Molding Machine Management System with Parallel Timeline Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators in injection molding machine management systems struggle to grasp the operation state of peripheral equipment and production plans, leading to inefficiencies due to the lack of comprehensive management support.
Innovation Solution
A molding machine management system that displays production plans and results for both primary and secondary molded articles along a common time axis, including molding and arrangement periods, allowing operators to visualize and manage the operation state of both the injection molding machine and peripheral equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a management support system displays only current operation state with color-coded indicators, then the display is simple and easy to understand, but the operator cannot grasp future production plans and peripheral equipment operation states
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into multiple functional areas: current operation state display area with color-coded indicators, future production plan display area with timeline, and peripheral equipment state display area. This segmentation allows each area to present specific information clearly while collectively providing comprehensive management information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimension current state display to a multi-dimensional display that includes time dimension (past, present, future) and equipment dimension (molding machine, peripheral equipment). This is achieved by adding temporal axes and equipment-specific display areas to the traditional state indicators.
2Loss of information
If the management system displays comprehensive production information including future plans and peripheral equipment, then complete management information is provided, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display device serves multiple functions: it shows current operation states, future production plans, peripheral equipment states, and provides alerts. By integrating these functions into a single unified interface, the system avoids the complexity of multiple separate systems while providing comprehensive information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system displays future production plans and equipment states in advance, allowing operators to prepare for upcoming tasks. This preliminary information presentation reduces the need for complex real-time decision-making and simplifies operational procedures.
3Productivity
If the system provides detailed production plans and peripheral equipment monitoring, then work efficiency can be improved, but the information processing and display requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and displays only the most critical information for each function: current state indicators, key production plan milestones, and essential peripheral equipment status. This selective extraction reduces information processing requirements while maintaining the ability to improve work efficiency through targeted information presentation.
Data Source
AI summary
A molding machine management system includes a display section configured to display, along a common time axis, identification indicators for identifying a component B, which is a first molded article, and a component C, which is a second molded article, produced after the component B, a production result for the component B including a molding result period and an arrangement result period for the component B, and a production plan for the component C including a molding planned period and an arrangement planned period for the component C and display the production result for the component B and the production plan for the component C in parallel on the common time axis.