Legacy CNC Machines Can Now See "How the Other Half Lives" With New MERLIN MTConnect Hardware That Brings OEE Network Connectivity to the Entire Shop Floor

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Sep 8, 2014) -  The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS Booth E-3368) - Astrix Networks Inc. (TSX VENTURE: OEE), operating under the trade name Memex Automation Inc., is solving the "last meter of productivity challenge" with new CNC hardware solutions that utilize MTConnect and is being demonstrated live at IMTS. MTConnect is the open, royalty-free standard that is intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing devices and software applications.

For older FANUC-controlled machines that still populate about 50% of CNC machine shop floors, Memex Automation's new Ax760-MTC is a fully configurable hardware adapter that allows you to communicate with your CNCs utilizing the MTConnect standard. The plug-and-play hardware connects into the main FANUC I/O Link bus to transform FANUC signal into the MTConnect software protocol without disrupting the machine. The result is a machine that can passively detect data, on both the X and Y addresses from 0.0 to 127.7, as well as 16 additional digital inputs, allowing Memex's MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) software to track a large number of data inputs that measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness ("OEE") in real-time, enterprise-wide, machine by machine and other operational machine information.

For any machine, the Ax9150 UMI-MTC is a fully configurable MTConnect hardware adapter that allows you to communicate with your CNC utilizing MTConnect. Rather than buying a new controller, you can enhance your oldest legacy controllers so they can take advantage of today's MTConnect communication standard and take advantage of MERLIN OEE benefits. In many instances, this can substitute for a machine monitoring retrofit. The Ax9150 UMI-MTC offers simple installation regardless of CNC make, model, or type.

"Increasing the utilization of both legacy and new assets is critical to a modern company and MERLIN makes that happen," said Dick Morley, who is on the Board of Memex Automation and is known as the "father" of the programmable logic controller (PLC). "Memex Automation is clearly on the road to the future for automation and M2M. Finally, we have a company taking a leadership position."

At Memex Automation's IMTS Booth E-3368, visitors will see a "Technology Preview" of Web-based features of MERLIN. The software will have many advantages for displaying data on various devices as well as allowing users the ability to customize the display to meet their specific requirements. At the same time the company will be demonstrating MERLIN in a live Manufacturing Operations Platform, connecting machines at the last meter. This demonstration will be running in real-time, as well as connecting into Mazak's IMTS booth, showing Mazak machines at their booth running MERLIN in real-time, as well as machines in Mazak's Florence, KY, plant.

About the Company

Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) is the leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness ("OEE") in real-time. OEE is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE enterprise-wide, machine by machine. On April 15, 2014, PEM awarded the Company the 2013 Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees. Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN its 2013 Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Machine Monitoring. Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its midmarket ERP machine connectivity solution. Mazak, North America's largest original equipment manufacturer of machine tools, purchased MERLIN and published a 42% increase of its machine utilization and now offers it on its price list. Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tools, announced in April 2014 that Memex Automation became a Partner in THINC. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

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