by Gary Mintchell | Feb 14, 2025 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Inductive Automation has released prebuilt, industry-specific solutions via their Ignition Exchange. These are designed to provide Ignition users a running start while building solutions for their specific industry. I’ve seen this idea pop up from time to time amongst software developers. I’m convinced they must be a great way for a developer to start a project. I’ve appreciated examples and starter ideas for projects I’ve worked on.
There are currently two Industry Packs available.
Water Industry Pack
The Water Industry Pack contains easily customizable resources to help you quickly build screens for water/wastewater facilities.
- Prebuilt components (including tanks, pumps, valves, and VFDs)
- A UDT that pairs with each component
- Advanced resources (like custom SVGs)
Data Center Industry Pack
The Data Center Industry Pack offers ready-to-use solutions for data centers. While it was designed with data centers in mind, it’s helpful for other industries as well.
- Widgets to display KPI details, input/output power, and more
- Dynamic popups (to display tag names and values)
- Faceplate & UDT pairs for UPS and AHU
- A Comtrade resource (to import and view Comtrade data)
Inductive Automation expects to expand these Industry Packs over time, and add more packs for other industries in the future.
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 10, 2025 | Manufacturing IT
Manufacturing and process automation news has become sparse. News from the warehouse and fulfillment sector continues to grow. These items typically combine software, autonomous mobile robots, communications devices for connected workers, and (of course) a dollop of AI.
This news comes from Zebra Technologies. This company’s acquisitions has rendered it as a completely different company from the one whose products I recommended and sold earlier in my career. They say this new solution unlocks fulfillment potential for warehouse operations with advanced collaborative robotics-assisted picking technology.
Zebra Technologies announced the expansion of Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment, a comprehensive solution that utilizes the company’s new Zebra Connect Fulfillment autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), wearable technologies, software, and analytics designed to increase productivity and reduce costs in warehouse operations. This AI-powered solution combines the functions of a warehouse execution system (WES) with robot fleet management and powerful analytics.
Using the new Zebra Symmetry Connect Fulfillment AMR, the solution enables frontline workers to load and unload orders to and from carts without requiring the AMR to remain permanently attached to each cart. This increases utilization and reduces the number of AMRs required in the fulfillment system. Fueled by Team Intelligence, this solution enables workers – also referred to as pickers – to pick more items in less time by coordinating each picker with a team of robots in a precise, directed workflow. This innovative approach improves throughput and empowers operational decision-making in fulfillment workflows.
Team Intelligence improves throughput by routing robots ahead of pickers, so the right AMR is always where it needs to be when a picker arrives. Using detachable carts with increased cubic capacity allows pickers to handle a wider range of product sizes and up to 300% more volume; it also boosts pick density and eliminates AMRs wait times. In addition, the ability to decouple AMRs from carts at key points in the operation such as induction and packout allows AMRs to immediately return to supporting the picking operation without waiting for orders to be unloaded or inducted. All these efficiency improvements result in reducing the total number of robots required by up to 30%.
Some of the Zebra customers who are using Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment to increase picking efficiency within their warehouse operations include CTL Global Solutions and Encore Fulfillment. These third-party logistics providers have selected the solution over other companies’ pick-assist fulfillment technology and are deploying it in early 2025.
Powered by AI for sequencing and allocating work, Team Intelligence is designed to improve AMR-assisted picking through intelligently planned order-picking paths. This eliminates the time pickers waste trying to find the right robots and minimizes the time robots spend waiting for pickers to find them. As noted in Zebra’s Warehouse Vision Study, almost 70% of warehouse decision-makers are planning to automate their workflows with the use of collaborative AMRs, and over 88% agree that implementing robotics will help attract and retain skilled workers.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 29, 2025 | Manufacturing IT, Software
I’ve long been interested in the confluence of automation, software, and Lean. I reached out to a few leading Lean practitioners and consultants for the first issue of Automation World in 2003. They responded that Lean is a manual process and any hint that automation or software would be useful was unthinkable.
I convinced a couple that trustable data was essential for Lean and that data coming directly from the automation was trustable. So, I ran a Lean article for issue 1 revisiting the topic at times throughout my 10 years as editor there.
This article from Inductive Automation’s blog came my way the other day. It is a good look at the current state of MES and Lean. I’ll highlight a few topics. Check it out yourself.
Using MES Powered By Ignition To Accelerate Lean Manufacturing Goals by Danny Haskell, NeoMatrix, Inc., guest author.
