UC and Advantech s Industrial Automation Group Create Advantech e-Manufacturing Lab

Ming-Chin Wu, President of Advantech’s Industrial Automation Group, said at the grand opening of the lab that Advantech looked forward to working with the students at the University of Cincinnati.

“This e-manufacturing laboratory hits exactly our target market, for customers to enhance productivity and reliability,” he said, adding, “Advantech is also a good corporate citizen.” With headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, Advantech Co., Ltd., offers industrial and network computing, embedded computing, applied computing, “e-Automation” and “e-Video” solutions. Advantech has 2,700 employees worldwide.

Advantech has provided UC with embedded automation controllers with flat panel monitors and USB I/O modules to monitor machines for changes and provide a predictive failure analysis. These analyses are transmitted from high-speed sensors to develop predictions of part failure. Also, a lab station is now equipped with “AStudio” and a touch panel computer, so that results can be posted on the Web.

Carlo Montemagno, dean of the College of Engineering, pointed out the importance of establishing a close relationship with industry. “Universities serve two functions,” he said, “First, to promote the advancement of science and technology, and second, to promote the application of that technology for economic prosperity.

”The Advantech e-Manufacturing Lab will be under the guidance of Professor Jay Lee, Ohio Eminent Scholar in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Nuclear Engineering (MINE). The mechanical engineering program is the strongest undergraduate program in the college. There are nine programs in the College of Engineering, with 25% of the students in MINE.

Montemagno noted, “Professor Lee’s group is really pushing the frontiers of science and productivity.”

“The simple question is often, ‘Why do we need to maintain things regularly?’” Lee says. “The answer is, ‘To keep things as reliable as possible.’ But the real question is, ‘How much change or degradation has occurred since the last round of maintenance?’ The answer is, ‘I don’t know.’”

Lee is director of the

NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems

(IMS). The Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems was established to enable products and systems to achieve and sustain near-zero breakdown performance, and ultimately transform the traditional maintenance practices from "fail and fix" to "predict and prevent" methodology. Lee’s research focuses on frontier technologies in embedded and remote monitoring, prognostics technologies and intelligent decision-support tools.

The IMS Center was recently called upon by the National Science Foundation to assist with the investigation of the bridge collapse in Minnesota. NSF awarded emergency supplemental funding to IMS (an NSF/IUCR center) to deploy a quick response team to Minneapolis to survey the I-35W bridge failure. The data collected from the trip are being used to guide the development and deployment of embedded smart sensors to improve the monitoring and prognosis of potential bridge failures such as this one.“The Advantech Lab will serve as a catalyst to infuse research into not only our graduate program but undergraduate education as well,” pointed out Teik C. Lim, head of the MINE department, adding that students in mechanical engineering courses will use this lab as part of their coursework — from doctoral students right down to incoming first-year students.

“Dr. Lee offers a sophomore-level class that provides hands-on opportunities. Engineering-design-clinic seniors will be approaching real-world problems working in the Advantech lab. Even the freshman introductory courses will have the opportunity to work with this lab,” Lim continued.“Professor Lee brings an excitement to the field of mechanical engineering,” he added.

Lee explained that one of his goals is to rejuvenate the manufacturing disciplines, which are perhaps not perceived as being very exciting these days.

“Combining manufacturing and information technology makes us smarter,” he explained. “The center is the focus of research that benefits education through our teaching with students learning by working on projects. With industrial collaboration, what the students learn is then fed back into the first step: research.”

Lee also pointed out that he plans to use the Advantech e-Manufacturing Lab as a corporate teaching lab.

“Advantech engineers can invest their time in UC and easily get their degrees,” Lee said. ‘It is truly a global collaboration.”

About Advantech Corporation, Industrial Automation Group:
Founded in 1983, the Industrial Automation Group of Advantech Corporation is a pioneer in eAutomation technology, combining connectivity, flexibility and ruggedness with today's most reliable PC-based automation technologies. Product offerings include Open HMI platforms, Industrial Ethernet, Automation Controllers, Automation Software, Embedded Automation Computers, Distributed I/O Modules, Plug-in I/O, and Industrial Communication solutions for a wide array of industries. With more than 20 years’ experience in providing a full range of products to different vertical markets, the eAutomation group is proving to be a globally leading Automation Product and Services provider. U.S. operations for the eAutomation Group are based in Cincinnati.

In the above photo, going left to right:

• Teik Lim, PhD, UC Head of Mechanical, Industrial and Nuclear Engineering Department
• Jay Lee, PhD, UC Professor and Ohio Eminent Scholar
• Yijun Liu, UC visiting scholar
• Lynette Anderson, Marketing Manager for Advantech Industrial Automation Group
• Mark McCrate, UC engineering grad student
• Carlo Montemagno, PhD, UC Dean of the College of Engineering
• Masoud Ghaffari, PhD, UC research associate (and alumnus)
• Ming-Chin Wu, Advantech Industrial Automation Group President
• Walt Medlock, Advantech and UC alumnus
• Joan Hoskins, Advantech Human Resources, North America
• Chuck Harrell, Public Relations/Promotion Manager Advantech, eAutomation Group
• Haixia Wang, PhD, UC postdoctoral researcher
• Frank Gerner, PhD, UC associate dean of the College of Engineering

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UC Intelligent Maintenance Systems researchers work to transform traditional maintenance practices from "fail and fix" to "predict and prevent." The IMS 13th Industry Advisory Board Meeting takes place this week in Cincinnati.