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Freedom Published: 02/03/2021
(Freedom: Cincinnati) -- Autocam Medical, a global contract manufacturer of high-precision CNC-machined surgical and medical components and devices, has ramped up its industrial internet of things (IIoT) footprint using Freedom’s Smart Manufacturing Platform. With the goal of improving productivity while increasing capacity, the Freedom Smart Manufacturing Platform allowed for just that and then some.
“We were able to quickly identify not only the gaps from plan, but what caused them so we could tackle the root cause and increase productivity,” says Jeff Goodman, vice president of business development for Autocam Medical. “After the initial pilot, we assigned internal value stream champions to learn the value of the Freedom software and then increased the number of assets within each value stream connected to the platform. We are excited to see how our organization has taken ownership of the real-time, detailed information and analytics produced by the Freedom platform. The things we love about Freedom are the easy-to-use mobile operator app, customizable dashboards displayed on large monitors in the shop, and its seamless scalability.”
Conceived and developed by manufacturing experts, the Freedom Smart Manufacturing Platform allows connection to any industrial asset to provide automated intelligence related to asset availability, utilization, and continuous improvement. Autocam Medical’s search for finding the perfect partner came to an end when finding this platform.
“We were searching for a partner, not just a product” says Goodman “From day one, we had input on what was being put in place. It was so much more than a transaction; it was truly a partnership”.
Autocam Medical plans to expand the Freedom footprint in 2021 and continue to develop new processes with an expectation to increase productivity and profitability.
Autocam Medical is a global contract manufacturer of precision-machined drill bits, drivers, screws, plates, cutting tools, and other complex, highly engineered surgical implants, instruments, and handpieces, as well as other device components. Clients are involved with instruments and devices used in procedures including the foot and ankle, hand and wrist, hip and knee, shoulder and elbow, spine, as well as ophthalmology and craniomaxillofacial procedures. The company offers a value-added approach to high-precision manufacturing with specialties in CNC milling, turning and cutter grinding. The company has achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification. They also have facilities in the U.S., China and Brazil.
Freedom’s software development team has over 200 years of collective experience in controls integration, automation, material handling, and discrete manufacturing in the IoT manufacturing industry. The same team that brought to market the first FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System) in the early 80’s and the Cell Controller in the 90’s, has translated that knowledge into a Smart Manufacturing Platform for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) era. Freedom IOT is comprised of manufacturing people from the machine tool industry with intrinsic knowledge of machinery and industrial automation process; from milling, turning, grinding, welding, additive manufacturing to robotics, general automation and motion control. The company is focused on world-class manufacturing performance, with Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma experience, which allows it to support companies with continuous improvement initiatives. This in-depth knowledge of the manufacturing process, has allowed creation of an innovative manufacturing platform that goes beyond reporting of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and other Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to provide actionable results to run more efficient, more profitable operations
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