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JULY 2022 / www.AutomationWorld.com

18 HOW TO SELECT A 3D PRINTER FOR YOUR PLANT 22 08 34 14 16 31

Robots and Cobots: A Peer-to-Peer FAQ Digital Twin Applications by Small Companies How Does Software-as-a-Service Benefit Manufacturers? Plug-and-Play Coming to Industrial IoT Find New Suppliers Quickly on PMMI ProSource New Products

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CONTENTS 3 AW MAY 2022

JULY 2022 | VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 7

How to Select a 3D Printer for Your Plant

Robots and Cobots: A Peer-to-Peer FAQ

How BMW Improves Interoperability with OPC UA and Edge Computing

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Before investing in 3D printing, take some time to understand the different types of equipment and materials used in the additive manufacturing process.

End users and integrators offer their insights into industry’s growing use of industrial robots, collaborative robots, and autonomous mobile robots.

BMW explains how OPC UA has helped the company improve communications, data exchange, and interoperability among assets, systems, and locations.

6/29/22 1:25 PM

4 CONTENTS AW JULY 2022

EDITORIAL

ONLINE 6

David Greenfield Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief dgreenfield@automationworld.com / 678 662 3322 Stephanie Neil Senior Editor sneil@automationworld.com / 781 378 1652 David Miller Senior Technical Writer dmiller@automationworld.com / 312 205 7910 Victoria Sanchez Managing Editor vsanchez@pmmimediagroup.com / 571-612-3200 x9298 Jim Chrzan VP/Content and Brand Strategy jchrzan@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1470 Kim Overstreet Director, Emerging Brands Community koverstreet@pmmimediagroup.com James R. Koelsch, Lauren Paul, Jeanne Schweder and Beth Stackpole Contributing Writers

Exclusive content from AutomationWorld.com: videos, podcasts, webinars, and more

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS 8

Digital Twin Applications by Small Companies

BATCH OF IDEAS 10

Using a Digital Fingerprint to Combat Counterfeit Goods

PRODUCTION POINTS 11

Digital Twin, Analytics, and Cybersecurity Dominate at ROKLive 2022

PERSPECTIVES 12

ART & PRODUCTION

OEM’s Head-to-Head Pneumatic vs. Servo Test Shows Savings

Filippo Riello Marketing & Digital Publishing Art Director friello@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1200 George Shurtleff Ad Services & Production Manager gshurtleff@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1170

NEWS 14

Plug-and-Play Coming to Industrial IoT PMMI News Find New Suppliers Quickly on PMMI ProSource

ADVERTISING

NEW PRODUCTS 31

Kurt Belisle Publisher kbelisle@pmmimediagroup.com / 815 549 1034 West Coast Jim Powers Regional Manager jpowers@automationworld.com / 312 925 7793 Midwest, Southwest, and East Coast Kelly Greeby Senior Director, Client Success & Media Operations Alicia Pettigrew Director, Product Strategy

Integration Software Platform as a Service PCIe Accelerator Card Valve System with Integrated OPC UA Emergency Pull-Wire and Belt Alignment Switches and more...

IT VIEW 34

AUDIENCE & DIGITAL

How Does Software-as-a-Service Benefit Manufacturers?

David Newcorn Executive Vice President Elizabeth Kachoris Senior Director, Digital & Data Jen Krepelka Director, Websites + UX/UI

FINANCE VIEW 35 Revenue Management for Manufacturers

PMMI MEDIA GROUP

Kurt Belisle Publisher kbelisle@pmmimediagroup.com / 815 549 1034 Reed Simonsis Brand Operations Manager rsimonsis@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 205 7919 Sharon Taylor Director of Marketing staylor@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1710 Amber Miller Marketing Manager amiller@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1130 Janet Fabiano Financial Services Manager jfabiano@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1330

ENTERPRISE VIEW 36 Quality Management Gets an Industrial Transformation Update

KEY INSIGHTS 38

All Automation World editorial is copyrighted by PMMI Media Group, Inc. including printed or electronic reproduction. Magazine and Web site editorial may not be reproduced in any form without thewritten permission of the publisher.

Automation World | PMMI Media Group 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 312 222 1010 | Fax: 312 222 1310 www.automationworld.com PMMI The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies 12930 Worldgate Dr., Suite 200, Herndon VA, 20170 Phone: 571 612 3200 • Fax: 703 243 8556 www.pmmi.org

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5/18/22 2:16 6:01 PM PM 6/29/22

6 ONLINE AW JULY 2022

PODCAST SERIES What Is A Machine Risk Assessment?

Learn the details of machine risk assessments, what types of equipment require them, who’s responsible for them, when to begin the process, and how to comply with machine risk assessment regulations in this episode featuring Schmersal USA’s Devin Murray.

AUTOMATION WORLD TV Security Alert for Industrial Control Systems

U.S. Government issues warning about new cyberthreats that impact control systems and SCADA devices across industries.

EDITORS’ INSIGHTS ON VIDEO Private 5G for Industrial Environments Following major deployments by TCL Manufacturing, Volkswagen, and British Sugar, 5G continues to gain steam.

AUTOMATION WORLD E-BOOK 6 Key Robotics Trends in Packaging and Operations

How consumer packaged goods companies and manufacturers in other industries are increasingly using robotics to improve operations.

ON-DEMAND WEBINARS Leading Manufacturers Show How to Accelerate

This webinar explains what more than half of leading manufacturers are doing to thrive in the face of the industry’s biggest challenges such as skilled labor shortages, risk mitigation, and supply chain disruption.

Why Automate–Manufacturing Considerations in Today’s New Normal

Building on the successful Automation 101 series, this presentation will explore the “how” and “why” of manufacturing from the vantage point of today’s decision-makers as they evaluate robotics and manufacturing within their business.

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8 EDITORIAL AW JULY 2022

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Digital Twin Applications by Small Companies By David Greenfield

dgreenfield@automationworld.com Editor-In-Chief/ Director of Content

t Siemens’ recent media and analyst event in Detroit, the company highlighted numerous examples of customers putting digital twin technology to use. And though it’s common to think of the digital twin as a tool geared toward large companies with significant numbers of engineers on staff, Siemens focused on how smaller companies are using the technology too. One small company that uses Siemens digital twin technology is Saildrone, a company that designs, manufactures, and operates a fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) for maritime security, ocean mapping, and ocean data collection. Saildrone’s customers don’t purchase the USVs — instead they pay for the data collected by them, either from a single mission or on an ongoing basis. Saildrone is using Siemens’ Xcelerator cloud-based portfolio as a service, including NX software for 3D product engineering and Teamcenter X for product lifecycle management to improve design collaboration across the organization without the need for traditional product design IT infrastructure to support it. “We chose Teamcenter X because it’s very important to have a single source of truth for engineering, especially as a small startup,” said Andrew Schultz, chief technology officer at Saildrone. “Manufacturing uses it for purchasing and building the components in our drones, and our finance and G&A teams use it to track inventory. Our primary focus is engineering—building new products and making our drones and our mission services better—not having to manage and update an on-premises server.”

Subsea agriculture

Another startup user of Siemens’ cloud-based Xcelerator as a service offering is Nemo’s Garden, which is working on sustainable underwater cultivation of crops.

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Saildrone’s uncrewed surface vehicles are used for maritime security, ocean mapping, and ocean data collection. According to Siemens, Nemo’s Garden’s key innovation is a sub-aqua biosphere—an underwater greenhouse designed to use the ocean’s temperature stability, evaporative water generation, CO2 absorption, abundance of oxygen, and inherent protection from pests to create an environment for the underwater cultivation of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Nemo’s Garden has already proven the viability of its concept, so they’re looking to use the Xcelerator portfolio to turn their prototype into a product that can be deployed globally. A comprehensive digital twin of the Nemo’s Garden biosphere has been built to encompass its design evolution using Siemens NX software. Simulation of the growing conditions are done using Siemens’ Simcenter Star-CCM+ software. With these digital twin technologies, adaptations to the biospheres can be tested in the virtual world, enabling the team at Nemo’s Garden to refine their designs at an accelerated rate. “Nemo’s Garden is a one-of-a-kind system, and we need to adapt it to each environment where it is to be installed,” said Luca Gamberini, co-founder of Nemo’s Garden. “[With Siemens digital twin technology] we have seen benefits in understanding the flow of water around the shapes of our bio-

spheres, have a greater understanding of the points of stress on the structure around the biospheres, and understand how the different interactions of solar radiation, temperature, and [other] physical factors act on the plants.”

Manufacturing viewpoint

While neither Saildrone nor Nemo’s Garden are manufacturing companies, neither are they typical drone or agriculture companies. And their use of digital twin software-as-a-service (SaaS) has enabled these startup companies to advance far faster than they could have before the advent of SaaS technology. Their rapid development should raise two questions for manufacturers: 1) How could you be optimizing your operations and reducing IT costs with SaaS rather than on-premises software? and 2) What competition in your sector could arise as the cost barriers associated with required hardware and software technologies are dramatically reduced with as-a-service offerings?

