xCoupler Applications
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xCoupler Module Ties Plant Floor Truck Assembly to
Customer Service for a Competitive Edge
A major manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks has honed its
competitive edge by ensuring fast and accurate response to customer orders for
standard and custom-built trucks. The new system exchanges specific order data
from customer service through a Microsoft SQL database to plant floor part
handling systems. These systems are connected via DeviceNet™ to an Allen-Bradley® ControlLogix® PAC. |
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An xCoupler enterprise transaction module installed in the
ControlLogix PAC seamlessly translates data between the devices connected to
the PACs backplane with the Microsoft-based database. During the assembly
process, the xCoupler module queries the database for bill of materials
information for truck orders placed by customer service. The xCoupler module
then interacts with the plant’s inventory handling systems through the
backplane of the ControlLogix to stage parts for specific orders on the
assembly line. |
The module also responds back to the database to notify
customer service that the parts have been assembled, or if any parts are
missing that will delay an order. Inventory and production are also notified of
the status of build orders.
The xCoupler module was chosen for this application over a
PC-based system, because plant personnel could get it up-and-running in a few
hours – instead of hiring a programmer to program a PC-based
system between the database and plant devices. Maintenance upgrades were
another factor. The PC-based system would need to be upgraded if there were
changes to the system, while the xCoupler module does not need to be upgraded
when changes are made.
The xCoupler module’s audit and exception logs let plant personnel, customer service and management know the on-time performance
of the entire system. These logs
detail all transactions to help plan and implement continuous improvements to
the entire system. |
