by Gary Mintchell | Feb 20, 2025 | Events, News
I missed the last industry conference. There are several interviews in queue for me to finish writing and a couple of interviews pending. But here is one conference I will be attending. If you are in Boston April 1-2, let me know. Aras invited me to their conference last year. The speakers and interviews taught me much about what’s important and coming in the world of manufacturing software. I expect no less this year.
And, yes, if you are in Boston those days, let me know. Perhaps an early coffee or something else later?
Aras to Celebrate 25 Years of Innovation at ACE 2025 in Boston
The event will Feature Presentations from Honda, CERN, Microsoft and Other Industry Leaders
Following is an overview of the event from Aras.
Aras, a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital thread solutions, has announced that the agenda for ACE 2025 is now live. The event, taking place March 31 – April 3, 2025 at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza, will bring together global leaders in engineering, manufacturing, and digital transformation under the theme: Connected Intelligence: AI, PLM, and a Future-Ready Digital Thread.
2025 marks a major milestone as Aras celebrates 25 years of continuous innovation while looking ahead to AI-driven PLM, advanced digital thread strategies, and scalable transformation initiatives. ACE 2025 will explore how today’s industry pioneers are establishing seamless digital threads across the entire lifecycle to enhance resilience, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.
A key focus of this year’s event is the impact of connected intelligence on manufacturing and engineering—and how companies can unlock its full potential to drive measurable value. Attendees will gain access to expert insights, real-world applications, and actionable strategies designed to accelerate their digital transformation and optimize PLM processes.
A few of the featured speakers:
- Honda’s Tomoya Isome, Manager, Chief Engineer and Nobuyuki Akahoshi, Chief Engineer, will share how they’re leveraging Aras Innovator to revolutionize data management for 22,000 users.
- CERN’s David Widegren, Head of Engineering Information Management, will detail the challenges of managing the full lifecycle of some of the largest and most complex machines ever built.
- Gartner Vice President Analyst Sudip Pattanayak will explore why digital threads are more critical than ever for seamless connectivity and collaboration in today’s complex industries, sharing strategies to tackle fragmented data, privacy concerns, and scalability challenges.
“ACE 2025 is a celebration of the incredible community that has grown around Aras over the past 25 years,” said Roque Martin, CEO of Aras. “This event brings together innovators, engineers, and industry leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with PLM, digital thread, and AI. We’re excited to mark this milestone by fostering new connections, sharing knowledge, and shaping the future—together.”
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 23, 2025 | Events, News
Here is a virtual opportunity to visit Italy. ZAPI Group is hosting its fourth Future of Electrification Conference. I’d love to go to Italy in person, but I think I’ll hit this virtual opportunity.
Its fourth Future of Electrification virtual conference on February 26-27, 2025 will examine trends in the worldwide shift toward electrification, challenges and opportunities across different geographical regions, and the latest innovations driving adoption and transformation.
I wonder if they’ll explore the wrench that the Trump Administration may throw into these efforts?
The conference will provide insights into market dynamics, technology, and regulatory factors shaping the electrification movement. Centered on the theme “Innovating for Change,” presenters will share leadership expertise in the industrial electrification space, discuss the impact of battery technology in the adoption of electrification, examine challenges in the evolving global trade landscape, and more.
Free registration for The Future of Electrification 2025 is now open.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 26, 2024 | Automation, Events, News
Blake Moret deserves credit for many reasons during his tenure as CEO of Rockwell Automation. He has not been afraid to try things. If they don’t work out, he just pivots and tries something else.
There was the interlude with PTC and ThingWorx. Rockwell gained some benefit, but in the end the benefits were less than spectacular. He sold the stake and acquired Plex (operations software) and Fiix (maintenance management software) gaining solid cloud-based performers.
He also brought in a diverse lineup of senior management including some from outside the company. Outsiders usually leave after a few years, and indeed, the senior level executive cadre consists primarily of people who came up through the ranks. This is not a criticism. Sort of just the way it is. But it helps bringing in fresh thinking. Senior management is also not limited to old white men. There is diversity at the top levels which should make for more interesting discussions.
These comments introduce the 2024 edition of Automation Fair. The format introduced last year makes the experience more like the previous TechEd events with a helping of the in-house trade show that was Automation Fair. All attendees pay a fee to get in. Distributors previously brought customers who had free admittance to the show. That was one reason for the high attendance numbers.
