During manufacturing operations like injection molding, extrusion molding, or other production activities, production counters are tools used to keep track of the quantity and rate of units produced. The primary motivation behind manufacturers’ use of these tools is to increase the overall productivity and efficiency of their manufacturing lines. However, numbering and tracking the manufacturing flow is not a novel concept. But thanks to technology, firms may utilize sophisticated technologies like visible counter displays and multifunctional sensors to simplify the production line.
You may increase your manufacturing operations’ productivity and OEE with the use of production counters.
Production Counters: What Are They?
As previously stated, the concept of a production counter is by no means new. Production counting systems have long been used to track and enhance a plant’s overall manufacturing activities. Monitoring the exact number of products produced at any one moment, whether by manual counters or more sophisticated digital counter systems, is inextricably related to the history of manufacturing.
Data collecting and production counter
However, data has brought about a fresh revolution in production counters in the twenty-first century. In addition to producing high-quality information, data capture, gathering, and analysis may also produce useful metrics that are essential to OEE excellence. Count sensors can, in fact, be integrated with your OEE software program to track not just counts but also:
If the manufacturing can achieve the company’s desired outcomes
Based on takt time, the anticipated time at which the goal may be achieved
The total downtime as well as the pacing time
A method for providing real-time feedback on industrial operations
A system that can gather and store information for better production management
as well as other indicators like inventory count, production comparison between actual and real, etc.
Why integrate your OEE process with a production counter?
Producing goods that meet customer criteria for quality and on-time delivery is the aim of every manufacturing line. Consequently, it makes sense to put in place a production monitor system that can give an accurate count of the output in comparison to the actual goal count.
Production counters might be quite helpful in this situation. A production counter system is more complex than it first appears since the count sensor may be used to increase manufacturing productivity in a variety of ways. Indeed, counting components and products is just one of the many tasks performed by a production counter.
Production monitor as opposed to production counter
Essentially acting as a production monitor, the production counter’s total count sensor functions may also measure detailed and informative data about your manufacturing process.
In addition to providing information on the total number of units produced, a production monitor may also offer suggestions on how to enhance overall production procedures, performance, and efficiency in order to satisfy client demands.
The exact number of units produced is indicated by a production counter necessary, usually through displays placed within the interior industrial space. Faster and more precise counting is ensured by counters.
Stated differently, the OEE software may automatically track extra data to help target and enhance your overall equipment efficacy and production efficiency when you connect a production counter sensor to it.
What information are available from production counter sensors?
The production counter may provide data to the OEE solution through the sensor, providing insights on:
Counting total production (good count versus total count)
Production rate and, if you provide the aim, even production pace goal
TEEP and OEE
Total and anticipated production time
Ideal cycle time to fulfill customer demand’s takt time aim (this also need more software input), etc.