6/29/22 1:26 PM

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6/29/22 2:20 PM

10 EDITORIAL AW JULY 2022

BATCH OF IDEAS

Using a Digital Fingerprint to Combat Counterfeit Goods By Stephanie Neil

sneil@automationworld.com Senior Editor

ndustry experts have estimated the current global value of counterfeit and pirated goods exceeds $2 trillion. This, of course, causes concern for the economy, personal health and safety, and brand reputation, as well as having severe legal implications. Manufacturers have tried to combat the counterfeit crisis with ways to track goods through the supply chain. Their approach to that has included barcodes, taggants, special labels, or the addition of features that are difficult to duplicate. The problem with these anti-counterfeiting tactics is that identification tags can be removed and/or damaged, or be counterfeit themselves. And designing hard-to-duplicate features is an expensive approach. For the pharmaceutical industry, there’s an even bigger problem looming. By 2023, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act mandates that all medications be traceable at the package level vs. the lot level previously required. The good news is that there’s a technology available now from Alitheon that can solve the problem of inefficient and somewhat antiquated tracking mechanisms. Through the use of an optical artificial intelligence (AI) system, the technology can identify counterfeit goods— right down to an individual tablet—just by snapping a picture with a mobile phone. Not only can it determine if the product is authentic, but it can determine place and time of origin in a matter of milliseconds. “It is amazing technology that will disrupt quite a few industries, but it will especially dis-

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rupt bad people’s behavior,” said Alitheon CEO Roei Ganzarski. Rather than tracking a tag, the optical AI identifies physically inherent characteristic differentiators in the part or product, even if they appear identical. “Even with an identical pattern, they are not truly identical,” Ganzarksi explained. “Even identical twins have different fingerprints.” With that in mind, Alitheon created an algorithm that captures a “FeaturePrint” which can identify minute differences in the surface of an item. That image is stored in the Alitheon system to create a digital baseline for future reference. According to the company, the optical AI algorithms identify and codify the unique attributes and features inherently created on the surface area during the manufacturing process. From those, the system automatically creates a one-of-a-kind digital FeaturePrint that can be used for authentication, identification, or traceability. The company is currently working with a pharma manufacturer. It starts with installing cameras on the production line which takes a picture and uploads the FeaturePrint to the cloud to be stored. Then, as it travels from the manufacturer to the distribution center, retailer, and end user, each person can take a picture of the item using their smartphone with the Alitheon app and know right away if the product has been tampered with during its travels. In the automotive industry, this could solve recall problems, which, today requires that all cars in question are brought back to the shop so that every part is checked. But if the mechanic could simply take a picture of the part and know where and when it was manufactured, it would save a lot of time and money. There are many other potential applications, but for now, Alitheon is focused on high-value items, like bars of gold that go through world banks, as well as safety-related items, such as medication, and car or airplane parts. The end goal, is to have consumers registering their own valuable items, so that in the event it is stolen, they could prove it belongs to them.

“The only thing we can’t do now is something reflective, like a mirror, or spheres, like a ball,” Ganzarski explained. But, the company is working on solving that. Although Alitheon is about five years old, the team has extensive experience in this area, Ganzarski said, noting that the founders of the company are mathematicians who understand machine vision and even developed the mailroom systems that can read handwritten addresses and turn it into machine-readable data. They’ve used their experience to create this technology to be easily deployed. “All you need is at least one camera on the production line. We don’t touch the product, we just take a picture of it. It’s so simple.”

Rather than tracking a tag, the optical AI identifies physically inherent characteristic differentiators in the part or product, even if they appear identical.

6/29/22 1:26 PM

EDITORIAL 11 AW JULY 2022

PRODUCTION POINTS

Digital Twin, Analytics, and Cybersecurity Dominate at ROKLive 2022 By David Miller

dmiller@pmmimediagroup.com Senior Technical Writer

ockwell Automation held its ROKLive 2022 conference in partnership with Plex Systems June 13-16 in Orlando, Fla. Plex, a provider of a cloud-native, software-as-a-service (SaaS) smart manufacturing platform, was acquired by Rockwell in 2021 to boost the company’s capabilities around industry’s digital transformation. This event marked the first time the two companies have exhibited their products together. At the event’s opening keynote address, Brian Shepherd, senior vice president for software and control at Rockwell, discussed how Plex fits into Rockwell’s overall portfolio. According to Shepherd, five core competencies offered by Plex have already been integrated into Rockwell’s Connected Enterprise production system, including Plex’s cloud-based business systems; contextualized machine and operational data; visualization and analytics; production system design; and automation and control features.

FactoryTalk Optix

Rockwell’s FactoryTalk Optix, a cloud-enabled HMI visualization platform that will be added to the FactoryTalk Hub suite by the end of the year, was highlighted by Simone Mori, business development manager at Rockwell Automation. The software allows end users to design and test human-machine interface workflows from a web browser. FactoryTalk Optix enables such modifications to be made from anywhere, and version management modules track and identify the author of all changes. It allows for changes to be made from anywhere without being tied to specific HMI hardware. Use of

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OPC UA in FactoryTalk Optix allows for machineto-machine and machine-to-cloud communication. All of this is done using templates—collections of graphical objects that feature animations and user interactions. According to Mori, this eases the barrier to entry for application design and speeds deployment. This software has specific benefits for OEMs as it allows then to share designs via remote access with customers before deployment.

• Use asset inventory technologies, such as FactoryTalk AssetCentre, to identify equipment and systems that are critical to protect. • Deploy real-time threat detection services for incident handling and response; and • Implement thorough backup and recovery processes to enable recovery from any incursions.

Digital twins

Advances in digital twin technology were shared by Jerry Foster, chief technology officer and founder of Plex Systems. Foster provided a brief overview of Rockwell’s Emulate3D, which is built on the Unity video game engine. According to Foster, the high degree of realism provided by Unity allows for sophisticated digital twins to be built that allow companies to more easily design machines, configure plant floors, and even train employees before any physical equipment is put in place.

Software as a service

Amid increasing industry interest around SaaS, a panel discussion emphasized its primary benefits, particularly how its capabilities and security functions are always updated by the provider, thereby removing that responsibility from the user. This means end users can avoid labor-intensive processes such as patch management and software version control, allowing them to focus on production matters.

Cybersecurity

Considering the numerous questions manufacturers have about how to best implement cybersecurity measures to protect their operations, Brian Deken, North American commercial manager for networks and security services at Rockwell, recommended that end users secure their IT and operations technology networks using widely accepted standards such as IEC 62443 and the NIST Cybersecurity framework. Deken noted that it’s also important for end users to develop a plan that is custom-tailored to their organization, beyond standards-based starting points. To that end, he stressed three primary steps:

The high degree of realism provided by Unity allows for sophisticated digital twins to be built that allow companies to more easily design machines, configure plant floors, and even train employees before any physical equipment is put in place.

6/29/22 1:28 PM

12 PERSPECTIVES AW JULY 2022

OEM’s Pneumatic vs. Servo Test Demonstrates Specific Savings Matt Reynolds, Packaging World

ave Brownson, engineering manager at Forpak, was the first engineer hired onto the food stacking equipment OEM when it opened its doors more than 30 years ago. With three decades under his belt as an engineer with the company, Brownson remembers the days when pneumatics were the only actuator game in town for Forpak machinery applications. He also recalls the first introduction of linear servo in the place of incumbent pneumatic technology about six or seven years ago. “I was looking for a IP69K solution for a project that we had, so I went to my vendors and they came up with [linear drive system supplier] LinMot,” he says. “I was introduced to them, and we’ve never looked back.” More recently, Brownson set his sights on building an all-electric, pneumatic actuator-free stacker. But it was a matter of waiting for the right size and shape of linear motion tech to be ready, as nothing existed on the market that could fit his application. “I had kept on pushing Peter [Zafiro of LinMot] to make a smaller and smaller motor, and he asked me, ‘How many would you buy?’” Brownson recalls. “I answered, ‘Well, how many can you make?’ Because if I can make an all-electric stacker, it would really make efficiencies go up.” Brownson finally saw the LinMot prototype that would do the job at a recent PACK EXPO. Forpak is now developing a machine that is 100% electric with no pneumatic technology. The plan is to exhibit the new machine at PACK EXPO International, to be held Oct. 23-26, 2022 in Chicago. It bears mentioning that pneumatics aren’t going anywhere, and they are firmly ensconced in the controls and automation tool kit. And some operations require pneumatics for safety reasons—in explosive environments for instance—so switching out pneumatic for electric isn’t always possible. Still, Brownson sought an all-electric model because he says LinMot linear servo motors save energy and are highly efficient for his specific set of applications and customer base. Plus, they allow for a lower total cost of ownership thanks to their comparatively few wear items, and that results in less downtime—especially unexpected downtime. In his experience, these factors bring real-world, longterm savings that are attractive to Forpak’s CPG and brand-owner customers.

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But so far, that’s just been Brownson’s anecdotal experience— one man’s opinion. To test the efficiency and power savings, Zafiro enlisted Brownson, along with Joel Geisel and Adam Shank, both from Hamilton Automation, a LinMot manufacturer representative, and JB Korte of Van Meter Inc., a LinMot distributor. The OEM, automation supplier, and distributors together devised a test of Forpak’s machine using pneumatic actuators compared to all-electic actuators. The idea was to establish actual power consumption and energy savings data. What follows are the results of this test.

Equipment tested

The above Forpak stacker (Model Number GSS5-8) is a typical electric vertical stacker with pneumatic horizontal cylinders used for stacking products. The Stacker can be manufactured in three to 10 lanes depending on production demand. The test model was a four-lane unit (Model Number GSS5-4). The picture also shows a takeaway conveyor attached for manual or downstream automated packaging.

