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Greetings,
Thanks to everyone who urged us to get rolling with
the newsletter again. Judging by the inquiries, many of
you valued and enjoyed this way of communicating
some of the exciting things going on at AMS Controls
as well as show aspects of the company and its
personnel otherwise behind the scenes.
This issue has a few things that really stand out. First
there's the introduction of the new XL200 Series
Controller that replaces its namesake and delivers some
important new features. Among the additional pieces is
our profile of Dave Zaragoza, our Chicago-based North
Central regional sales manager, a die-hard softball and
Cubs fan. We're back and hope you find the following
information helpful.
We value your feedback. If there something you'd like
to see in a future newsletter, send us an email at
feedback@amscontrols.com.
| NEW XL200 Controller Unwrapped |
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We're using this fall's FABTECH and METALCON
International shows to launch our latest hardware
innovation, the new XL200 Series Controller. It's got
major new features and capacity - all at the same
price as the original.
The new XL200 incorporates some great innovations,
including a new, resistive touch-screen and boosted
processing power the likes of which has never been
available to the industry until now. The full-color,
active matrix display can be read at any angle and
makes machine monitoring and control fast and simple.
A new, dedicated DSP coprocessor has been added for
optimized high speed processing. The120 MIPS (Million
Instructions Per Second) DSP is capable of
simultaneously handling five to eight closed loop die
accelerators. Open loop machine speeds of 1,000 ft.
per minute or faster, even with high-resolution
encoders are no challenge for the new XL200 controller.
Is the XL200 fast? For all practical machine purposes,
this controller has virtually unlimited processing power.
It was off the charts in our open loop testing -
demonstrating flawless control at the maximum machine
speed of 1,700 ft. per minute. We haven't found it's
top end yet! Considering that processing power is
already beyond all practical machine capacity, you'll be
a giant step ahead with this controller for years to
come.
Our XL200 incorporates a SERCOS digital interface
that can talk to eight or more servo drives. The
SERCOS interface standard (IEC 61491) is the only
internationally approved communication standard for
motion control. It is designed for high-speed serial
communication of standardized closed-loop data in real-
time over a noise-immune, fiber-optic cable. It is used
for communication between digital controls, drives, I/O,
sensors and actuators for numerically controlled
machines and systems.
XL200 v3 Features »
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| AMS Controllers Speaks Your Language |
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New AMS language-enabled software allows operators
to do their best work by making it possible for them to
interact with the machine controller in their preferred
language.
The new language-enabled software makes switching
controller input and instruction languages fast and
simple. Operators simply select a desired language from
a readily accessible language menu. Operators currently
may choose from English, French Canadian, and
Spanish, with the addition of Brazilian Portuguese and
Polish soon to come. The available language list will
continue to expand with additional Germanic, Romance
and Slavic languages targeted for inclusion.
Multi-lingual capability is an important benefit as
workforces in even a single plant are often made up of
operators with a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
Allowing these workers to interact in the language with
which they have superior command helps them do their
best work.
In some instances it's the law that workers have the
ability to work using their native language. For
instance, in Quebec workers must be allowed to use
the French Canadian language. AMS' multi-lingual
capability allows them to do just that. Language-
enabled software is truly a customer-driven element.
Additional languages will be added as you tell us what
language your operators use to do their best work.
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| Field Tuning Indramat Drive Units |
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Indramat Drive Units can be tuned on-site by following
step-by-step procedures. If circumstances are such
that you want to field tune an Indramat unit, we have
specific instructions on making the necessary
adjustments. Click the link below to see our published
Indramat Tuning Procedures. Carefully follow all
applicable directions, with particular attention to
safety, as high amperage shock is possible without
taking necessary precautions.
AMS can provide in-house tuning of Indramat Units or
on-site adjustment.
Field Tuning Indramat Drive Units »
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| Upcoming Tradeshows |
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Come visit us at FABTECH (Booth 4039) or METALCON
(Booth 522) and see the XL200 firsthand. We're anxious
to show you how the new XL200 with its expanded
features can economically take your machines to the
next level.
You may also want to attend one of the presentations
we will be giving in conjunction with Metalcon and
Fabtech:
Rick Allman will give his talk on Improving Quality &
Productivity through effective Shop Floor Control
as part of the overall presentation: Roll Forming for
the Metal Construction Industry: Part I on
Wednesday
October 20th.
Andy Allman will give a presentation entitled
Application of Identification Equipment on Thursday
October 21st. Andy's presentation will give you
insight into types of marking systems and offer new
reasons for thoroughly marking your products.
Andy will also be speaking at Fabtech in Cleveland on
Wednesday October 27th. There the topic will be
Continuous Improvement for Roll Forming. This
session is for roll formers looking to monitor
improvements in their roll form operation. Rationale for
continuous improvement in roll forming operations are
covered as well as considering overall equipment
effectiveness (OEE) and use of SPC, pareto analysis,
and other tools to focus and direct improvement
efforts.
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| In the Spotlight: Dave Zaragoza |
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Dave Zaragoza, North Central regional sales manager, is
a softball fanatic who likes making a great play for
clients just as much as with the three teams he plays
for during Chicago summers.
Dave has been with AMS Controls in sales for two years
and joined the company from Dietrich Metal Framing,
America's largest light gauge steel framing company. It
was at Dietrich where Dave first learned the difference
that AMS Controls can make in plant productivity. One
of his favorite things to do on the job today is making
in-plant visits with clients and prospects, to see just
how they do things. Since joining AMS, Dave has
traveled extensively throughout his territory made up of
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
He's seen a lot of impressive work out there.
Writing a great proposal, assisting in an installation and
seeing the "making a difference" results from all the
analysis and hard work is like hitting homeruns in an
endless summer.
"Summer is my favorite time of year," Dave says. "I'm a
season ticket holder with the Cubs and with all the
softball I play, summer is just hard to beat. And when
there's no ball to play, pinch me because I'm in
Chicago, one of the nation's most exciting cities."
A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Dave earned a
mechanical engineering B.S. degree from Purdue
University. Adapting to the Chicago lifestyle has been
fun for Dave and he now resides just three blocks from
Lake Michigan. The excitement of living in a place
where there is always something to do appeals to this
31-year-old bachelor who might run four or five miles
for marathon training and shag fly balls in the same
evening after a day of helping customers find ways to
do their work better and more economically.
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