Testament to how robust the BC404 is, there’s still some kicking around making perfect asphalt, boasting the old DOS-based system!
The BC404 is such a critical part of the asphalt making process, the idea of messing with it isn’t one we’ve considered lightly. The BC404 controls the feeders to a very high accuracy and ensures strict specifications are met. You know the old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! There’s a lot at stake if asphalt product is made out of spec.
The BC404 not only controls the mix perfectly and with very little waste, it also has an inventory function that records how much material has been used, how much product has been made, how much waste and by which shift.
However, we feel it’s time to give this stalwart a long-overdue facelift. We want to upgrade the unit to reflect our current software look and move the hardware into a DIN rail based enclosure. The same smarts will still be the core function of the new and improved BC404, but we’ll be adding some state-of-the-art upgrades and added features. We’re not going to give the game away just yet, but to give you an idea, it’ll boast the ability to seamlessly integrate into the overall plant control, integrate our new weighout software, reduce the possibility of human error and send inventory information daily via an API to accounting or ERP software. There’ll be more, but you’ll have to wait until the big release which we estimate to happen by the end of the year.
In the meantime, we are asking any regular users of the BC404 to let us know if there’s a feature or improvement you’d like to see in the new unit. Rest assured, we will still continue to service and support the existing BC404 units out there, as we know they tend to last for a very long time. If you would like to know more about the new BC404 upgrade, please feel free to get in touch.