Forpak stackers occupy a niche in baked product and protein packaging lines that exists between upstream freezers and downstream flow-wrapping, bagging, or hand-packaging. Typical products might be frozen hamburger patties, waffles, or cookies that exit the freezer randomly or semi-organized. That product needs to be oriented, laned, and stacked for downstream packaging equipment. “The slide plate and push parts of the stacking were pneumatic, and they always have been, up until just recently,” Brownson says. “Now that LinMot developed the right size actuator, we’re able to do both traditional pneumatic and all-electric, and we performed this test to see the difference.” Forpak assisted by allowing the team access to a typical stacker machine in operation at many enduser sites. The stacker machine is a four-lane machine, with eight pneumatic actuators operating in a horizontal direction. With the help of Korte from Van Meter Inc. and a Rockwell Automation Power Monitor 5000, actual power consumption was recorded. The Power Monitor traced data points including amperage, time, and kWh from an independent, high-efficiency 7 cfm electric air compressor. The team ran the machine for 30 minutes and sampled every 10

msec. This setup does not account for pneumatic line losses as the air provided to the cylinders had a very short run from the compressor, with no other devices operating on the same air supply.

Results

The test team ran into one limitation during the test run—the number of data points able to be stored in the PLC. As such, the data pulled was for 15 minutes of run time, and the average power was consistent throughout the study. Running the machine for an additional 45 minutes to achieve an hourly count proved that the data would not have changed. The compressor never turned off in the entire 60 minutes. So, the team says it’s confident that the data pulled for the entire 60 minutes would have been nearly identical as the 15 minutes test data, extrapolated for the 60-minute test. The power consumption was consistent at 5161 kWh throughout the test. LinMot’s Lin Designer program shows this specific horizontal pusher application and provides for calculated power consumption for the LinMot actuators and an equivalent pneumatic cylinder. Lin Designer’s pneumatic cylinder power consumption calculations are based on the two most popular

6/29/22 1:56 PM

PERSPECTIVES 13 AW JULY 2022

pneumatic cylinder manufacturers’ energy power consumption calculations. These are direct-fromthe-factory expected energy consumption rates. For this specific cycle, LinMot’s Lin Designer program estimates 4575 kWh power consumption. The test used the lower of the two values to calculate pneumatic cylinder energy operational cost, as follows: The 4575 kWh multiplied by a fully loaded $0.20 per kWh (test note: this value is usually much higher, especially when plants run during peak surcharge periods during the daylight hours for most of the calendar year) would yield an expected cost of $915 per cylinder per 8,000 hours of operation per year. Since this machine uses eight pneumatic cylinders, the operating cost for this specific machine would be $7,320 per 8,000 hours of operation per year. The equivalent machine using LinMot actuators provided linear motor yields the following power consumption result: The same cycle resulted in 243 kWh for a PS0123x80F-HP-SSCP-R20 motor in a 175 mm cycle in 200 msec and -175 mm in 200 msec with a 600 msec dwell time. The 243 kWh multiplied by a fully loaded $0.20 per kWh would equal $48.60 per Lin-

Mot actuator. All eight actuators would cost $388.80 to operate 8,000 hours of operation per year. The savings here are calculated to be $7,320 (pneumatic) minus $388.80 (electric), or $6,931.20 per calendar year. If a plant operates at lower output, say to a 6,000 hours per year schedule, the savings would be $5198.40 per calendar year. Zafiro, Geisel, and Korte note that these values do not include any maintenance or unexpected downtime costs when a pneumatic cylinder fails. “Such fails are more common in with frequent cycling applications, such as the one in this study,” Brownson notes. “I’d estimate that replacing a pneumatic cylinder usually takes between 30 to 90 minutes, with typical plant downtime being valued at $15,000 to $20,000 per hour. Even though it’s not considered in this test, downtime is huge.” “There are very few mechanical pieces with this type of actuator, so you essentially limit the amount of wear that could happen,” Geisel adds. “And by limiting the amount of wear, it requires less maintenance than a pneumatic cylinder would require. You don't have seals that are breaking down. You're not losing air, and you're not having to replace cheaper components more often. There’s just very little wear or necessary downtime.”

Emissions and electricity savings

The test study revealed that, at least for this specific application, running eight pneumatic cylinders costs significantly more than eight linear motors. According to data from the world’s two largest pneumatic cylinder manufacturers, the carbon emission savings would be over 4,600 lbs. per cylinder, or more than 36,000 lbs. of CO2 emission savings for this specific machine with the 8,000 hours per year operation. Adding this to the more than $6,900 worth of electricity savings, Brownson was impressed. This test was done on a four-lane Forpack stacker machine. A typical Forpak stacker uses between six and 10 lanes, meaning the savings will be higher when extrapolated over more lanes. “I was expecting savings, but I wasn't expecting this amount of savings,” Brownson says. “It really will help me in showcasing the new machine in the future—as far as at PACK EXPO International, and for sales in the future. It shows that the cost of ownership on the front side is going to be a little bit higher, but over the life of the machine, it'll be less.”

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14 NEWS

AW JULY 2022

Plug-and-Play Coming to Industrial IoT By David Greenfield

Director of Content, Automation World

This image depicts how MQTT Sparkplug can be used to reduce the complexity of industrial device communications and connectivity. Source: Eclipse Sparkplug Working Group.

QTT (message queueing telemetry transport) has been growing by leaps and bounds as a preferred method for data exchange between industrial devices and the applications that need data from those devices. Initially developed as a low-overhead data transport mechanism for Phillips 66 in the late 1990s, MQTT has since proliferated to applications ranging from Facebook Messenger, Amazon Web Services IoT Core, and Microsoft Azure IoT Hub to Deutsche Bahn Railways and connected home appliances, as well as manufacturing facilities and power plants. And while numerous automation technology suppliers support MQTT, such as Aveva,

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IBM, Inductive Automation, Litmus, and Opto 22, its broader adoption for interoperability has been limited due to the fact the MQTT messaging was not designed to have a specific topic namespace or payload encoding. According to Arlen Nipper, co-inventor of MQTT and president and chief technology officer at Cirrus Link: “MQTT was designed to allow users to publish anything they wanted on any topic.” In a video interview with Inductive Automation, Nipper says that, because the topic namespace and payload aspects of MQTT were developed to be data-agnostic, this meant there was no standard way to define SCADA process variable topics and payloads. “Many

OEM hardware providers and software service providers were using MQTT, but each with their own definitions of topics and payloads,” says Nipper. “The result was that even though an MQTT infrastructure was being used, there was no level of plug-and-play or interoperability between the solutions on the market.” That’s where Sparkplug comes in.

Standardizing MQTT communication

Sparkplug is an open-source software specification that defines an OT (operations technology)centric topic namespace, an OT-centric payload definition optimized for industrial process vari-

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AW JULY 2022 ables, and MQTT session state management as required by real-time SCADA systems. Essentially, Sparkplug provides MQTT with the ability to integrate data from applications, sensors, devices, and gateways in an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) infrastructure. At the 2022 ARC Industry Forum, the launch of the Sparkplug Compatibility Program was announced. This program is designed to help end users know if their vendors’ systems are Sparkplug compatible. To be included in the program, products will need to pass the Sparkplug Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK), an open-source test suite validating conformance to the specification. Products passing the TCK will be featured in the official list of compatible products, available on the Sparkplug Working Group’s website. In addition, licensees of the Sparkplug Compatible trademark will be recognizable in the marketplace using the “Sparkplug Compatible” logo. This list is expected to become available in Q3 2022. Speaking to the value of this program for

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industrial end users, Todd Anslinger, IIoT & automation specialist at Chevron, says, "For a large enterprise like Chevron, automation engineers around the globe could be spending countless hours testing to see if something will work in their process control network or their IIoT network. Having the confidence that something will just work when you plug it in to your system via the Sparkplug compatibility program is a huge saver of time and money." Frederic Desbiens, IoT (Internet of Things) and edge program manager at the Eclipse Foundation (which manages the Sparkplug specification), explains the Sparkplug IIoT infrastructure includes: • MQTT Servers, which implement the subset of MQTT features to support Sparkplug; • MQTT Edge Node, which is any MQTT v3.1.1 or v5.0 compliant MQTT client application that manages an MQTT session and provides physical and/or logical gateway functions; • Device or sensor—any device connected to the MQTT Edge Node providing data, process variables or metrics; • MQTT-enabled device—any device that

directly connects to MQTT infrastructure using a compliant MQTT v3.1.1 or v5.0 connection; and • Primary host application—MQTT client application that subscribes to MQTT Sparkplug Edge Node originated messages. The Primary Host Application is often also referred to as the SCADA Host or IIoT Host.

Learn more about why MQTT is so popular for industrial communications.

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16 PMMI NEWS AW JULY 2022

Find New Suppliers Quickly on PMMI ProSource By Joseph Derr, PMMI Media Group

f you have searched for equipment online lately, you know that it can be daunting to wade through search results. For example, a search on “cartoning equipment” on Google currently returns 33.8 million results! Enter PMMI ProSource, the most authoritative online directory of validated machinery and material suppliers of packaging or processing equipment. Developed for end users like you, this free directory brings machinery and service providers to your fingertips by connecting you quickly to the validated members of PMMI who specialize in those areas. Try www.prosource.org today and you’ll find: 1. Robust search tools. There are three ways to search using PMMI ProSource. Use the

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search bar at the top of the page to leverage ProSource’s robust and fast search engine or drill down by category from the home page. ProSource also allows you to search for machines by package type and then narrow down results even further by selecting detailed filters, such as level of automation or configuration. 2. User-friendly experience. Not sure what the machine or package type you’re searching for is called? PMMI ProSource is highly visual, using graphics of package types, machines and materials, to speed up the search for your next supplier. Product categories, features and package types are also defined in plain language. 3. Validated and curated content. Another time-saving feature: a full-time editor at PMMI validates each supplier’s listing prior to publication and curates content for the

end user. Unlike with the Google search, you can be confident that a ProSource search for “cartoners” will display vetted companies that actually make cartoners. Scan ProSource’s categories to quickly find a supplier that matches up with your company’s budget and project requirements. For example, ProSource makes it easy to distinguish suppliers of tabletop liquid filling machines from those offering fully automatic bottling lines. Be sure to also check out ProSource’s evergrowing section of how-to articles that can help you solve common problems in the plant. Recent articles have included “The Top Five Considerations When Purchasing New Cartoning Equipment” and “Best Practices for Specifying Stretch-Wrapping Equipment.” Visit www.prosource.org today.