People wondered how it would work this year. It worked. Well, 11,000 people showed up. The show floor and technical sessions were packed. I’d say it was successful.
Moret’s key message during his talks can be summarized as simplification. He stated he was proud of the way the development teams have made things work together better. Rockwell has enhanced the edge-to-cloud experience. “Autonomous,” meaning AI and AMRs, add to existing workflows while lowering the risk of implementation. This topic also includes software-defined architecture and extensive use of digital twin. He finished mentioning Rockwell’s extensive consulting group which houses much domain expertise.
I have more notes than will fit even a long-form blog post. The following compilation takes you through a couple of days of keynotes and briefings.
Matheus Bulho, SVP of Software and Control, spoke on the machine layer. The Design software layer integrates devops into the design platform. It continuously updates the code base in the cloud during development meaning developers can easily visualize code conflict from different programmers.
Logix Echo and Emulate3D finally realize a vision I wrote about from Rockwell Automation perhaps 20 years ago. The technology has arrived to enable design and commission of an entire system in virtual space in partnership with Nvidia. Rockwell has also integrated Copilot into the platform. Software-defined automation has arrived at the platform, as well.
Tessa Myers, SVP Intelligent Devices discussed products targeted at line and plant layers. “We’re driving end-to-end performance with smart, connected machines. End-to-end orchestration includes production logistics, operations management software, material handling, production logistics, and consulting expertise reimagine how material moves through manufacturing lines.
Products include Plex software, OTTO AMR technology, data-ready equipment, Mosaics, industrial data ops, and EnergyManager.
Matt Fordenwalt, SVP Lifecycle Services, handled the Enterprise level of products during the Tuesday keynotes. He discussed security and data standards pointing to Fortinet system level thinking combined with OT and IT domain expertise. Adding Claroty software for visibility and intelligence plus RA company Verve. Other partners in the security chain include Dragos, Crowd Strike, Microsoft, and Cisco.
Some notes from a series of press briefings:
Emmanuel Guilhamon, Vice President, Sustainability, discussed how AI will be helping companies meet environmental goals. He emphasized the need to build business cases in order to sell sustainability to management.
Jordan Reynolds, Vice President of AI, (yes, RA has a VP of AI) told us AI should not be thought of as a separate product. Rather, AI is being built into many products to make them easier and simpler to use, as well as, more powerful.
Matt Rendell, Chief Executive Officer, Clearpath Robotics by Rockwell Automation and Ryan Gariepy, Chief Technology Officer, OTTO Motors by Rockwell Automation reported on advanced robotics and OTTO motors bringing connected factories to life. These recently acquired companies can now better integrate out of the box due to joining RA. These form an integral part of RA’s connected factory vision.
Tony Carrara, Business Manager, FactoryTalk Design Studio,
FactoryTalk DesignStudio, still targeted for discrete, introducing motion and process 18 months or so, Copilot, modernizing building automation system, hosting in Azure, project creation, product guidance, project guidance GenAI use cases; Copilot January 2025, also first release cloud to controller; Innovation Booth; (hmm, no AR/VR); testing guardrails for LLMs in Logix, future research voice interaction;
Michael Bayer, Director of Contracts Capabilities, and Rick Kaun, Vice President of Solutions, Verve Industrial, a Rockwell Automation Company brought Cybersecurity into focus as a business risk. From sensors to controllers, it’s all about data. And that is a risk. People in the factory are not cybersecurity experts, so help is needed. Insurance companies are pressuring the Board to meet the risk. Employees are asking for skills. They want to be security savvy. Kaun says the Verve platform helps clients find assets.
Kris Dornan, Commercial Marketing Manager, and Liz Bahl Prosak, Commercial Portfolio Manager, presented the LogixSIS (safety integrated system for process safety).
Key Capabilities of Logix SIS:
- Modern SIL 2 and SIL 3 solutions delivers comprehensive safety across a wide range of industrial applications.
- High availability safety delivers continuous operation for critical processes.
- Streamline implementation by leveraging familiar hardware and software.
- Reduce engineering time to maximize efficiency through simplified design and configuration.
- Upgrade the system without requiring planned downtime.
- Available through Rockwell Automation distribution channels that provide convenient access to customers worldwide.
Show Floor Tours
One item from the show floor tour piqued my interest—VisionAI. Touted as Rockwell Automation’s first vision system, it features AI-driven software with strong data capabilities and expected connectivity. Actually, this is the third RA vision system. I sold and installed a few in the mid-1990s. It was called the CVIM. A product called VIM preceded that one. The CVIM was powerful, had a huge footprint, and was prohibitively expensive by 1996. I became an editor in 1998 and witnessed the demise of the product.
