What could you do if your customer needs support but you cannot be there in person? In such cases an innovative solution is needed – and is provided by CERATIZIT through LiveTechPro, a remote support app for mobile or tablet. For Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. in Rajkot, India, it was the perfect way to solve an urgent problem.
In times of local or national lockdowns and travel restrictions due to Covid 19, maintaining good relations to customers is a difficult task. How that can be done anyway, even if physical attendance is not an option CERATIZIT proves in a project with Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. in India. Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. is one of the largest one-stop solution for computerized machine cutting tools and leaders in a wide range of CNC Turning Centers, CNC Machining Centers (3-4-5 Axes), CNC Horizontal Machining Centers and Vertical Line CNC Machines. Their commitment is using advanced technology for manufacturing these machines to ensure supreme quality of their products.
Vivek Tomar, Vice President / Technical Management & Product Management from CERATIZIT India Pvt. Ltd.: “Jyoti CNC Automation Limited is located in Rajkot, the fourth-largest city in the state of Gujarat, an extreme remote location in Western India. We already have a long partnership with this customer and supply them with our tools on a regular basis.” But the pandemic changed the situation drastically.
Especially when Jyoti CNC had to manufacture a CNC Machine where larger diameter holes are required for various components, additional support was needed. “The challenge was to do larger diameters like 50mm to 100mm with L/D ratio more than 5 on a Turning Centre, resulting in high cutting forces. So the customer wanted one of our application engineers on site – but that time it was not possible due to the pandemic!”, Vivek Tomar adds. Even under normal conditions the travelling was difficult: Rajkot is about 1.000 km from Delhi where the application engineer is situated which meant air travel combined with a road trip – two days at least. But as the schedule was very tight, a quick solution was needed.
“That was the perfect case for introducing our new remote support tool ‘LiveTechPro’. This system allows for multiple levels of operation via smartphone or tablet, with conventional video or a livestream being the starting point. So we discussed with the customer if we could use the new tool to support him. In the beginning Jyoti CNC was reluctant and preferred physical visits. But they wanted to give it a try and we sent the local representative of this area to Jyoti”, Vivek Tomar says.
Once the LiveTechPro app was installed, Shiv Baksha Singh, the application engineer in Delhi, was connected: “Through LiveTechPro I could see the whole situation on the machine including the complete programming as well as the clamping system for the component they were machining. Our customer could show me how they were holding the tool in the machine and the cutting parameters they wanted to start with.”
He made some important snapshots and videos for his own review and then he suggested a few changes in the tool-holding system. “It was a very long hole we had to drill and so temperature was very high. With the help of the customer we made all the changes through LiveTechPro. That included a customized tail stock and an added customized pull stud for better clamping – and it was successful!”, Shiv Baksha Singh concludes.
Although the machining was difficult, the cutting was very smooth and resulted in perfect chip shape. But what convinced Jyoti CNC even more: “The cycle times before using the CERATIZIT tools and the changes we made were 140 minutes. Now we cut those times down to only 20 minutes and replaced four tools as well!”, adds Vivek Tomar.
One of the biggest advantages of LiveTechPro compared to travelling, especially in a large country as India: it is immediate. Vivek Tomar: “Physical visits can take one or two days but now we can resolve it directly – and most of the times for 100%. That saves lots of unproductive time not only for us but also for the customer.”
At CERATIZIT Group sustainability and the responsible treatment of the environment are emphasized strongly. Reducing the carbon footprint is one example for that, which succeeded in the case of Jyoti CNC in a total saving of 900 kg CO2 by avoiding the trip by air travel and using LiveTechPro instead.
Some might say that a simple videocall could work out things as well. But LiveTechPro is a lot more than that as it provides some easy-to-use tools that make sharing snapshots, video-clips or documents more convenient. For example, the user can add some highlight drawings, markings, arrows, circles or whatever helps shows the issue directly in the app. By means of Augmented Reality features everything is interconnected and can be worked out immediately, not least because of the superior video and photo quality. “Thanks to an update to the app you can individually zoom on desired areas or can add digital information – all during a livestream. And by that stunning resolution you can even see the wear of the tool!”, Vivek Tomar adds proudly.
In LiveTechPro up to four people can attend a session. That means that for example the project team, application and the design team as well as the customer can be involved at the same time and can work out things together. That is supported by the intuitive user interface which gives a simple overview as well as quick access to all relevant topics. “We used this many times, maybe before a proposal is made or by finding solutions to certain issues. We can also add someone from the Global application team from Germany, one from our Head office, one from the local team and one from the customer – the whole competence team at once!”, Vivek Tomar emphasizes. In a recent app update some more functions have been added like a Navigation mode while livestreaming or a technical documentation area to protocol and review service cases. “Even a chat with integrated translator is now part of LiveTechPro to support all of our customers needs and desires.”, says Vivek Tomar.
The reluctance at the beginning was exchanged by complete conviction: “We were able to conduct complex trials of the new tools supplied by the Ceratizit Group through remote support. The ‘LiveTechPro’ app is the next best thing to a physical visit in these times”, Mr. Kamal Mandal, Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd., concludes. And Vivek Tomar adds: “LiveTechPro is immediate and provides the reassurance that our technical sales and applications engineers don’t have to be there, to be there for our customers.”
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