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18 3D PRINTING AW JULY 2022

By Stephanie Neil, Senior Editor

Advances in additive manufacturing are moving the technology in the direction of making production-ready parts. But before investing in 3D printing, take some time to understand the different types of equipment and materials.

nce a novelty technology used by a few cutting-edge companies to make part prototypes, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is now considered a mainstream technology for the factory floor. A good fit for automotive, aerospace, and medical industries, 3D printing is also the perfect fit for customized work. 3D printing’s early value proposition has always been its ability to shorten production development cycles, with designers and engineers using 3D printing to produce quick-turn prototypes. The technology and materials then evolved to take 3D-printed prototypes and use them in a functioning manner for testing. Now the industry is moving 3D printing into a production support role, leveraging the printers to make jigs, fixtures, or end of arm tools customized for a particular work process. An example of a company working with this latest stage of 3D printing technology is Ecco, a family-owned footwear company that has been in business since 1963. Ecco owns every step of its traditionally manual shoemaking process. Typically, the sole is molded and then assembled by hand and glued to the upper part of the shoe. Applying the Direct Injection Process (DIP) using a two-component polyurethane mix, Ecco can now create a one-piece 360 degree bond that secures the upper part of the shoe to the midsole. The catch here is that making molds for the DIP process from CNC aluminum comes with long lead times and is an expensive tooling process. It’s not an efficient way to go when multiple designs are being rolled out. So, Ecco turned to Stratasys’ Origin One, a 3D printer that enables flexible production of end-use parts in a diverse range of high-performance materials. Using its Programmable Photopolymerization (P3) technology, an evolution of digital light processing (DLP), the printer achieves accuracy, consistency, detail, and

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throughput. In this example, the 3D printer is still playing a supporting role, but that’s a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of production-ready parts. “The emerging area and holy grail of the industry is end use part production for a certain app, skipping the traditional tooling process all together and cutting months out of the cycle time,” said Rich Garrity, Stratasys’ president of the Americas. In fact, Stratasys already has some early use cases of companies doing this. “We can now print more high performance or exotic materials that can go on a commercial aircraft, for example,” Garrity said. “Better materials and a more repeatable process will have manufacturers using [3D printing] for production.”

Printer selection

At this point, there is absolutely no question that 3D printing is coming to the production floor. Now, the question manufacturers need to consider is: What kind of 3D printer to use? A quick search on the Internet for “3D printers” delivers an acronym alphabet soup: SLA, SLS, FDM, MFJ, DMLS, and numerous others. It’s difficult to know what these technologies are, much less if they are right for your application. “Generally speaking, deciding which 3D printing process to use comes down to material requirements, such as strength, durability, and temperature resistance, as well as design requirements, including feature size, resolution, part size, etc.,” said Rachel Hunt, 3D printer manager at Proto Labs, which provides rapid manufacturing of lowvolume 3D-printed, CNC-machined, sheet metal, and injection-molded custom parts for prototyping and short-run production. Garrity agrees. “In the 3D printing industry there is no silver bullet. There is not one process that solves all of the applications out there that

customers care about. The reality is, it [3D printing] is being used at each stage of product development, design, prototype, and production support. So it depends on first determining what problem you are trying to solve to guide yourself toward the right technology. Liz Stortstrom, an application engineer at HP adds: “When we get into the space of additive, we’re not talking about replacing all other processes, we want to use it as a tool to complement the processes you’re already using. Figure out how to use it strategically to complement these other methods so you’re getting the best results.”

Back to the basics

A good first step is to understand all of those acronyms. Following is a list of popular 3D printing technologies and a rudimentary explanation of what they do, the materials used, and suggested uses: Stereolithography (SLA) is the first commercialized 3D printing technology, invented by Chuck Hull, 3D Systems' co-founder and chief technology officer, in the 1980s. According to 3D Systems, it uses an ultraviolet laser to precisely cure photopolymer cross-sections, transforming them from liquid to solid. Parts are built directly from CAD data, layer-by-layer into prototypes, investment casting patterns, tools, and end-use parts. Once the SLA printing process is complete, SLA parts are cleaned in a solvent solution to remove any residual uncured resin from the part surface. Cleaned parts are then cured in a UV oven. • Material—Photopolymers. SLA materials are available in a wide range of mechanical properties and can produce parts with characteristics similar to injection-molded ABS or polypropylene. • Suitable for applications such as snap-fit assemblies, automotive styling components, and patterns.

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Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a powder-based 3D printing technology that uses a laser to fuse material layers into a final part. The laser traces the pattern of each cross-section of a 3D design onto a bed of powder. After one layer is built, the build platform lowers and another layer is built on top of the previous layer. This process continues until every layer is built and the part is complete. • Material—Thermoplastics. According to 3D Systems, SLS really shines when you need durable plastic parts. SLS uses production-grade nylon materials, resulting in durable, functional parts that last. • SLS is the technology of choice for a range of functional applications, such as jigs and fixtures, housings, snap fits, living hinges and other mechanical joints.

overall process is efficient and fast, so this is good for higher volume applications. Ultimately, the decision as to what technology to use has to do with the process and the materials used. And the materials you choose are based on mechanical properties, strength, flexibility, the environment, and any certifications it may need, such as flammability or biocompatibility, noted HP’s Stortstrom. “The process influences different factors like

strength and isotropy, meaning can you get the same strength vertically that you can horizontally,” Stortstrom explained during a presentation at the Robotics Summit & Expo in May. “That’s a big thing to look out for as you evaluate different technologies.”

At your service

If the thought of purchasing a 3D printer still seems confusing, you still have intermediary op-

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) builds high quality complex metal parts from 3D CAD data. In the machine, a high precision laser is directed to metal powder particles to selectively build up thin horizontal metal layers one after the other. • Material—Metals. DMP shapes any desired metal part geometry by melting metal powder layer by layer. • Often used in aerospace applications, it is a good technology for production of small, complex shapes. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology developed by Stratasys founder Scott Crump more than 20 years ago, works with specialized 3D printers and production-grade thermoplastics to build strong, durable and dimensionally stable parts with the highest accuracy and repeatability of any 3D printing technology. The printer takes a spool of plastic filament, melts it, and extrudes it on to a tray. • Materials—Industrial-grade thermoplastics, which makes the resulting parts extremely strong. • FDM 3D printed parts are in cars, airplanes, medical devices, and more.

Two popular 3D-printing services at Proto Labs: SLA allows for more cosmetic features, while SLS brings a boost in durability.

Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) is a powder bed fusion 3D printing technology developed by HP. it is similar to SLS in that the printer lays down a layer of material powder on the printing bed, then an inkjet head drops fusing agents onto the print bed of material. No binding, just controlling where in the print bed absorbs more energy from the overhead infrared lamps. The process continues layer by layer until the build is complete. • Materials—Thermoplastics. MJF’s most common material option is Nylon PA 12, PA 11 powders, but the breadth of available materials has expanded over the years. • MJF can achieve high strength parts and the

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tions. Companies like Stratasys and Proto Labs offer 3D printing services to help organizations with rapid prototyping and production parts. Stratasys offers seven additive technologies—including its new selective absorption fusion (SAF) technology for components with complex geometries—in its manufacturing ondemand service. This gives smaller shops the advantage of cutting-edge 3D printing technology without the operating expense. Larger manufacturers can use a hybrid approach and have some printers onsite, but use the Stratasys Direct service for overflow needs. “We run banks of our printers and they just send us a CAD file and we produce it for them,” Garrity said. Similarly, Proto Labs’ online 3D printing service consists of six 3D printing technologies and a broad material selection. The company offers several postprocessing options to improve cosmetics or enhance mechanical properties. With 120 printers, Proto Labs can take a 3D file and turn it into plastic, metal, and elastomeric parts in a matter of days. Regardless of the approach, one thing is certain: 3D printing is a key technology to modern manufacturing. “3D Printing will continue to be the ‘Swiss army knife’-like tool that is used when the need arises and it’s exciting,” said Proto Labs’ Hunt. “Fortunately, it is here to help solve many manufacturing challenges from concept to functional prototype to end use part to end of life replacement part. It’s especially going to be a manufacturing tool upand-coming engineers will know they can leverage. The R&D around materials and printers continues to expand the options on the table.” Indeed, Garrity feels the next step for 3D printing is to set up an infrastructure that allows adoption at a much bigger scale, meaning the ecosystem of technologies, materials, and software connect to other systems on the shop floor. “We’ll see cells of 3D printers working with automation and robots taking parts off the machine to move it to the next post process for much greater throughput,” he said.

Watch this video to learn how Ford and Nissan are using 3D printing as part of their sustainability strategy.

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Stratasys Origin One 3D printer makes shoe molds for Ecco footwear company.

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22 PEER-TO-PEER FAQ AW JULY 2022

ROBOTS AND COBOTS: End users and integrators offer their insights into industry’s growing use of industrial robots, collaborative robots, and autonomous mobile robots. By David Greenfield, director of content, and David Miller, senior technical writer

Example of a collaborative robot. Source: Universal Robots

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obotic technologies often captivate human attention for their broad—and still growing— autonomous operating capabilities. They also attract our attention because we can see how they’re changing the very face of industrial operations. Like the first two installments in our Peer-to-Peer FAQ series (on sensors and cybersecurity), this FAQ begins with an overview of the technology in focus and then shares insights from system integrators and your end user peers across industry.