It’s expensive for me to go to Automation Fair. I weigh the costs carefully. Information was abundant. Meeting old colleagues invigorates the week for one who works alone. I’m glad I made this trip. Next year in Chicago is a no-brainer.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 4, 2024 | Events, News, Software
News from the AVEVA World Conference 2024 in Paris.
Noteworthy announcements include:
- Industrial AI Assistant
- AVEVA Unified Engineering
- AVEVA Operations Control
- AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure
AVEVA Unified Engineering, the new enhancements will bring together global, multi-discipline, multi-organization teams and allow them to work from the same up-to-date project data in a common environment. Whether working in 1D, 2D or 3D, AVEVA Unified Engineering takes teams from working in siloed applications with document-based workflows to an agile, intelligent, collaborative digital environment. It further helps businesses to deliver optimized plant designs by enabling collaborative, transparent data-centric decision-making processes, ultimately enabling companies to deliver projects on-time and on-budget.
AVEVA Operations Control is a complete operations offer with zero tag, IO, and server limitations; providing complete architectural flexibility from process to plant to enterprise. It offers unlimited access to HMI/SCADA visualization, historian, reporting and team collaboration capabilities. Data management capabilities will enable a new ecosystem and use cases including AI-powered analytics for quality and production optimization. As part of its update, AVEVA is including key CONNECT capabilities with every AVEVA Operations Control subscription. The combination benefits users with new insights from the industrial AI assistant that queries both process and MES data. Customers can take advantage of pre-defined and self-service editable dashboards and animations, to holistically visualize complex interactions. The combination of AI and visualization allows customers to investigate issues, solve problems, and gain actionable insights for optimizing production and the business.
AVEVA PI System portfolio with new and expanded capabilities for its AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure offering. New write-back capabilities from CONNECT to AVEVA PI Server enable real-time collaboration between operations experts and other stakeholders such as analysts and data scientists, allowing operators to incorporate advanced analytics within trusted tools and existing workflows. In addition, new performance enhancements will increase users’ ability to move, manage, and manipulate data to meet business demands. Customers are already achieving breakthrough results in productivity, quality, uptime and cost savings when they integrate their industrial data from the edge, the plant and the cloud using CONNECT.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 9, 2024 | Automation, Events, News, Process Control
I didn’t rate an invitation to this year’s Honeywell User Group. They have reorganized. All my marketing contacts are evidently gone. I checked in to the only source I have, Control Global, who somehow maintains contact and once again published the email show daily. The link is to one of the days of the show.
Looks like the highlight from the keynote is that once again Honeywell Process is reorganizing. They are trying to reflect the latest hype in the industry—AI and cybersecurity. Indications filtering to me hint at the relegation of Honeywell Connected Enterprise (whose user conference last year was the same dates as HUG this year) as a business unit. It’s all hard to tell what’s up with the major automation suppliers in this era.
From Control Global’s editor in chief Len Vermillion:
In case anyone still had any doubts, Pramesh Maheshwari, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, stepped on stage and matter-of-factly reminded an audience full of process control professionals of one simple fact: digital solutions will be at the forefront of the industrial future.
Maheshwari and other Honeywell business leaders mapped out the company’s business vision to open this week’s 2024 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Conference at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
Their vision focused on three key trends driving the future of the global industrial sector, each requiring a proactive approach utilizing new and existing technologies that will help businesses stay “ahead of the curve”—the event’s main theme. Those key trends include artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and the energy transition.
“Imagine a world that is incredibly efficient. That’s the power of AI. Imagine a world that is safer. That’s the power of cybersecurity. Imagine a world that is cleaner. That’s the power of energy transition,” Maheshwari said. “Finally, imagine a world that is a better place to live. That is what it means to stay ahead of the curve.”
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 30, 2024 | Events, Manufacturing IT, News, Software
I think I’ve been to all twelve Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conferences in Folsom, CA. It’s possible I missed one. They are always enjoyable. It’s truly a community where people share ideas and show success stories. The partner ecosystem for Ignition consists of strong, smaller, innovative companies and creative systems integrators.
To quote from the press release, Now in its twelfth year, the Ignition Community Conference (ICC) brings together industrial professionals from around the world to network, collaborate, and learn more about Ignition — an industrial automation software platform for SCADA, HMI, IIoT, MES, and more — and the ecosystem of technology solutions that work with it.
