by Gary Mintchell | May 31, 2023 | Automation, Process Control
These Honeywell news items are a couple of months old. I’ve had a lot of news—especially coming first from Hannover and then from Automate. But most of my thinking time is about humans using the technology; or, technologies using the humans. Will we be replaced? Or, will we figure out how to use all the technology being developed in order to make life better for us all?
These news items are sent to writers like me to show that these companies have sold something. I’m interested in how people are using the technology and why. So, let’s dive in.
SGP Bioenergy
Much of Honeywell’s efforts have been toward sustainable applications. In this example, Honeywell’s Experion technology solutions will enable the bioenergy leader to centralize its automation, safety control and telecommunications systems to meet rising global demand of clean, low carbon, transportation fuels at SGP Bioenergy’s Golden City Biorefinery in Colón, Panama.
As one of SGP’s key automation contractors, Honeywell will deploy its Experion technology solutions for the plant’s distributed control and safety systems (DCS) and Experion Industrial Security systems for its integrated telecommunications to build a sustainable aviation fuel refinery.
Once fully operational, the biorefinery is expected to produce 180,000 barrels per day of advanced biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 405,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually, according to SGP.
KOREPlex Battery Gigafactory
KORE Power, a leading U.S.- based developer of lithium-ion battery cells and modules for the e-mobility and energy storage sectors, will deploy Honeywell’s end-to-end, integrated Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (MXP) at the KOREPlex gigafactory in Arizona.
According to a National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) report, the traditional approach to lithium-ion cell manufacturing comprises many inefficient manual operations, leading facilities to commonly operate at a 70% production yield at steady-state. As a principal manufacturer of battery cells and modules for the energy storage and e-mobility sectors, it is essential for KORE to implement highly efficient and therefore sustainable production practices.
With continuous closed-loop control, Honeywell’s Battery MXP will enable KORE Power to visualize and control their entire lithium-ion battery (LIB) production process in real-time, from mixing, coating, assembly to formation-finishing area. This centralized approach will allow KORE to reach target capacity faster while improving production yields and improving safety.
The digital Honeywell MXP platform lets users scale up their enterprise and achieve steady-state operations with superior yields starting from the first day of operations. Coupled with production optimization and improved efficiencies, Honeywell’s solution reduces energy consumption, enabling companies to reduce their carbon footprint. Additionally, the platform provides online quality management with complete production traceability/genealogy of the cells produced.
KOREPlex will be the first fully digitized and integrated lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility using Honeywell’s MXP platform. By employing Honeywell’s proven expertise across related industries such as life sciences and sheet manufacturing, this solution builds upon existing technologies to fit the requirements for lithium-ion cell production.
The KOREPlex is expected to be operational in early 2025 and will be among the first U.S. gigafactories built independently of an automotive OEM, enabling the facility to supply cells to a wide range of customers, from innovative e-mobility start-ups to utility customers seeking to improve reliability with energy storage. The KOREPlex is expected to have an annual production capacity of 12 GWh of high-density lithium-ion cells, with lines committed to both NMC and LFP chemistries.
Honeywell Ventures is a co-investor in KORE Power and participated in a funding round in November 2022.
by Gary Mintchell | May 30, 2023 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
I had family commitments and did not attend PTC’s LiveWorx events. They did send a couple of press releases detailing announcements made there. One is an AI-enhanced (of course, they had to work AI into some release!) visual inspection called Step Check from Vuforia. There was also a sustainability partnership announcement along with a SaaS solution for Creo.
Vuforia’s AI-enhanced visual inspection solution Step Check.
Step Check focuses on visual inspection for quality control. These inspections are traditionally done with the naked eye and paper-based documentation, which puts added pressure on workers to make decisions quickly and runs the risk of mistakes and rework.