Industrial robots

Industrial robots can generally be broken down into one of four categories: articulated, cartesian, SCARA, and delta. • Articulated robots resemble the human arm and feature from two to 10 axes of motion and are often attached to a rotary base. Articulated robots with four to six axes are the most common robots of this type used in manufacturing. In some cases, articulated robots with up to six axes also feature an additional axis in the form of a linear transport system capable of moving the robot back and forth along a set path. This is sometimes referred to as a seventh axis in the case of six-axis robots, or a robot transfer unit otherwise. This additional axis is used to move the robot to different workstations along a line or between workstations on adjacent lines. Articulated robots are particularly useful for applications such as assembly, arc welding, material handling, machine tending, and packaging. • Cartesian robots, sometimes referred to as linear or gantry robots, are bound by three linear axes which are defined by the cartesian coordinate system as the X, Y, and Z axes; in other words, these robots move up and down, in and out, and side to side. Cartesian robots allow end users to adjust the speed, precision, stroke length, and size of any movement, and are commonly used in CNC machines and 3D printers. • SCARA (selective compliance assembly robot arms) robots function on a three-axis system similar to cartesian robots. However, they also feature rotary motion, allowing them to extend into confined areas and then retract when necessary. This can be useful when transferring parts from one work cell to another or when unloading workstations. SCARA robots are often used for assembly, painting, and palletizing, as well as biomedical production applications. • Delta robots, also called parallel robots, possess three downward-facing arms connected to a single base mounted above the workspace. These robots can move at high speeds while maintaining delicacy and precision because the end effector is controlled by all three arms simultaneously, pro-

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viding enhanced stability. Delta robots are commonly used for pick-and-place applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and electronics industries, as well as in packaging applications.

Collaborative robots

A collaborative robot, or cobot, is a robot that can engage in direct interaction with a human worker in a shared space or operate alongside a human worker. By contrast, typical industrial robots are isolated from human contact via a safety cage. While this general description has long been used to denote the difference between industrial robots and cobots, that line is becoming more blurred. Today, some industrial robots possess aspects of collaborative capabilities as outlined in ISO standards 10218-1 and 10218-2. These collaborative capabilities—safety monitored stop, hand guiding, speed and separation monitoring, and power and force limiting—can all be achieved using sensors, control systems, and peripheral devices, some of which may already be integrated within a robot upon purchase, while others can be retrofitted to an installed industrial robot. A description of ISO’s four collaborative robot capabilities: • Safety monitored stop: Robots that can temporarily pause their operation when a human or other unknown object is detected in the work cell are engaged in a safety monitored stop. In these instances, the robot maintains power but cannot move, meaning that it will not need to be turned off and restarted. Robot restarts can be a lengthy process that were required before development of the safety monitored stop function. Robots engaging in a safety monitored stop automatically start themselves back up once the workspace is clear. • Hand guiding: When a cobot is moved via direct, hands-on input from an operator, it is called hand

guiding. When an operator engages in hand guiding, the cobot remains in a safety monitored stop until actuated via an enabling switch. Most cobots can be programmed via point-based or pathbased teaching to perform certain tasks after being hand guided through the points or path. • Speed and separation monitoring: This technology allows a robot to operate with a human nearby if a pre-determined distance between the robot and human can be maintained. This can be achieved using pressure-sensitive safety mats, light curtains, or laser area scanners, as well as through a combination of sensors and vision systems, to alert robots when something has entered its hazard envelope. • Power and force limiting: Limitations on power and force can be achieved through design or by the addition of external control elements. Typically, it requires a robot with power or force feedback built in. These robots are generally smaller, slower, and less powerful than other robots, allowing them to be more easily adapted to work safely alongside humans. In cases where a robot possessing only power and force limiting collaborative capabilities are used, extensive risk assessments are required to ensure safe operation.

Autonomous mobile robots

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are robotic carts that can navigate through an environment without the need for human guidance to carry a variety of materials between locations. Often, AMRs are seen as a replacement for automated guided vehicles (AGVs), which have long been used to automate movement of materials in industry. Whereas an AGV navigates by following wire strips or magnetic tracks along the floor, AMRs use a technology called light detection and ranging (LiDAR) instead. LiDAR works by using a laser sensor to measure the

Which robot type(s) are used in your operations? Industrial robots 73% Collaborative robots 39% Autonomous mobile robots 30% Tabulation of end-user survey responses. Source: Automation World

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distance between the AMR and other objects. The lack of fixed infrastructure required to deploy AMRs makes them ideal for applications where flexibility is needed. In addition to being used for material handling tasks, AMRs can have articulated robots mounted on them to enable their use in applications such as bin picking and machine tending.

Are you looking to add robots to your production operations in the next 2 years?

End user and integrator insights

Tabulation of end-user survey responses. Source: Automation World

Few advanced technologies are as associated with automation as robotics. In fact, for many, the two terms—robotics and automation—are synonymous. But the truth is, robots are just one example of an automated system, albeit an often complex and highly flexible one. As such, robots are increasingly part of the automated ecosystem that comprises modern manufacturing. And with the advances being made to robots that make them more flexible, more capable, and more easily programmed, we’re now seeing a level of robot adoption that surpasses that of the robot adoption heyday in the automotive industry in the 1980s.

To better assess the state of industry’s current attitudes toward robots, we surveyed nearly 60 industrial end users and system integrators that work in every vertical manufacturing industry—discrete manufacturing, batch manufacturing, and continuous processing. Most respondents were, of course, in the discrete and batch manufacturing industries (96%), as robots are not as widely used in the continuous process industries due to the nature of their often enclosed (i.e., within pipes) production operations. Respondents indicated that, of the robot types

In what percentage of your production operations are robots used? 0% 29% 1-10% 29% 11-20% 12% 21-30% 10% 31-40% 2% 41-50% 4% >50% 13% Tabulation of end-user survey responses. Source: Automation World

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NO 17%

YES 83%

used in their production operations, 73% are industrial robots, 39% are collaborative robots and, surprisingly, 30% are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Editor’s note: Respondents were allowed to select all the robot types used in their facility, thus the total amounts exceed 100%. Interestingly, 83% of readers said they are looking to add robots—or more robots—in the next two years. Helping drive this figure is the fact that 29% of respondents currently don’t use any robots at all, and only 13% note that more than 50% of their production operations involve the use of robots. Of those end users applying robots in their production operations, industrial robots have been in use at their plants for an average of 11 years, while cobots and AMRs have been in use for an average of six years. End users also noted the main drivers behind their decision to use robots. When asked to rank the issues affecting their use of robots, 45% noted labor issues as the primary factor, while 30% said speed/throughput, and 20% cited quality as the main issues driving their decisions.

Cobot preferences

The popularity of collaborative robots (cobots) in this survey highlights how quickly they have become accepted across industry. The impressive numbers indicated for AMR and cobot use highlight two clear factors: 1) industry’s growing acceptance of robot technologies; and 2) the ongoing labor issues faced by every industrial vertical. Though integrator respondents largely agreed with the numbers noted by end users, the integrators said interest in cobots over the past five years has grown by a about a third, though most end users still prefer industrial robots. In fact, integrators note that 33.3% of their clients currently prefer cobots, with the remainder preferring industrial robots. This insight about preferences for industrial robot over cobots could lead to faster, more widespread adoption of new industrial robot control technologies now coming to market. These technologies, which can transform industrial robots into cobots, apply capabilities such as speed and separation monitoring to help industrial robots move outside the caged or otherwise protected environ-

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ments they’ve traditionally operated within. We’ve seen this demonstrated with both large palletizer robots as well as smaller industrial pick-and-place robots. Most integrators (60%) responding to our survey say that it’s still too early to tell if these new robot control capabilities will reduce the recent upsurge in interest for cobots. However, given industry’s existing preference for industrial robots over cobots, any technology that could enable industrial robots to operate as cobots has a lot of built-in upside potential. This doesn’t mean that cobots will disappear, of course, but that their use will become more targeted at the types of applications for which they are best suited, i.e., those applications in which an industrial robot could be considered overkill.

Mobile robots on the rise

While much of the attention on robot technologies in industry tends to focus on articulated robots that can grasp and move objects, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have also been gaining a great deal of attention. In fact, 100% of the integrators responding to this survey said they have seen an uptick in interest for AMRs among their clients over the past five years. Two factors tend to figure into the increased interest in AMRs: • The fact that they are autonomous and not automated guided vehicles (AGV) which require embedded or fixed guides on the factory floor for the AGV to follow. • The flexibility of AMRs to go anywhere with cobotlike safety features that prevent them from colliding with people or objects means AMRs can handle many of the material handling task commonly handled by humans with hand- and platform-trucks or fork lifts. Integrators noted that interest in AMRs among users is evenly split among the discrete and batch manufacturing industries, comprising about 80% of the market looking to use AMRs. Though industrial robots and cobots still lead the way in terms of the type of robots end users are looking to implement, at 78% and 44%, respectively, 22% of end users are looking to implement AMRs in the near term.

