This is a strategy that has enabled the firm to capably assist their customers around the world in spite of all the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and digital twin technologies helped support maintenance and training, and they also continue to boost quick changeover capability. By leveraging such technologies, Cama was able to conduct successful FATs and provide virtual remote assistance over the past eight months without missing a beat.
Thanks to its deployment of advanced contemporary automation solutions, Industry 4.0 concepts, and comprehensive on- and off-machine connectivity, Cama is now able to virtualize every step of a project—from initial design concepts through build, testing, commissioning, and installation. Even ongoing maintenance and support are done virtually. “The launch of our Live FAT service comes at the perfect time,” says Danielle Bellante, CEO at Cama Group. “Someone once said that necessity is the mother of invention, and this is especially true in the current business climate. Although we have been working on the technology for some months now, its virtual, on-line approach is proving incredibly pertinent and beneficial in these times of lockdown and separation.”
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Using the Live FAT Platform, smart cameras located close to the machine’s primary operational elements give customers real-time video access to machine tests live from Cama’s premises. In addition to the comprehensive overview given by the smart cameras, customers can also access complementary cameras covering static equipment such as electrical panels. Sharing of the visual information and data streams is via a secure, invite-only Microsoft Teams portal, accessed using a computer, tablet, or phone. High-definition cameras coupled to dedicated visualization software and auto lighting ensure the clearest possible views, regardless of the viewing platform. Customers also have the option to go full screen on particular views, to get even more detail.
“The adoption of smart on-machine technology and far deeper connectivity delivers multiple benefits for both us, as machine builders, and of course for our many customers who operate in multiple industries across the globe,” adds Bellante. “Virtualization can be applied to so many different facets of a machine’s lifecycle, and will help address multiple geographical, economical, technical, and, in this instance, societal hurdles where customers may not be able to deliver test products due to quantities, shipping costs, or simply because they are overly delicate or frozen. For our customers it will be like having a highly knowledgeable Cama engineer on site—all day, every day.”
A number of other advanced solutions were highlighted at the Cama showroom. Go here for a PACK EXPO Connects demo.