Step Check makes inspections more efficient and lessens the potential for mistakes by combining augmented reality and AI. Step Check guides workers through inspection tasks with context-aware, step-by-step AR work instructions that are overlaid on the physical part or product. As this is happening, the underlying AI can detect improper assemblies, missing or misaligned parts, or related faults. Color-coded pass/fail graphics displayed on the part or product in real time inform workers if an inspection step has passed or failed. Step Check automatically documents the inspection results and provides dashboards to analyze the performed checks.
Science Based Targets Initiative and Relationships with Ansys and aPriori
PTC announced new initiatives as part of its environmental sustainability practice. It has signed the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitment letter, pledging both near-term emissions reductions and long-term net-zero targets. In addition, PTC is expanding its relationships with Ansys and aPriori to support manufacturers’ environmental sustainability goals in the areas of product dematerialization and manufacturing efficiency.
In parallel with its SBTi commitments, PTC is broadening the ways in which it supports manufacturers’ efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of their products. Most of a product’s environmental footprint is determined at the design stage, where decisions are made about materials, manufacturability, potential for circularity, and much more. PTC enables manufacturers to address these footprint considerations with its industry-leading product design and lifecycle management software and through new partner integrations with Ansys and aPriori.
PTC and Ansys, who have partnered for several years on product design and simulation software, will pursue more integrated workflows between PTC’s Creo computer-aided design (CAD) and Windchill product lifecycle management (PLM) software with Ansys’ materials information management solution, Ansys Granta MI. These workflows are expected to make it easier for design engineers to assess how the materials used in a product impact the product’s performance, embodied carbon, and recyclability, enabling our joint customers to develop both more sustainable and highly performant products.
PTC and aPriori will pursue greater interoperability between Windchill and aPriori’s aP Pro, aP Design, and aP Generate software. Together, these solutions enable designers to review designs in CAD and PLM and generate reports for part costs, manufacturability, and environmental footprint. If changes are required, aPriori’s software can generate recommendations for improvements for the designers. This process can increase the likelihood of making changes before excessive costs and footprint are committed.
Creo+ Software as a Service CAD
PTC announced Creo+ software as a service (SaaS) computer-aided design (CAD) solution and the release of the tenth version of its Creo CAD software. Creo+ combines the power and proven functionality of Creo with new cloud-based tools to enhance design collaboration and simplify CAD administration. Creo+ includes real-time design collaboration tools to enable multiple team members to review, explore, and edit product designs. Creo+ also includes the PTC Control Center application, powered by the PTC Atlas SaaS platform, which enables simple deployment and management of software licenses for cloud-based tools.
In addition to the release of Creo+, PTC announced the simultaneous release of Creo 10. With Creo 10, users can now design and simulate with composite materials for lighter products that maintain strength and durability. Additionally, Creo 10 introduces Ansys-powered thermal stress as well as non-linear materials and contact simulation, which significantly broadens addressable simulation-driven design use cases in Creo.
by Gary Mintchell | May 26, 2023 | Commentary, News
My Website traffic dropped significantly during the week of Hannover Messe in April. As an independent thinker/writer, I cannot afford such a trip unless I can find a sponsor. There were none this year. I do enjoy Hannover. It’s an intense few days walking about 10 miles a day.
I did view it from afar through press releases and other websites and correspondence. Two analyst firms that I trust sent me their thoughts on trends seen at the show. It is important to note that both are European (does England count as European?) and one is German. There is a decided emphasis that way that might be missed in the US. They have a few different issues. Interact Analysis and IoT Analytics each had several analysts in attendance. The links are to their reports for greater depth about companies covered. I should note that I have worked with IoT Analytics in the past but have nothing going on with them now.
