Controlling Ways - Feature Article in Business London

Date Posted: 12/16/2005

The use of robotics in manufacturing is pretty common place these days. Program it to move to a fixed point in space and a robot will follow that specific pattern of movement repetitively, hour after hour, with pinpoint accuracy.

But what if the place a robot is programmed to reach isn’t uniform? Say, for example, it is unloading a bin filled with parts that have shifted in transit so they are no longer in straight stacks and lying flat?

When JMP Engineering was asked to tackle that problem for a manufacturing client, their solution was to design a vision-guided control system. “The vision system looks at a part and tells the robot exactly where it is using x and y coordinates and rotational offset data”, explains Ken McLaughlin, group manager with JMP. “The depth of the part within the bin is detected using an infrared sensor.” A camera searches and identifies location coordinates and feeds that information back to the robot on an ongoing basis, directing the unloader where to go to grab each part form the bin. “A vision system can also recognize different parts and treat them differently,” adds McLaughlin. “Through the use of new technology, we’re solving problems that could not be done with traditional automation just five years ago.”

Founded in 1987 and headquartered on Meadowbrook Road, the past five years have also brought considerable change to JMP itself. A provider of engineered factory automation and process control solutions, the business has registered annual growth of about 20% since 2000. Scott Shawyer, who controlled 10% of the firm in 2000, purchased the remaining shares earlier this year to become sole owner. “In October (2005),” says Shawyer, “I sold 8% of the shares to a group of four employees to provide others the opportunity.”

As well as working with manufacturers, primarily in the automotive and metal processing sectors, JMP works with clients in food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and environmental industries, including water purification and waste water systems. The firm maintains five branch offices outside of London - Richmond Hill, Burlington, Cambridge, Windsor and Livonia, Michigan - in order to keep staff close to their client base and ensure a rapid response as needs or concerns arise. In some cases, JMP employees are embedded on-site. “We’re in their workplace, fixing small problems and working as an extension of their engineering team,” says McLaughlin.

In response to manufacturing trends towards lower production volumes and an increased customization, JMP has designed flexible manufacturing systems that are scaleable and re-configurable for future applications. The automation systems use off-the-shelf components, such as standard conveyors, vision systems and robotics. “It is easier, more flexible and less expensive to reprogram the control system to handle new products than it is to physically change hard tooling and fixturing,” notes McLaughlin.

In many cases, JMP will go beyond the traditional scope of engineering design and take responsibility for driving the entire project. This is a beneficial approach for the client, says McLaughlin, because machine builders typically focus on their core expertise - designing and building the mechanical aspects of a system - and may not put enough emphasis on the control system. JMP’s approach ensures the newly-designed automation integrates into other automation systems within the plant and with the plant’s data collection system.

JMP also offers simulation capabilities. “We have software that we use to digitally model a system before it is built,” says McLaughlin. “We use this simulation to verify what the system’s throughput will be and where the bottlenecks will be in the process. This is extremely useful to evaluate alternative concepts and find potential mistakes before anything is built.

“Simulation is gaining more acceptance, but is still in its infancy. We really see simulation as the next wave of the future in automation. Just like a word processor allows you to change and modify your document before you make a hard copy, digital simulation allows you to run, test and optimize a system digitally in the simulation software before it’s ever built.”

Shawyer says he expects JMP to continue at its current expansion pace “By 2010, we will have 12 offices, likely seven Canadian and five in the U.S.”

By Kym Wolfe, Business London