Example of a SCARA robot. Source: Epson Robots

Selection and installation recommendations

Among the more valuable insights yielded by this research are the direct pieces of advice from end user peers and integrators. One end user respondent said the most important piece of advice they can share is for users to understand the importance of their own production processes before installing a robot. “If a robot is bought without a good understanding of the technology or the maintenance requirements for converting a manual process into a robotic method, this can lead—in many cases—to the robot ending up in a corner and not being used.” To avoid this outcome,

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Example of multi-axis cartesian robot. Source: Bosch Rexroth

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Has client preference for robot types changed much over the past 5 years? Yes, many more clients want to deply collaborative robots now

No, most clients still tend to prefer industrial robots

YES 33%

NO 67%

Tabulation of system integrator survey responses. Source: Automation World

Example of a delta robot. Source: Omron

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28 PEER-TO-PEER FAQ AW JULY 2022

Example of a multi-axis articulated robot. Source: Festo

this respondent recommends conducting a study before purchasing a robot to help direct the correct implementation of that robot to ensure it will deliver the expected results. Another respondent suggests that, prior to any robot purchase, users should create and run a realistic simulation of the application to ensure it works as envisioned. “Check with the manufacturer to see how realistic their simulation software is and also check for cycle times,” said this respondent. “Integration and communication with third-party components is also an important factor in making a final decision.” “Take baby steps when integrating [robotic] automation into legacy manufacturing operations and perform a ‘design for automation’ assessment in the early stages,” advised another respondent. A few other key pieces of robot selection and application advice from end users include: • Spend the extra money to get a robot that will truly perform to your satisfaction; • Use a reliable manufacturer and integrator; and • Do your homework—make sure the robot operation is robust enough to handle your application. Integrator recommendations include: • Buy a robot that can outperform what you need today— it will pay off in dividends later as you learn from and expand your use of robots. • Remember that supplier support is key when installing a robot to reduce the learning curve and get the robot into operation faster. • Inquire about service support, lead times, and a userfriendly interface.

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What type(s) are you looking to implement? Industrial robots 78% Collaborative robots 44% Autonomous mobile robots 22% Tabulation of end-user survey responses. Source: Automation World

Scan to read our FAQ on AI, machine vision, and smart instrument sensors.

Scan to read our FAQ report on industrial cybersecurity.

6/29/22 2:02 PM

CASE STUDY 29 AW JULY 2022

BMW Improves Interoperability with OPC UA and Edge Computing A look at how OPC UA has helped BMW improve communications, data exchange, and interoperability among assets, systems, and locations. David Miller, Senior Technical Writer

ince the shift to Industry 4.0 began, interoperability has been a central challenge. With the basis for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) being the networking together of previously isolated pieces of equipment, standardized communication methods and protocols have been indispensable to its deployment. The OPC Foundation’s OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) has long been at the forefront of providing such standardization. OPC UA is a machine-to-machine communication architecture that is openly available and

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compatible with multiple operating systems, programming languages, and platforms. OPC UA has allowed companies to ease the process of integrating disparate systems and pieces of equipment—often from various vendors—into a unified automation framework. BMW, which presented at 2021’s OPC Day International online event, is one of many companies that reports it has been able to achieve substantial operational improvements through its use of OPC UA. "OPC UA's standardization is a big benefit

to achieving our goals,” said Julian Backhaus, head of DevOps team platform and solutions at BMW Group. “The information models and companion specifications available for robots and other pieces of equipment grant us interoperability, and when using public clouds and edge computing, security is a bigger topic for us than before too, and OPC UA also provides functionalities for that." According to Backhaus, several problems existed across BMW’s facilities prior to its use of OPC UA for interoperability. For one, many

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30 CASE STUDY AW JULY 2022

different pieces of equipment, often from different vendors, were being used for various production steps. Not only that, but each vendor’s equipment often relied on proprietary standards. In addition, shop floors were using separate information technology (IT) systems for maintenance, quality inspection, and manufacturing execution systems (MES), resulting in a patchwork of stakeholders, none of which were able to easily exchange data with one another. Some facilities had even created their own plant-specific systems, which were not known to BMW’s central IT staff, resulting in even more barriers to synchronization and collaboration across multiple locations. To solve these issues, BMW sought to use OPC UA to standardize the various custom interfaces individual facilities had developed with the goal of improving maintainability and allowing new applications to be scaled more easily across the entire enterprise. Backhaus noted that edge computing was also vital to BMW’s integration of OPC UA because it allowed high quantities of data being pulled from peripheral devices, such as cameras,

to undergo preprocessing before being sent to the cloud. Moreover, the use of these edge gateways limited the amount of data leaving the plant floor, increasing security. Backhaus also offered several specific use cases demonstrating how OPC UA, when integrated with edge computing, was able to facilitate concrete improvements to BMW’s workflow. In one instance, an edge computer with an OPC UA connector ran a particle analysis model for environmental and dust analysis. Via the OPC UA interface, the edge computer was able to send commands to a programmable logic controller (PLC) to respond to changes in real time, while historical data was streamed upward to the cloud for further analysis. In another application, autonomous transport systems used for material handling tasks where able to communicate with a PLC via OPC UA so that mechanical doors could be opened and closed for them when they passed from one area to the next. To facilitate further adoption of OPC UA and other open standards, BMW is a part of the Open Manufacturing Platform alongside Micro-

soft, Bosch, ABB, PTC and several other industrial technology and services companies. Active working group topics at the Open Manufacturing Platform include reference architecture, IIoT connectivity, semantic data structuring, and autonomous transport system core services. “The most important use case for OPC UA is machine connectivity. To get OPC UA utilized on the shop floor, you have to establish OPC UA as a standard for all new equipment. Equipment needs to have OPC UA servers on board so that it can be integrated into new applications,” Backhaus said. “After that, if you have to do some replacement or modification of your production equipment, you can do that much more easily if they’re already sitting on the same OPC UA standards and specifications.”

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NEW PRODUCTS 31 AW JULY 2022

Integration Software Platform as a Service

Epicor, epicor.com Epicor Automation Studio is an integration platform as a service embedded within Epicor Kinetic and Epicor Prophet 21 that allows integrators to connect data and automate workflows within Epicor software as well as with more than 1,000 other applications and databases. The software, powered by Workato, offers a low-code integration and synchronization tool that allows Epicor users to connect their data across applications and create automated workflows, all directly from their native Epicor environments and in collaboration with IT for governance.

PCIe Accelerator Card

Lanner Electronics, lannerinc.com The Falcon H8 is the first Hailo-8 AI-powered PCIe accelerator card from Lanner Electronics. Lanner collaborated with artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Hailo to design the Falcon H8. According to Lanner, the Falcon H8 is one of the most costefficient PCIe AI accelerator cards on the market, with a low power consumption and record high of up to 156 tera operations per second to allow deep learning applications on edge servers. In addition, Lanner’s Falcon H8 modular, PCIe FHHL form factor provides a compact option for engineers looking to offload CPU loading for low-latency deep learning inference. With high-density AI processors, the Falcon H8 accommodates 4, 5, or 6 Hailo-8 AI processors, offering a modular edge AI system with high processing capabilities and power efficiency.

Valve System with Integrated OPC UA

Emerson, emerson.com The Aventics Series Advanced Valve system featuring the Advanced Electronic System (AES) Profinet and EtherNet/IP is now available with preinstalled OPC UA functionality, making it the first and only valve system to offer this directly integrated capability, according to Emerson. The AES allows users to solve interoperability challenges and access data while the integration of digital twin technology can be used to improve productivity and efficiency. Use of OPC UA in this valve system reportedly simplifies communication with other systems as no gateway is required. According to Emerson, this can result in costs savings for users since it’s more complex and expensive to receive analytics from a valve system without OPC UA. The company notes that the AES is simple to integrate and connect to new or existing applications and machines and provides easy access to data and analytics without changing the controller.

Emergency Pull-Wire and Belt Alignment Switches

Steute, steute.com Steute is presenting an expansion of its ZS 92S/SR series emergency pull-wire and belt alignment switches. To date, its emergency pull-wire and belt alignment switches have been packaged in a die-cast aluminum enclosure suited to unfavorable ambient conditions thanks to multiple coatings (passivation, base coat, powder coat). Users can now opt for an enclosure made of top-quality duroplastic, which is anti-corrosive. All screws and connecting elements are stainless steel. The series features a high degree of flexibility and the ZS 92 S is available with a variety of pre-installed settings for the release lever and unlocking mechanism. Installation dimensions are compatible with other readily available emergency pull-wire and belt alignment switches, making it easy to retrofit existing plants with the new switches or to exchange them later, Steute says. In the ZS 92 SR belt alignment switch, the switching points for advance warning and switch off are adjustable in 5° steps.

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32 NEW PRODUCTS AW JULY 2022

Advanced SCADA Software Package

Delta, deltaww.com VTScada is an advanced SCADA software package made by Trihedral, a Delta Group Company since 2020. Together with Delta automation products, VTScada allows manufacturers to implement redundant and complex infrastructures in many industries. With more than 100 drivers already integrated, operators gain fast and direct access to the control environment, simplifying development. According to Dela, VTScada was designed to allow developers to create applications of any size. Users can monitor anything from hundreds to millions of inputs and outputs from custom-designed screens. All core SCADA features are possible including alarms and notifications, trend reports, mapping, reporting, mobile connectivity, version control, graphic development, security, and enterprise connectivity.

SCARA Robots

Epson Robots, epson.com The GX Series robot lineup from Epson includes the GX4 and GX8. According to the company, the GX Series is a new class of high-power-density SCARA robots that deliver a level of performance and flexibility for the medical device, electronics, and consumer electronics industries. The GX4 and GX8 SCARA robots offer high throughput, smooth motion control, and can handle heavy payloads (up to 4 kg on the GX4 and up to 8kg on the GX8). Offering multiple arm configurations, a 250-350mm reach with the GX4 and a 450-650mm reach with the GX8, the robots can deliver high precision in tasks including assembly, pick and place, and intricate small-parts handling processes. Both robots have battery-less encoders, built-in Ethernet cables, and other advanced features to support a low cost of ownership, Epson says. The highpower density SCARA robots are equipped with larger motors to handle heavy workloads at fast speeds.

