Caron Engineering Inc., a leader in tool monitor adaptive control, has signed a joint technology and marketing agreement with Memex Automation to take advantage of Memex's real-time machine connectivity and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) metrics.

Together, the two companies offer the world's manufacturing plants unprecedented outside-in and inside-out control of machine tool productivity.

Memex Automation's flagship product MERLIN is a Manufacturing Execution System application that tracks manufacturing operations bi-directionally from the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) work order to each machine's detailed operations.

MERLIN is able to connect to all machines on the shop floor using various protocols, MTConnect adapters or network connectivity devices. MERLIN tracks up to the second detail about every event at a machine, all automatically.

"What MERLIN does so well is to connect and monitor machine tools on the outside, and we do incredibly well on the inside of those tools," said Rob Caron, Caron Engineering's founder and president.

"We offer Tool Monitoring and Adaptive Control (TMAC) for simultaneous operations on even the most complex CNC machines. Our 4,000 customers worldwide can now utilize MERLIN's interface and connectivity to deliver TMAC-MP's in-machine metrics from the shop floor right on up to the top floor of a manufacturing CEO's office, mobile device, or anywhere else the Internet is readily available."

"TMAC-MP uses specialized strain sensors and accelerometers to both measure and adjust vibration, tool condition, and a variety of other in-machine performance characteristics," said Memex Automation's CEO, Dave McPhail. "On even the most complex, multi-tool CNC machines, such as Swiss type lathes and multitasking machines, Caron Engineering's technology adjusts the machine internally in real time."

"MERLIN now unites that internal information across the shop floor through hardware connectivity," added McPhail. "Then MERLIN's software dashboard presents TMAC-MP data along with the more than 400 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) including machine tool downtime, rejects, job status on every machine in every plant, in addition to labor tracking. This is the ultimate machine tool automation technology pact that we want to introduce to our company's 12,000 customers."