Mitutoyo´s Wireless Measure Benefits Increased measurement envelope Elimination of cables Reduced faulty cable downtime Reduced operator error www.mitutoyo.com

Wireless Data Transmission Helps John Deere Cut the Cord

To ensure efficiency and ease of use, John Deere's Waterloo Works in Waterloo, Iowa, is cutting the cord to its hard-wired gages on the drivetrain assembly line. The plant has converted to more trouble-free wireless data transmission systems.

For fast, accurate measurements, hard-wired digital gages are a vast improvement over traditional measurement devices such as micrometers, vernier calipers and other measuring tools. The disadvantages of hard-wired gages, however, are considerable: Each tool's reach is limited by its cord length; its cord can fray, bend or be cut; and a cord can get tangled with wires and cords from other equipment.

Gages equipped with wireless data transmission systems can eliminate these worries while preserving the benefits of digital measurement. For just that reason, John Deere has installed Mitutoyo's Wireless Measure system on the Digimatic gages on its drivetrain assembly line.

The Wireless Measure system starts with a tiny radio transmitter that sends measurements to a receiver located up to 80 feet away depending on environmental conditions.

Mitutoyo offers two wireless receivers. The four channel model emits a Mitutoyo digital signal and can interface with any processor or multiplexer capable of reading a Mitutoyo gage. The RS-232 receiver interfaces directly with the RS-232 port on a host computer and accepts and segregates data from up to 99 different gages.

For John Deere, the most conspicuous benefit of the Wireless Measure system is the elimination of the cables. The operators now have two fewer cables to untangle, and the operating range has increased dramatically. "With the wireless system, the workstation looks much less cluttered," one operator offers. "In fact, it looks like it did before, when we were using the manual gages." Furthermore, suspect and faulty cables are no longer a problem.

The success of the Wireless Measure system in that application has prompted John Deere to purchase six more units for downstream applications on the same drivetrain assembly line. In one application, the gages will be used to measure lateral play in an axle and calculate the shim-pack thickness required to pre-load the axle bearing to specifications. Another application will involve four transmitters for two pairs of gages, each of which will be used to measure a different differential model. In this application, both gages will be used at the same time, meaning that the system will have to segregate the data and present it to the operator as required.

John Deere engineers are looking at still another application for the Wireless Measure system in the axle department. "We currently have three gages mounted on a certain measuring fixture, each with a cable running to a summing unit," explains Cal Brody, a John Deere process engineer. "We would love to get rid of all those cables."

Applications for the Wireless Measure system all must be able to measure a moving target accurately and consistently. Other manufacturers concerned with excluding operator error, eliminating cumbersome cables and increasing the measurement envelope are very interested in Mitutoyo's reliable and economical system of wireless data transfer.