Jon Oliver on Patent Trolls

This is a must see segment by Jon Oliver on the slimiest of "business people" patent trolls.  I could not agree more with Jon Oliver on this.  Thanks to Dennis G. for passing this along to me and Steve F.

Programming a New Homelink Remote Opener to a 20 year old Genie garage door opener

My wife got a new 2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited and the instructions to program the almost 20 year old Genie garage door openers with a homelink transmitter did not work until I ran into this on a Gencoupe.com forum and it worked perfectly the first time.


HOMELINK IN-CAR REMOTE PROGRAMMING INSTRUCTIONS

To program a built-in-car transmitter to a rolling code garage door opener (Genie rolling code is called Intellicode, Liftmaster/Sears is called Security plus), you should take the following steps.

1. Clear out anything previously programmed into the in-car system from the factory by holding down on the 2-outside buttons simultaneously, until the in-car LED starts flashing rapidly. This may take up to a minute (in most cases, the key should be on auxilary, and/or the car door must be shut).

2. Decide which button you want to make to be your in-car garage door transmitter. Hold your transmitter up near the selected button, pressing both the garage door remote and the selected in-car transmitter button simultaneously. Hold down on the buttons until the in-car, LED light flashes rapidly. This sets the in-car remote transmitter to be your garage door openers make transmitter, but you are not done. You now need to make this in-car transmitter your personal transmitter.

3. Go to the Learn Button on your garage door opener. The button is usually next to the area where the floppy antenna is connected to the motor head. With Genie it is most often behind the light lens, and an indicator light flashes red when pressed. With Sears or Liftmaster (Chamberlain) it is near, or part of, the terminal screw board, and is a red, green or purple square button with a green, amber or purple indicator light. Press this learn button momentarily. The indicator light will turn on and blink if Genie or otherwise stay lit. For Genie systems, go back to the in-car transmitter button you programmed and press this button 3 or 4 times, or until the door starts moving. This should set your in-car transmitter to your garage door opener. For Liftmaster, Sears, or Linear Megacode press and hold the in-car button you programmed until the garage opener light flashes. Your in-car is now programmed to operate your door.

Astrix Networks Inc. reports record revenue for the six-month period ended March 31, 2015

May 14, 2015   Press Releases

Burlington, ON, Canada – May 14, 2015 – Astrix Networks Inc. (“Astrix”), operating as Memex Automation (“Memex”) (TSX-V: OEE), the global leader of manufacturing M2M productivity software, released its financial results and operational highlights for its second quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Astrix generated record revenue of $1.03 million for the six months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $576,000 for the six-month period ended March 31, 2014. This represents a 79% increase year over year.

Gross profit for the six-months ended March 31, 2015 totaled $651,000 compared to $368,000 for the six-months ended March 31, 2014. This represents an increase of $283,000 or 77% from the prior year period.

Net loss for the six-months ended March 31, 2015 was $973,000 as the company continued building out its sales force and latest product development. This compares to a loss of $651,000 for the six-months ended March 31, 2014.

Highlights from Q2 2015

• Reported revenue of $490,000, a 21.5% year over year increase.
• Orders (excluding component sales) received in the quarter totaled $486,000, an increase of 94% year over year.
• 15 new customer wins, 4 through partner distribution channels, in the quarter vs. 5 customer wins in the same period last year.
• First complete plant installation win in Mexico at Industrial B&S.
• Received approval for up to $800,000 of interest free government financing through FedDev Ontario (Investing in Business Innovation Program) just after quarter end.  Proceeds will be used to fund and commercialize the Company’s latest version of MERLIN.

Company President, David McPhail, provided comment on Astrix continuing to build on its record revenue levels. “We are thrilled with the volume of orders that keep coming in, and the continuing customer adoption of our MERLIN shop floor communication platform strategy.  Orders received since quarter-end are also very encouraging.”

About Memex Automation:

Memex Automation provides award winning software to measure Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in real-time. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE metrics for each machine in every plant. MERLIN is used by leading machine tool companies as a complete shop floor communications platform. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

Media Contacts
Leanne Rattray, Communications Specialist
Phone: 905-635-1540 ext. 103
Email: leanne.rattray@memex.ca
David McPhail, CEO
Phone: 519-993-1114
Email: david.mcphail@memex.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To see the full press release, please click here.