Motor Control Microprocessor

Renesas Electronics Corporation, renesas.com RZ/T2M motor control microprocessor units (MPUs) are for applications such as AC servo drives and industrial robots. According to Renesas, the RZ/T2M combines fast and highly precise real-time motor control capabilities and the latest industrial Ethernet on a single chip, while also supporting functional safety operation. By providing all essential peripheral functions for motor control, the RZ/T2M enables customers to reduce the number of external components, thereby decreasing costs and product size. The RZ/T2M is built around two Arm Cortex-R52 cores with a maximum operating frequency of 800 MHz. Connecting the peripheral functions used for motor control to a dedicated bus linked directly to the CPU enables the CPU to access these functions with low latency. In addition, the large memory capacity (576KB) is tightly coupled with the CPU, reducing the fluctuation in execution time that can occur when cache memory is used and delivering deterministic, fast-response processing.

Upgraded Oscilloscopes

Rohde and Schwarz, rohde-schwarz.com The new generation of R&S RTP oscilloscopes from Rohde and Schwarz combine high-class signal integrity measurements with the fastest possible acquisition for real-time analysis, the company says. The new models come with a 13.3-in. full HD touchscreen and a redesigned front panel. The 16:9 screen format displays waveforms, allowing settings to be changed quickly. The intuitive front panel increases productivity with direct access to primary instrument settings. R&S RTP high-performance oscilloscopes are available in different bandwidth models, from 4 GHz to 16 GHz, with a sample rate up to 40 Gsample/s. All models also support bandwidth upgrades right up to 16 GHz. At the core of the R&S RTP is the acquisition and processing ASIC from Rohde & Schwarz, which enables an acquisition rate of 750,000 waveforms/s, making it easier for engineers to spot, isolate, and analyze circuit board design defects.

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NEW PRODUCTS 33 AW JULY 2022

Welding Cobot

Acieta, acieta.com The FastARC CX1000 collaborative robot (cobot) welding system from Acieta is cart-mounted for movement to wherever it’s needed. Changeover is designed to be quick for high-mix, low-volume shops. Hand-guiding the robot makes for simple programming, so no advanced programming experience is necessary. An intuitive interface features drag-and-drop programming capabilities. With many end-of-arm tooling options, the CX1000 can be uncoupled from the weld cart and repurposed for different applications like machine tending or sanding when not welding. The cobot system features a Fanuc 6-axis, 10kg capacity collaborative robotic arm that’s reported to be maintenance-free for up to eight years. The system is compatible with Lincoln Electric and Miller Electric welders and is IP67 rated with sealed components for use in industrial environments.

Belt-Driven Actuators

Rollon, rollon.com Combining sturdy construction, protective features, and high-performance characteristics for load, moment control, speed and acceleration, the Plus System family of belt-driven linear actuators features an anodized aluminum structure and steel reinforced driving belt, Rollon says. All series are available with stainless steel elements for applications in harsh environments, such as those subject to frequent washes. A dedicated set of accessories simplifies assembly when building high-performance multi-axis systems. In addition, the Plus System lineup offers: Reliability in dirty environments; high load capacities and stiffness through a combination of recirculating ball guides, aluminum profile, and extrusion to complex geometries; high repeatability accuracy of ±0.05 millimeters; high productivity with speeds up to 5 meters/second and acceleration up to 50 meters/second; low maintenance thanks to a built-in reservoir that continuously self-lubricates the ball raceway; and versatility via a newly engineered drive head that allows gearbox assembly on either side of the unit.

Ferrule and Crimping Tool

IDEC, idec.com IDEC Corporation has released a complete product line of S3TL series ferrules, wire strippers, crimpers, and screwdrivers. Properly installed ferrules provide dependable wire terminations to both screw and push-in terminals, but installers and technicians need suitably rated parts and associated tools for making these connections, which are provided by this new line of products. The IDEC S3TL ferrule product line includes various sizes accommodating wire gauges from AWG 26 to AWG 8, each with one or two wires, depending on part number. Each ferrule incorporates an electrically insulated cover, which is color-coded using the German Weidmüller standard, for easy recognition by installers. The ferrules are UL 486F certified when used together with S3TL series crimping tools.

Electronic Control of Open Circuit Pumps

Bosch Rexroth, boschrexroth.com With the eOC (electronic open circuit) hydraulic architecture, machine manufacturers can take full advantage of their mobile machines. The Rexroth eOC portfolio includes software and hydraulic components to dynamically control work applications and travel drives. The electrohydraulic eOC pump with swivel angle sensor and pressure sensors is the central component in the eOC architecture. It ensures the proper control of the necessary setpoint values for torque, pressure or flow. The pump provides highly dynamic control with millisecond accuracy to modulate the pressure. In combination with the eOC software, characteristics such as dynamics and power control can be set, changed, and combined. Controlled via a CAN interface, the eOC software makes it possible to set various control parameters flexibly during operation.

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34 IT VIEW AW JULY 2022

ene

es a e as a anu ac u e s

By Sam Russem MESA International Board Member, Senior Director, Smart Manufacturing Grantek Systems Integration

emember when you used to buy a license for Microsoft Office 97, then three years later buy an upgrade for Office 2000, then Office XP? Not anymore! Most users have migrated to Office365 and are paying a yearly subscription for the software, and in return they do not need to worry about individual upgrades. They are always on the latest version of the platform. Most modern software, from Office365 to Facebook to Zoom, has migrated to this software-as-a-service (SaaS) licensing and delivery model. While business and commercial software has already made the transition to SaaS, these models are just now starting to pick up momentum in the manufacturing world. Adoption has been slower in automation and manufacturing for legitimate reasons: frequent software updates for complex and interconnected systems can introduce significant downtime risks, a reliance on internet connectivity can prove a challenge for industrial networks and IT teams, it can be difficult to balance operational and capital expenses, and storing significant product and manufacturing data in the cloud introduces new security concerns. Software providers are continuing to move towards SaaS models for developing, delivering, and monetizing their work, and that trend is breaking into the manufacturing space. Many traditional manufacturing software providers are offering SaaS and subscription options, and some new players may not offer classic licensing models at all. SaaS is not just some scheme to put more money in the pockets of software providers. There is real value to be gained by manufacturers who learn when, where, and how to embrace

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this new paradigm. Keeping software up to date is more important now than it has ever been. Not necessarily to get access to all the latest features, but to make sure the software is fully patched and resistant to cybersecurity risks. Most cyberthreats to manufacturers take advantage of known security flaws that have been addressed through patches and software updates. Without SaaS it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to obtain the proper licenses for any software upgrades, maintain service and support agreements with software vendors, and plan and install any patches. In a SaaS model, manufacturers always have access to the latest software and the vendor is responsible for software updates, allowing the manufacturer to focus more on planning and supporting the change. Essentially, SaaS is making it easier for us to do what we should be doing anyways. Planning and supporting these software upgrades is no simple feat, especially in regulated industries like life sciences where change control processes are so important. Sharing the responsibility with a SaaS provider simplifies the process and reduces overall risk. Another significant benefit of manufacturing software hosted in the cloud and delivered through a SaaS model is simplified infrastructure and scalability. Most manufacturing plants built over the past 40 years have their own industrial data center onsite, where corporate IT teams own and manage the significant server and network infrastructure to run an entire manufacturing operation. This was and still is done out of necessity, as there are some applications where it remains best practice to host on-premises. However, if and where there are opportunities to host applications in the cloud, there may be opportunities for significant cost savings. Cloud-hosting leads to less IT overhead and less physical infrastructure on site that is difficult to procure and maintain. This also makes cloud-hosted SaaS applications easier to scale, especially for multi-site applications. SaaS and cloud-hosted software are not silver bullets to solve all our manufacturing problems, but they do help us better focus on them. Manufacturers do not need to be in the business of negotiating one-time license

e vice costs, managing all aspects of every software upgrade, or procuring and maintaining expensive server infrastructure. Every hour and dollar spent patching software, procuring servers, and installing upgrades is effort we are not spending on continuous improvement programs, training, and optimizing our operations. When we use SaaS applications, we get tangible benefits like up-to-date software and no-hassle hosting, but we also get our time back to focus on what matters most: manufacturing!

n a aa el anu ac u e s al a s have access he la es s a e an he ven is es nsi le s a e u a es all in he anu ac u e cus e n lannin an su in he chan e.

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FINANCE VIEW 35 AW JULY 2022

Revenue Management for Manufacturers By Larry White

CMA, CFM, CPA, CGFM lwhite@rcaininstitute.org

Executive Director, Resource Consumption Accounting Institute

evenue drives business. An initial response is to say—more is better. But on reflection, you know that isn’t true. Revenue must be profitable to be desirable. And profitability means more than gross margin. Understanding profitability takes a coordinated organizational effort involving marketing, sales, finance, operations, and logistics. Coordination requires revenue and cost information that is causal, reflects operations and economic reality, and is agreed upon across the organization. It also requires an understanding of the basic principles of revenue management which is a topic that surprisingly is missing from both accounting and marketing educational curriculum. A recent Statement on Management Accounting (SMA) by the Institute of Management Accountants titled Revenue Management Fundamentals outlines the core principles. A few key concepts include: understanding your customer segments, knowing what characteristics customer groups value about your products, and designing your products to efficiently and profitably respond to those demands. Consider the accompanying graphic to this article—it illustrates the benefits of responding to customer segments with variations in products or associated services.