Interact Analysis, analysts Blake Griffin, Brianna Jackson, Tim Dawson
Over the years, Hannover Messe has evolved to include an ever-broadening range of products and companies. Despite the wide range of technologies on display, an emphasis on energy efficiency and flexibility emerged as the central theme of the 2023 show. As more sustainability-conscious legislation, such as the Net-Zero Industry Act and the EU’s Eco-Design Initiatives, are being enacted, industrial automation technology is being pushed to evolve to support these efforts. Additionally, we continue to see increasing emphasis placed upon flexibility within intralogistics. Both of these trends were on prominent display throughout the fairground. In this insight, we aim to highlight the products on display that we believe most clearly represent the current status quo within the industrial automation markets we cover.
Against the Backdrop of High-Electricity Prices Across Europe Energy Efficiency Technology is Paramount
Drives
While motor drives are inherently an energy efficiency device, new models are pushing this idea even further. Nearly all drive vendors that exhibited at Hannover Messe were displaying models of their drives which provide additional efficiencies to the system through features like regeneration, harmonic mitigation and electronic bypass.
Motor Vendors – IE4 & IE5 Technology:
2023 is a big year for the low voltage motor market, particularly in Europe. In July of this year, the EU Eco-design Initiative will mandate that motors between 75kw and 200kw carry an efficiency level of IE4 at minimum. This represents the first time IE4 efficiency levels will be required in any region. In preparation for this legislation, many vendors of motors had their high-efficiency capabilities on display at Hannover Messe.
Despite the standard not being properly defined yet, many vendors were going beyond IE4 to show their IE5 capabilities.
Battery Manufacturing and Recycling – Festo
According to the European Federation for Transport and the Environment, Europe comprised 41% of new investment in lithium-ion battery production in 2021. However, legislation from other regions, such as the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, posed a threat to European industries, with the US act incentivizing European manufacturers to expand their operations within the US. Europe’s answer to this is the Net-Zero Industry Act, which aims to push the EU to produce more of its technology domestically and localize supply chains. As a result, battery manufacturing in Europe is expected to see increased investment in order for the continent to remain competitive globally.
Smart Conveyance Technology
Alongside energy efficiency, Interact Analysis has also provided substantial commentary about new entrants shaking up the supplier landscape for smart conveyance technology (here).
Final Thoughts
The focus for Hannover Messe has shifted over the years to incorporate a broader range of technologies, and it can be difficult to find common themes across products as a result. However, flexibility, energy efficiency and sustainability were clearly identifiable in the products on display across the industrial automation halls. This perhaps speaks to the strengths of these trends across Europe. While energy prices and supply chain woes remain a concern, you can expect continued emphasis to be placed on solutions like the ones we observed at Hannover Messe 2023.
IoT Analytics
1. Modularity is becoming the top theme for future manufacturing
Almost all exhibitors somehow highlighted the need for modularity and interchangeability.
2. Hardware platforms are consolidating
The lines between PLCs, IPCs, gateways, and other hardware devices are further fading as powerful multi-purpose chips such as the new Intel 13th gen Raptorlake CPUs become the go-to compute platform across devices. At the same time, hardware devices become smaller while integrating more functionality inside that separate devices (e.g., I/O master functionality) used to be handle. Another notable, recent change is the addition of AI acceleration across the hardware stack so that companies can run AI interference (mostly for vision use cases at this point).
3. Decoupling of hardware and software is gaining momentum
To the surprise of many at the fair, the world’s leading industrial automation vendor Siemens announced a “virtual PLC” software offering that is completely decoupled from proprietary hardware. This announcement marks a paradigm shift for industrial automation as it allows Siemens control software to basically run on any third-party (standard) hardware. Siemens is not the first to announce such an offering (e.g., Schneider Electric, BoschRexroth, Beckhoff, and Codesys have done so before), but it shows that the market leader is further opening up and getting ready for a truly software-defined automation stack.
4. More and more IT technologies are coming to OT
There is a push toward using an IT-style approach (e.g., low-code, integrated development environments and containerization) to configure/engineer/deploy OT applications and control logic.
