From Notification to Protection: Automating Chip Overflow Prevention with MiConnect
| Industry: | Contract Manufacturing |
| Machine: | Chip Conveyor |
| Material: | Hardened 4140 Steel |
Challenge
A high-volume production shop was experiencing recurring issues with chip accumulation while machining 4140 steel in an unattended bar-fed application.
The existing workflow relied on a technician noticing when the chip bin needed to be emptied and manually stopping production. In the fast pace of a busy shop floor, this was often missed. As a result:
- Chip bins overflowed
- Stringers and chips were reintroduced into the chip conveyor
- The chip conveyor required multiple hours of repair
- Significant downtime and lost production accumulated
A routine maintenance task was consistently escalating into extended downtime and equipment risk.
Solution
The production shop implemented a solution built around Caron Engineering’s MiConnect automation platform — a flexible low-code application builder that connects machines, devices, and control systems — integrating it with their production monitoring system, OnTakt.
The production monitoring system could receive a signal and generate a notification that the team needed to perform the preventive maintenance task, but it was unable to stop the process to ensure that the task was completed. Leaving the response timing dependent on personnel availability.
MiConnect transformed that signal into controlled action.
A laser sensor was integrated into the automation cell and aligned with the chip conveyor to detect when the chip bin reached a preset fill level. When that threshold is met:
- The production monitoring system (OnTakt) flags the condition
- MiConnect reads the state change in real time
- MiConnect writes directly back to the control, signaling a stop
- Production pauses until the bin is physically emptied
With MiConnect integrated, the monitoring signal transitions from passive notification to controlled intervention. When the preset chip threshold is reached, MiConnect writes directly to the machine control to stop production, requiring the bin to be emptied before machining resumes. Instead of relying on someone to catch the issue in time, the system now enforces the correct process response.
The Result
What previously resulted in hours of downtime is now resolved in minutes.
MiConnect continuously monitors the variable state from the OnTakt production monitoring system and executes a controlled stop when required. Once the bin is emptied, production resumes without incident.
The outcome:
- No chip overflow
- No stringer-related damage
- No extended chip conveyer repairs
- No unexpected downtime
The shop can now confidently run unattended overnight and through weekends, knowing that chip accumulation will not compromise the machine’s health or create extended downtime.
Even more importantly, this solution established a repeatable automation framework that can be deployed across additional cells — turning a reactive process into a standardized safeguard.
Results
- Reduced downtime from multiple hours to minutes
- Protected the chip conveyer and machine components
- Enabled confident unattended production
- Created a scalable integration model for future automation cells
