February 2010 - There can be many answers to the question, "What is the most important part of a company?" Valid answers include the owner, the sales team and the workers on the shop floor.
One segment that’s particularly vital to any equipment manufacturer is the engineering department. Without a high-quality design, a product is limited in how successful it can be. And more and more, customers are demanding their machines be designed for operators of all skill levels so they can maximize their workforce potential, even as it relates to workers with little training or experience.
For Xycorp Inc., Palm Springs, Calif., engineering is paramount in the development of its plasma cutting equipment, not just in initial design but in continuous upgrades and enhancements to its products. Since 1979, Xycorp has been manufacturing microprocessor-controlled industrial automation systems. In 1998, it introduced its plasma division, XCS Plasma, and over the next few years developed proprietary software for the purpose of simplifying the operation of its machines.
Today, Xycorp continues to look for ways to enhance the performance and ease of use of its plasma machines.
"It really benefits our customers a lot in that we see a new technology that can be helpful to our customers, and we want to incorporate that into our machines," says Greg Good, vice president of engineering for Xycorp. "Our machines use the latest technology. It requires quite a bit of engineering on our end of it, but we feel that for long-term success for our customers--thus ensuring long-term success for us--if we give them that technology, they can be just that much more productive. Everyone can benefit that way."
Two lines
Xycorp offers two lines of plasma cutting machines: the XCS 2000 series and the XCS 4000 series. The 2000 series is geared toward cutting applications of material 0.5 in. thick and less, and the high-definition 4000 series handles material up to 3 in. thick. It also features 10 in. of Z-axis travel.
"Both lines use a heavy-duty construction with high-quality components," says Good. "We pride ourselves in our engineering effort this way, and we use top-of-the-line components [and] motion control systems that we’ve designed that offer the best precision control out there. All of our machines come with the latest PC-based control technology. We use Windows Embedded operating systems. It’s seamless for our customers to go from their office computer out to the factory floor on our machines."
The XCS 2000 series features automatic torch height control, 900 ipm of traverse speed, cutting areas up to 6 ft. by 12-plus ft., a turnkey system and motion-control components. The machines offer up to 200 amps of power.
The XCS 4000 series offers high-frequency isolation design, joystick positioning with laser guides, plate surface detection, roller pinion drives, 7-in. vertical motion and 360-degree collision detection. Its zero-backlash roller pinion system features high-precision, low-maintenance, state-of-the-art design.
The machines in this series are also designed to use specialty cutting gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen or mixtures, which are automatically monitored and controlled by the computer. They also feature a maximum traverse speed of 2,500 ipm and positioning accuracy of ±0.003 in.
Additionally, the XCS 4000 series comes standard with a down-draft table, which captures smoke and sparks and takes them downstream through a spark arrester and self-cleaning filtration system.
But even with all these advanced features, Xycorp still maintains a focus on simple operation.
"[Our machines are] also designed for ease of use," Good says. "They’re designed for an unskilled operator to be able to run. Especially in these tough times, with everyone cutting costs, we need to be able to provide a high-quality machine that produces high-quality parts using the lowest cost. We can leverage our technology to help achieve that."
Instrumental in simplifying the XCS 2000 and XCS 4000 series is Xycorp’s Windows-based SimplePath software, which eliminates the need for G codes, as well as complex editing, pathing, nesting, special drawing and post-processor programs. Also, whereas an average CNC control might have dozens of buttons, SimplePath has four.
Overall, the XCS 4000 series’ Windows Embedded computer equipment is built with industrial computers that feature solid-state hard drives with no moving parts.
Easy does it
In January 2009, Baton Rouge, La.-based Slade Mfg., a producer of fabricated steel and aluminum products, purchased an XCS 4000 system with a plasma torch and a 6-ft.-by-12-ft. cutting area.
The impetus for adding the machine was to expedite the cutting of special valves that had been cut on another company’s waterjet. Whereas the waterjet may have taken two to three days to complete an order of a dozen valves, the XCS plasma system can handle a similar-sized job in half a day.
"It’s faster than water, and it does good work," says Leonardo Sagastume, machine operator for Slade Mfg. "That’s the reason we [bought the machine] because we do a lot of work for the plants, and we cut a lot of valves and parts."
Sagastume is also able to get service and support via the Internet, as Xycorp offers remote troubleshooting with all its machines.
"Through the power of the Internet and the PC-based control, we can actually access our machines out in the field and troubleshoot them and do training remotely," says Good. "This is something that has really benefited our customers. As a specific example, Slade Mfg. is based 2,000 miles from us, and they had a lightning storm this last summer, and one of the components inside the power supply was damaged during it. We were able to troubleshoot that remotely in a matter of about an hour, and a part was sent out the next day--the customer was up and running almost immediately with very little downtime. This type of troubleshooting normally would’ve required a service call, but because of our diagnostic software and the power of the Internet, we were able to get the customer up and running almost immediately.
"It’s benefited both of us tremendously," he adds. "We can also deliver software updates remotely. [In regard to] personnel training, quarterly, we offer online training classes for our machines, and it’s very easily done. Our customers can either do it directly from our machine, if it’s hooked to the Internet, or from a desktop computer."
For a smaller fabrication business like Slade Mfg., uptime is everything. And having remote support from Xycorp, combined with the ease of use of the plasma cutting machine, provides a competitive advantage for the company and maximizes employees’ productivity.
"It’s a beautiful thing to work with," says Sagastume. "I like it. It’s easy, easy, easy to use the machine. Nothing is complicated [with it]." FFJ
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