5. The industrial metaverse is starting to take shape
HMI 2023 saw a revival of the “industrial metaverse.” While it had become quiet regarding the usage of the term leading up to the fair, a number of companies presented their vision of the industrial metaverse, including Microsoft, Siemens, CapGemini, SAP, and Schneider Electric. We noted that the visions were clearly not aligned, with some putting augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) into the center, whereas others clearly excluded AR/VR. In all cases, the industrial metaverse was, to a large degree, a new marketing term for an existing set of technologies. The most common denominator was the fact that digital twins played a key role for all companies, with some saying that the industrial metaverse is the next step in that journey.
6. There is a strong push toward sustainability
At last year’s Hannover Messe (2022), we highlighted how sustainability had entered the fair as a key theme. This year, we noticed a lot more “meat to the bone.” We came across a considerable number of solutions to help companies track their carbon footprint, driven in part by new ESG regulations such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
7. Generative AI is being implemented in manufacturing
With generative AI unarguably the #1 buzz in tech right now, the first applications in manufacturing were visible at the fair.
8. Interoperability focus is shifting from assets to data
Discussions at the fair showed how specific asset connectivity technologies such as OPC-UA, IO-Link, or MQTT have become or are in the process of becoming global interoperability standards. With such standards establishing themselves, at the same time as AI and data are taking a much bigger role in many digital transformation initiatives, the focus is shifting away from standards to connect assets toward data format standards and architectures.
9. DataOps is maturing
Making data interoperable is one side of the coin, whereas ensuring manageability in day-to-day operations is the other. Therefore, unsurprisingly, we noted a lot of interest for vendors (often start-ups/scale-ups) that promised to manage and optimize OT data streams. These vendors target the severe need for high-quality data without spending too much time on preparing/cleaning the data.
10. Wireless connectivity on the shopfloor is becoming a reality
Shopfloor control operations are traditionally performed using wired/tethered connectivity between sensors/actuators, IO devices, controllers, and other compute platforms. However, HMI 2023 revealed that wireless may be becoming a viable alternative in some cases.
by Gary Mintchell | May 24, 2023 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Security
Honeywell began sending press releases about things called Forge and Connect and Connected Enterprise in 2019. I was puzzled. Then came the pandemic making contact and conversations difficult. I think this was much like initiatives from a few other former automation companies now trying to become software companies—they had some ideas and appointed some GMs, but they were feeling their way forward, as well.
I was confused again this month. There was registration for something called Honeywell Connect, and then pre-brief for Honeywell Connect (for which I never received a link) and then for Honeywell User Group (HUG). I registered for so many things, I wasn’t sure what was next. Then there’s the issue that HUG is in Orlando—and I’m tired of going to Orlando and supporting Florida.
Yesterday was Honeywell Connect—a series of announcements from the Honeywell Connected Enterprise group. The big announcement that concerns me follows. HUG follows June 19 for the process systems group. That one is live. As it stands now, I’ll be there. If you’d like to connect and give me your thoughts on using all this new technology or where AR/VR is going, ping me at [email protected].
The big news from Connect is the release of Cyber Insights for operational technology applications. Its focus is improving the availability, reliability and safety of their industrial control systems and operations. Cyber Insights is designed to integrate information from multiple OT data sources in order to provide a customer with actionable insights into their facility’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats and compliance, thereby helping reduce their overall cybersecurity risks.
Cyber Insights brings a tailored approach by providing a purpose-built cybersecurity solution for OT environments and users. It is designed to offer a site-level view of a facility’s cybersecurity posture and provide insights into security events, vulnerabilities, active threats and to manage compliance. Cyber Insights can help organizations strengthen their cyber resilience and respond faster to incidents through access to critical information at the right time.
Cyber Insights is pre-configured for OT use, with already available customization options designed to address certain needs specific to different industrial environments, while being vendor agnostic so that it can deployed on Honeywell control systems as well as many other systems. It is also deployed, supported and maintained by Honeywell Cyber Care services during the applicable subscription license term to help customers maintain continuous tuning and optimization as required for any system to run in peak form.
