves in various locations in order to create a pressure-controlled environment. When opening and closing the valves, it's necessary to perform the work while visually checking each valve's movement in order to ensure that no mistakes are made.
However, when the valves are on large-scale vacuum equipment 20 meters wide or when the valves are located in various locations, researchers have used GP3000 Series handy display devices on the operating devices to allow for visual inspection. The problem is that cables for handy display devices are only a maximum of 10 meters long. Even with connectors available in a number of locations, the device is complicated and there never seems to be enough length in the cable, leaving operators to stretching their arms to their limits in impossible poses.
Pressure settings are adjusted many times when performing research, and experiments using vacuum equipment are usually performed over and over. With a handy device, mobility is limited by the cable, which prevents work from being performed smoothly. Being able to increase efficiency when checking vacuum equipment will result in a large reduction in the time it takes to perform experiments.
Remote monitoring makes it easier to perform visual checks, allowing for smoother research using vacuum equipment.
"Isn't it possible for workers to operate equipment and perform checks if they are free to move around?" In answer, the vacuum equipment manufacturer zeroed in on Pro-face Remote HMI, remote monitoring software from Pro-face. Being able to operate valves using remote monitoring software on a tablet with a wireless connection resulted in being able to perform visual checks without any stress.
"Experiment times have been shortened, making it easier to concentrate." "Because the controller doesn't need to be operated in impossible postures, there's no need to worry about operation mistake." These are some of the most common comments the equipment manufacturer has received from universities and company laboratories as a result of adopting Pro-face Remote HMI. Making operations more efficient using remote monitoring is truly something to be happy about.
The key to efficiency is response speed and ensuring comfortable usability.
One concern before introducing Pro-face Remote HMI is communication speed. Even if remote monitoring improves efficiency by making workers free to move around, if the communication speed is a burden, more stress arises. What's more, researchers use vacuum equipment several times daily, and if responses are not quick, the equipment loses its usefulness.
For this vacuum equipment manufacturer, compared with applications from other companies, Pro-face Remote HMI offered the most reliability when it comes to responses. They repeated the tests again, and after being satisfied with the results, introduced Pro-face Remote HMI to their workplace.
Testimonial from the supervisor
I could sense the ease of use right away. I remember thinking, "We have to implement this."
In the past, I've often received complaints from workers saying that the cable on handy display devices is too short and inconvenient when performing an experiment. That's when we began to consider introducing a wireless network, but we weren't sure if it would work as expected. But after trying out Pro-face Remote HMI, I was convinced that the researchers would be pleased. All of my anxieties up to that point just disappeared. Since introducing Pro-face Remote HMI, many researchers have actually put the product to use, and it seems that they are very happy with it.