4 Levers of revenue management

Revenue management has four levers that help you understand and manage the operational response to customer variability. Lever 1—Pricing Basis: This lever is obvious. You need to determine how much customers will pay for the differentiation desired so that you can decide if it is profitable for you to produce or offer it. Alternatively, can you remove some capabilities or services, reduce price, and gain more lessdemanding customers profitably? It is important to remember pricing is set by the market and customer value; your cost determines if you should be

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Adapted from William Maguire and Paul Rouse, “Revenue and Cost Management for Service Organisations,” second edition, Pearson Education New Zealand Limited, Auckland, New Zealand, 2066. in the that line of business. Lever 2—Inventory Allocation: This refers to both physical inventory available and the inventory of productive capability. Are you collecting the demand information about your customers and customer segments to adapt your inventory of products, associated services, and productive capability to the most advantageous and profitable components of demand? Rush orders, late orders, the size of orders, the seasonality of orders, and many other characteristics are attributes of the product or the associated services that can be managed with a price response and/or a customer desirability determination. Do you have enough information about customer profitability and control over your selling and production to ensure your inventory and productive capacity is going to your most profitable customers? Can you use slow periods to bring in less profitable customers? Lever 3—Product Configuration: This lever involves both physical product configuration and non-physical elements such as terms and conditions or customer education/consulting. Have you identified the key physical and non-physical attributes that your customer segments value? What is your ability to profitably adapt a product, its features, and its associated services to customer demands? Are you meeting the demands of the customers that have the potential to improve profitability because they are willing to pay for more profitable features and service?

Lever 4—Duration Control: This lever involves collecting the information and using operating and process changes to predict or shape customer behavior to enable improvements in profitability. Normally, the goal is to make customers more predictable and optimize your time and effort to meet their demands. Duration control can involve internal process changes or changes that involve customer communication or interaction. Examples may include incentives to order more regularly, when to focus sales force efforts, improvements in order picking/packing/shipping, improvements in customer order acceptance procedures, etc. Too often organizations focus on increasing sales revenue or reducing product cost. This concentration of effort leaves a great deal of the customer experience unexplored. Revenue management focuses on the profitability of existing and new sales by understanding what segments customers value, are willing to pay for, and how the organization can adapt itself and customer behavior to meet those needs profitably. Larry White, CMA, CFM, CSCA, lwhitecma@hotmail.com, is a Director of the Profitability Analytics Center of Excellence (www.profitability-analytics. org) which trains and advocates for improved decision support information connecting resources and operations to business performance.

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36 ENTERPRISE VIEW AW JULY 2022

Quality Management Gets an Industrial Transformation Update By Diane Sacra LNS Research

uality management leaders have it hard these days. Growing product complexities, increasing customer expectations, supply chain disruptions, rising costs, step-change organizational goals, and directives to reduce time-to-market create a virtual pressure cooker for those leading industrial quality efforts. Adding to this pressure are some of the oldschool ways in which quality is often still perceived. Traditionally, industrial quality management has been considered the responsibility of only a specific team or department, not the entire company—as it should be. Moreover, quality has also taken on the imprecise image of being strictly compliance-based, with the leaders of quality often viewed as “policing” the organization while others half-heartedly embrace quality because “someone said I had to do this.” With so much on the quality leader’s plate, it’s only logical that they’ve had to step up their game. “Playing by the old rules for quality is no longer competitive in the modern industrial digital age,” said James Wells, research analyst at LNS Research. “Quality Leaders are now leveraging digital technologies and tools to minimize the bureaucracy of the work of quality and using new insights by connecting data together in context.” According to a recent report from LNS Research, early adopters of Industrie 4.0 methodologies are leveraging real-time sensor data, smart machines, and advanced analytics as part of their quality management processes. But while technology is certainly an important component of emerging Quality 4.0 improvements, it falls short when it comes to the organizational and cultural challenges that quality leaders must also face. According to LNS Research, there are several elements across people, process, and technology that should be included in an organization’s Quality 4.0 strategy, including empowering plant

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operators with a connected frontline workforce program, building on existing management and production systems with digital enhancements and agile methodologies, and leveraging a holistic data architecture strategy. The latter includes steps like developing robust machine connectivity in the plant, implementing a common data model across IT and OT (operations technology) data, and creating date custodian roles (e.g., data engineers). But while technology is certainly important, it should only come into consideration after alignment to business goals is achieved, which includes developing strategic initiatives from those goals and defining the architecture. In addition to enhancements in processes and technology, perhaps most important to creating true transformation with Quality 4.0 are the people strategies. Taking the holistic approach to Quality 4.0 and scaling it beyond the focus of just one department is key. To combat the traditional obstacles to quality and better manage all the spinning plates quality leadership must regularly handle, it’s important to integrate quality across the complete value chain. This means integrating the entire company, suppliers, and customers. “Manufacturing and operations teams consider themselves responsible for producing and shipping products out the door and perceive quality as a roadblock to success, rather than a business partner,” said Vivek Murugesan, senior research associate at LNS Research. “Here begins the organizational disconnect that leads to challenges, such as siloed systems, duplicate sources of data, and inadequate support from IT, leadership, and other teams.” To avoid this disconnect, companies need to nurture a culture of quality. According to LNS Research, this includes driving executive credibility, stating mission and vision, imparting core values, and building on existing norms and management systems. Most organizations, especially the ones actively pursuing a transformation initiative, are aware of the importance of the culture of quality. However, LNS Research has found only very few companies are successful at creating it because most don’t align their departmental goals to the broader organizational reality. Moreover, Wells states that, in setting and achieving organizational goals, it’s important not to set overly aggressive objectives because it often

leads to failure. Rather, leaders who set very big but still achievable goals meet their goals most of the time. “In the drive to change the culture of quality, don’t aim too high, too soon,” said Wells. The bottom line is this: Quality management leaders must nurture a culture of quality in their organizations to have a chance at the meaningful transformation that a Quality 4.0 initiative should bring. This also will help defeat the perception that quality is synonymous with policing. Only then can quality achieve the desired “trusted business partner” status that it needs within a company to set the stage for industrial transformation

To combat the traditional obstacles to quality and better manage all the spinning plates quality leadership must regularly handle, it’s important to integrate quality across the complete value chain. T�is means integrating the entire company, suppliers, and customers.

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ADVERTISER INDEX 37 AW JULY 2022

COMPANY

WEBSITE

PAGE

Automation Direct

www.CLICKPLCS.com

Automation24 Inc.

www.automation24.com

Digi-Key Electronics

www.digikey.com/automation

Fabco-Air

www.fabco-air.com

Hammond Manufacturing

www.hammondmfg.com

MAVERICK Technologies

www.mavtechglobal.com

Motion

www.motion.com

Opto 22

www.opto22.com

PACK EXPO International

www.packexpointernational.com

PMMI ProSource

www.ProSource.org

Telemecanique Sensors

www.tesensors.com/Safety

Automation World ® (ISSN # 15531244, USPS 22435) is a registered trademark of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. Automation World ® is published 12 a year by PMMI with its publishing office, PMMI Media Group, located at 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611; 312.222.1010; Fax: 312.222.1310. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices. Copyright 2022 by PMMI. All rights reserved. Materials in this publication must not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Applications for a free subscription may be made online at AutomationWorld.com/subscribe. Paid subscription rates per year are $105 in the U.S., $147 Canada and Mexico by surface mail; $250 Europe, South America. $325 Far East and Australia by air mail. To subscribe or manage your subscription to Automation World, visit AutomationWorld.com/subscribe. Free digital edition available to qualified individuals outside the United States. POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Automation World®, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611. PRINTED IN USA by Quad Graphics. The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PMMI. Comments, questions and letters to the editor are welcome and can be sent to: editors@ automationworld.com. We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable firms. If you would prefer that we don’t include your name, please write us at the Chicago, IL address. Volume 20, Number 7.

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6/30/22 10:14 AM

38 KEY INSIGHTS AW JULY 2022

OPC UA uses data modeling to scale semantically identical messages across the entire manufacturing enterprise—all the way up to the cloud. You don’t need to translate, map, or manipulate data as it traverses the automation pyramid. From sensor to cloud, those data models are preserved in OPC UA. Jim Koelsch on how OPC UA creates interoperability.

While some users might balk at the thought of spending more upfront on simulation software for autonomous mobile robot management, there’s real value on the other side. Invest a little up front in simulation and save 20% of your fleet size through smarter design and more confidence. Stephanie Neil on using simulation to mitigate risks associated with autonomous mobile robot capex.

An example of how wearable devices are used to improve worker ergonomics can been seen in the experience of vehicle manufacturer Iveco, which has been using Comau’s wearable exoskeleton called Mate in its Brescia, Italy plant. Here, Mate is used by employees working on the interior construction of minibuses, a task that requires workers to lift their arms, which can lead to shoulder strain. David Miller on wearable exoskeletons to reduce worker injuries.

One way to be proactive and mitigate system failure risks is by performing an installed base evaluation. A good evaluation is more than just creating an inventory of your parts; it’s a detailed analysis of your critical plant assets and those components’ conditions. You’ll obtain lifecycle data on aging equipment, allowing you to understand what is current, outdated, or even obsolete. Jamie Schmidt of system integration firm Interstates on deciding between upgrades or retrofits.

The main takeaway when considering different PLC programming languages is that it’s rare for just one to be used. Based on the application, integrators will rarely use just one language unless, of course, the customer demands it. But even then, integrators will often steer you toward using the right tool(s) for the job. David Greenfield on PLC programming language options.

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