Malaysia-based Greatech Technology has adopted Rockwell Automation’s Independent Cart Technology (ICT) to design flexible, industry-specific production systems.
Founded in 1997, the company specialises in designing, developing, and producing automation systems and machinery for manufacturing processes. It caters to solar energy, electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, and life sciences companies across China, India, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States and Europe.
Greatech was looking to improve its platforms which lacked scalability across different industries. For example, the requirements of customers manufacturing EVs and solar panels, which need large production spaces, differed considerably from the space-efficient needs of industries like life sciences and semiconductors.
Kho Kee Chen, business unit manager of instruments and control at Greatech, said that although their existing systems met production needs, they were sometimes inefficient in terms of time and space. The company needed a flexible, efficient, unified solution that could cater to diverse production lines.
The answer came in the form of Rockwell Automation’s ICT which enabled Greatech to adopt a single, flexible system to streamline production across all sectors.
The key to Rockwell Automation’s ICT lies in its use of magnets for force and motion control, simplifying the entire system. The technology promises precise, impact-free starting and stopping of loads, and the flexibility to track and control each carrier individually. Energy use is minimised, as only the carriers themselves move.
ICT’s adaptability enabled Greatech to customize solutions based on industry needs. Its intelligent conveyor systems consist of modular components and standard building blocks that allow for easy assembly and reconfiguration. Each cart is independently controlled, meaning it can adjust speed based on other carts’ positions, resulting in smoother product handling and reduction of bottlenecks.
“We find great variety in the Rockwell Automation product portfolio, especially a wide range of motion systems that allow us to design specific configurations to meet customer needs,” said Chen.
“Using different brands and platforms requires new skills and knowledge,” he explained. “By using Rockwell’s ICT platform across industry solutions our team no longer needs to learn multiple systems,” added Chen. “This system mastery has made them more productive and a more valuable resource for our customers.”
The successful integration of ICT has encouraged Greatech to explore further innovations from Rockwell. The company is now looking at Emulate3D which provides digital twin simulations.
This software enables Greatech to identify potential control issues pre-emptively, saving its customers valuable time and resources during implementation. Customer plant personnel receive additional support by having a virtual space to train on the new system, predict future performance and simulate line changes without real-world consequences.
“We want to expand not just in operational technology (OT) but also explore opportunities in IT,” Chen said.
Originally published in Frontier Enterprise