Huge Congratulation to Paul Warndorf - Winner of the Lawrence J. Rhoades Award by NCDMM

McLean, Virginia – AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s Paul Warndorf, vice president – strategic planning, has been selected for the prestigious Lawrence J. Rhoades Award, given by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM).

 

The award honors the memory of Rhoades, his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to the advancement of manufacturing processes industry-wide. Rhoades was a former chairman of the board of directors for AMT, as well as one of the founders of NCDMM and an inaugural member of its board of directors.

 

“Paul is a globally recognized manufacturing expert and has toiled tirelessly on behalf of the manufacturing technology industry, in areas such as equipment and manufacturing standards, and export control reform”, said Ralph J. Resnick, president and executive director of NCDMM. “But probably the most significant of Paul’s contributions has been his vision for and leadership of the MTConnect standard. I think former MTConnect Institute Chairman Dave Edstrom said it best: ‘Paul Warndorf has been an MTConnect shepherd, conductor, and guiding light. There are thousands of ways MTConnect could’ve died, and thanks to Paul, it did not.’ Paul epitomizes the purpose and spirit intended for this award.”

 

“I think back to the many times I was with Larry Rhoades and what he represented to our industry. He was an innovator, a futurist – but most of all, he was one nice guy. He made you feel important whenever you were around him,” Warndorf said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of opportunities, and I’ve been able to take advantage of them mainly because of those I worked with and those who worked for me. Larry was good at that. He surrounded himself with the best people, but most importantly he gave them an opportunity to achieve and create things that had never been done before.”

 

“What I’d like to say to everybody is: Follow Larry’s example. Create opportunities for our future innovators and visionaries, and most of all, make everyone around you feel important,” Warndorf concluded.

 

Warndorf first joined AMT in 1996 and became vice president – manufacturing technology in 2003 to lead in the development of AMT’s Technology Roadmap for the Machine Tool Industry, benchmarking the future performance needs of equipment. He also led the startup of the Smart Machine Platform Initiative aimed at developing technologies to meet those needs. In 2007, he managed the creation of the MTConnect standard, which allows collection of shop floor data and communication between equipment and devices. He formed the MTConnect Institute for AMT to carry forward the further development of the standard and to meet ongoing data collection requirements. Warndorf currently serves as secretary of the MTConnect Institute.

 

Prior to joining AMT, Warndorf held leadership positions at General Research Corp. and the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Sciences in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began his manufacturing career at the age of 18 as an electrical apprentice at Cincinnati Milacron. 

 

Warndorf graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in electrical engineering, and also received an MBA from Xavier University. 

 

Source: AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology

Tesla Model S P85D Insane Mode

I had a chance to sit in the new Tesla Model S P85D and hit the "Insane Mode" selection:

Below is the popular YouTube video of passengers going for a ride in the Tesla Model S P85D where it is "Insane Mode" :-)

McMaster University 3rd Annual Industry Open House

Last month I was at McMaster University's 3rd Annual Industry Open House and sat on a Manufacturing Panel.

As was stated at the website:

"To facilitate a "A Made in Canada Solution" to address the challenges facing Canada's manufacturing sector, the Open House will be included in a full-day event, the inaugural McMaster Manufacturing Forum 2015: Manufacturing a Renaissance. Participants will have an opportunity to tour multiple research locations and listen to the views of experts in the manufacturing industry."

Above is Siemens giving McMaster University $450 million worth of software - very impressive!

Above is a sheet that was given out at McMaster Automotive Research Center discussing some of the electric vehicles that were at the event.

That is me in the BMW i8. Below is the rear of the i8 which is the most interesting rear end of a car that I have seen in quite some time.

Below is a photo of me taken by the film crew who spent 45 minutes interviewing me on MTConnect and manufacturing.

The Two Most Important Technologies For The Ubiquitous Use of Additive Manufacturing Technology

I am sitting on an Additive Manufacturing Panel, Additive Manufacturing + 3d Printing Conference & Expo, in Boston this summer and in preparation for the conference I was asked the following question:


What technologies are being developed that will allow for the ubiquitous use of additive manufacturing?