Highlighting the first day, executives Colby Clegg and Carl Gould previewed the release of Ignition 8.3. Yes, the last version was 8.1. This is a significant update even further integrating with IT technology. Founder Steve Hechtman explained to me when we first met 20 years ago how Ignition was built from the ground up to be IT friendly—unique for a SCADA application. They continue the tradition.
The update, scheduled for January 2025 release, features a redesigned Gateway user interface said to be faster, more intuitive, and easier to navigate. Upgrades to the Ignition Perspective Module include integrated drawing tools, a flexible form generation component, and the ability to design applications for offline use.
Another upcoming feature called Event Streams will allow users to map event data from sources to handlers, giving them new ways to push, transform, filter, and batch data. Also included are a new, public historian API and a new Power Historian that’s embedded in the Ignition platform, along with many other new features, and will be actively supported for five years after its release.
System integrators who leverage the Ignition platform to create exceptionally innovative and successful projects, are featured with Firebrand Awards. This year’s awards featured these applications.
NeoMatrix Inc., which helped Lucid Motors implement a real-time factory information system that provides data on manufacturing performance to enable data-driven decisions, optimize processes, and improve overall operational performance.
Deloitte, which implemented a modern SCADA/MES system, realizing Goodman Fielder’s initiative to enhance production efficiency and replace manual processes at their three largest bakeries.
IDOM, which implemented a real-time automation orchestrator for the entire production process at the pharmaceutical company Cinfa, including a Unified Namespace that allows applications to exchange information in a decoupled architecture.
Saint-Gobain CertainTeed, which deployed the Vision Module-based FaCTory+ MES solution, which pulls in production orders from SAP, tracks 24-hour performance, compares current and previous production runs, and more.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which created a library of standardized objects with heavy use of User Defined Types (UDTs), allowing it to easily monitor and control a large-scale experiment analyzing the properties of neutrinos.
Madkour Group, which built a system providing real-time data from remote locations and reporting and analytic tools for the National Project for Developing the New Valley in Toshka, which aims to reclaim vast desert areas as part of Egypt’s overall plan to cultivate three million acres in total.
All of the winners’ and finalists’ project submissions, including videos and written case studies, can be viewed in the online ICC Discover Gallery.
The event sold out once again packing about 900 people into the Harris Center in Folsom. Inductive Automation made the difficult decision to leave their home of the past 12 years and move to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California. Located in downtown Sacramento, about 30 miles from Folsom, the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center is a fully remodeled, state-of-the-art venue with over 240,000 square feet of space, and within walking distance of many hotels, restaurants, and entertainment options.
During the Closing Keynote session on September 19, Project Manager Nick Barfuss made a surprise announcement that Inductive Automation will soon launch a unified, browser-based interface for end users, integrators, and IA staff and distributors.
Known as Inductive Automation Workspaces and launching in 2025, the new interface will streamline the Ignition sales process with self-service or assisted-service modes, and empower organizations to access and manage their licenses, support plans, roles, and organizational structure.
Workspaces will launch with features for creating organizational units; creating and sharing estimates, quotes, and orders; managing licenses and support plans; making purchases in local currency; and more.
During the Closing Keynote session, Co-Directors of Support Services James Hunt and Marcus Bellamy announced that Inductive Automation will be extending its software support hours by nearly 50 percent in Q1 of 2025. The two leaders explained that the company is adding more support engineers at its offices in the US and Australia, which will expand the support hours from 6 AM to 5 PM PST to 6 AM to 11 PM PST.
During the Main Keynote session, Chief Technology Evangelist Travis Cox discussed the tenth anniversary of Inductive University, the free online industrial automation training platform that the company launched during ICC 2014.
Cox said that Inductive University (IU) has become one of the company’s most popular training resources and has seen fantastic growth. Since launching a decade ago, IU has had over 10 million video views, almost 8 million tests (known as “challenges”) have been taken, over 100,000 user accounts have been created, and 30,000 Ignition credentials have been earned. Cox also said that these IU numbers represent hundreds of thousands of people who have gained new knowledge that helps them turn their ideas into reality.
During the Closing Keynote session, Co-Directors of Support Services James Hunt and Marcus Bellamy gave a glimpse of what lies ahead for IU, saying that their team will be adding over 70 new videos to IU in 2025, as well as adding learning paths that are specific to skill level.