Below is my answer:


The two most important technologies for the ubiquitous use of additive manufacturing in today's machine tools by the addition of tool changeable laser cladding heads, as demonstrated by Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, as well as MTConnect, which is the open and royalty-free manufacturing inter-connectivity standard. Hybrid's technology allows for the perfect marriage of subtractive AND additive technologies for existing machine tools. This new capability is a true game changer in manufacturing for a variety of reasons. First, the ability to take an existing subtractive machine tool and give it an additive tool opens up the ability to create parts that would have been impossible to create on a subtractive only machine tool or an additive only device. The world of refurbing parts could be the best example.  Instead of throwing away the $25,000 damaged ship propeller, the damage parts are ground down, new material is added where needed and finally the surface is finished without ever leaving the hybrid machine tool. MTConnect enabled additive equipment will allow manufacturers to easily monitor their additive systems. MTConnect can be thought of as the "bluetooth for manufacturing" that connects manufacturing devices to applications such as shop monitoring dashboards which can easily show areas where productivity can be improved.

The Two Most Important Technologies For The Ubiquitous Use of Additive Manufacturing Technology

I am sitting on an Additive Manufacturing Panel, Additive Manufacturing + 3d Printing Conference & Expo, in Boston this summer and in preparation for the conference I was asked the following question:

What technologies are being developed that will allow for the ubiquitous use of additive manufacturing?

Below is my answer:


The two most important technologies for the ubiquitous use of additive manufacturing in today's machine tools by the addition of tool changeable laser cladding heads, as demonstrated by Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, as well as MTConnect, which is the open and royalty-free manufacturing inter-connectivity standard. Hybrid's technology allows for the perfect marriage of subtractive AND additive technologies for existing machine tools. This new capability is a true game changer in manufacturing for a variety of reasons. First, the ability to take an existing subtractive machine tool and give it an additive tool opens up the ability to create parts that would have been impossible to create on a subtractive only machine tool or an additive only device. The world of refurbing parts could be the best example.  Instead of throwing away the $25,000 damaged ship propeller, the damage parts are ground down, new material is added where needed and finally the surface is finished without ever leaving the hybrid machine tool. MTConnect enabled additive equipment will allow manufacturers to easily monitor their additive systems. MTConnect can be thought of as the "bluetooth for manufacturing" that connects manufacturing devices to applications such as shop monitoring dashboards which can easily show areas where productivity can be improved.

Great Example Why 3D Printers Are So Cool!

This is a great example of why 3D printers are so cool by Jay Leno:

This Might Change The Discussion On Climate Change

The Washington Post has a great article by Chris Mooney. It is titled:

Pope Francis has given the climate 

movement just what it needed — 

faith

Mooney starts off with:

"This week — and it still feels strange to write this — the major climate change news story came out of the Vatican.

There, at the center of global Catholicism, church leaders joined with politicians, scientists and economists to draft a statement declaring not only that climate change is a “scientific reality” but also that there’s a moral and religious responsibility to do something about it. And an even more powerful statement is expected soon from Pope Francis himself, who is slated to release a major papal encyclical on the environment this summer."

This new Pope is a breath of fresh air on many fronts. For example, as reported by The New York Times in July of 2013:

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using the English word “gay.”

Francis’s words could not have been more different from those of Benedict XVI, who in 2005 wrote that homosexuality was “a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil,” and an “objective disorder.” The church document said men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should not become priests."

Thanks Gaurav Chaudhari - Memex Automation Software Developer Intern

On Tuesday April 21, 2015, we were able to thank and recognize our software developer co-op student at Memex Automation, Gaurav Chaudhari, from the University of Waterloo.

Gaurav is very bright and a gifted software developer who worked for us this past winter in a full time co-op position as a software developer.  In the months that Gaurav was with the Memex Software Development Team, he managed to work on a number of important projects for us.  Gaurav helped create and develop software for our future MERLIN 3.0 Manufacturing Execution System (MES) platform in a number of areas, including the auto report scheduler, dashboard utilities, visual job queue, slide show and job editor.

We want to thank Gaurav for his outstanding work and we wish him all the best!

 

Gaurav, with his special Memex Automation memento, for all the hard work he put in.

 

In Recognition of Outstanding Software Development

Presented to Gaurav Chaudhari 2015

 

The Development Team took Gaurav out to a celebratory lunch. Gaurav REALLY enjoyed wearing the standard Montana Restaurant's horns :-)
 

Jon Stewart GRILLS (as he SHOULD! ) Judith Miler of The New York Times

Jon Stewart absolutely DRILLS and GRILLS Judith Miller of the New York Times and this is a must watch.

As Jon Stewart started, “I believe that you helped the administration take us to, like, the most devastating mistake in foreign policy that we’ve made in, like, 100 years… but you seem lovely,”