Staying competitive means manufacturers constantly seek ways to enhance operational efficiency, minimize costs and waste, and maintain the highest standards of product quality. Whether a manufacturer is just beginning to explore manufacturing execution systems (MES) or looking to optimize an existing MES infrastructure, and whether they use Sepasoft’s MES modules for the lean manufacturing software Ignition or build their own custom MES solutions, Ignition MES offers manufacturers a versatile solution to streamline production, improve visibility, and accelerate lean manufacturing initiatives across the factory floor.
Data remains the key
Driven by advancements in Digital Transformation and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, MES solutions enable real-time data integration and enhanced automation, significantly improving production processes and promoting lean manufacturing. Manufacturers adopting MES solutions have reported improvements in operational efficiency of 15-20% and reductions in production lead times of 10-15%.
Haskell identifies some key trends:
- Predictive Maintenance: MES technology helps manufacturers anticipate equipment failures before they occur, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
- Digital Twins: Manufacturers use digital twins to create virtual replicas of manufacturing processes and equipment, enabling manufacturers to simulate and optimize operations without physical testing.
- Reshoring and Local Production: With supply chain disruptions and the need for resilience, some manufacturers are reshoring their operations to reduce the reliance on overseas suppliers and enhance supply chain flexibility.
- Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality: Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives push manufacturers to adopt sustainable practices, such as reducing emissions, using renewable energy, and adopting eco-friendly production processes.
- Industrial Automation and Robotics: Manufacturers integrating robots and AI enable more autonomous and smart manufacturing processes, improving productivity and precision. This trend also extends to collaborative robots (cobots) that work alongside human employees to streamline operations.
- Advanced Data Analytics and AI: Utilizing data analytics and AI to monitor production, improve quality control, and predict maintenance needs is becoming increasingly important to optimize processes and make data-driven decision-making.
- Cloud Computing and IIoT: Adopting cloud solutions and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies, manufacturers can connect machines, systems, and processes for better data sharing and real-time monitoring.
He continues with several specific examples. Check it out for yourself.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 22, 2025 | Manufacturing IT
A blog post from Jennifer Faylor provides information about the update to Ignition 8.1.45. Of course, Ignition 8.3 announced at the Ignition Community Conference in September is about to launch. It’s refreshing to see an update to the current version.
Ignition 8.1.45 delivers a new Perspective pager property, boosted visibility for errors in tag change scripts, a better saving experience in Perspective, and numerous framework updates to improve performance.
New Perspective Pager Property
In Perspective, you can now change the number of rows displayed at runtime in an active client with a new activeOption pager property for table components. We’ve introduced an updateOptionFromProps method (for allowing external writes to the activeOption property to update the pager’s pageSize), along with a syncOption method (for allowing internal writes to the pager’s pageSize to update the activeOption property).
Heightened Visibility Of Tag Scripting Errors
To make it easier to realize when there’s a problem in tag value change scripts, errors in these scripts will now be logged at the info log level once per minute.
Before, after the first error was thrown, subsequent errors would be thrown in at the debug log level (unless a specific logger was in debug mode). This meant you wouldn’t see these errors unless you restarted the tag or turned the tags.eventscripts.dispatcher log to debug.
Now, when a value change script in a tag is faulted, it will throw an error once per minute in the wrapper and Gateway logs when the tag is triggered. And when a Gateway tag change script is faulted, it will throw an error every time the tag is triggered in both the wrapper and Gateway logs.
The increased frequency of logging these errors at the info log level will make it clear when a problem exists so that you can resolve issues efficiently.
Improved Save Operations In Perspective
With 8.1.45, the experience of building in the Perspective designer just got even better. We added the designer system property ignition.perspective.designerSaveTimeout to control how long the designer will wait for the embedded browser frame to return results. The new property’s default timeout period is 60 seconds — three times longer than the previous timeout period.
Additionally, we improved asynchronous handling, so things should feel a little snappier when you’re working in the designer. And we made error messaging more explicit if you encounter issues while waiting for browser resources during a save operation, so that you have a clearer understanding of what’s going on.
These refinements to Perspective’s saving process should help eliminate some stressful moments as you build industrial applications, bringing a little more zen to your workflow.
Other updates include:
- Updated the Ignition Cloud Edition’s bundle of Cirrus Link modules (including MQTT Transmission, Distributor, and Engine modules) to version 4.0.25.
- Upgraded the BACnet4J library to version 6.0.1.
- Upgraded the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version to 17.0.13.
- OPC UA—Updated Milo to version 0.6.15.
- Geolocation functionality in Perspective now also works with the most recent version of multiple desktop browsers, including Google Chrome (versions 126 and above), Microsoft Edge, and Firefox (version 130).
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 16, 2025 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
I have written several times over the past decade about how the Industrial Internet of Things and such hardware advancements as the Edge have blown up the Purdue Pyramid Model of industrial Architecture. Especially as an information model.
Rather than a static hierarchy, information can flow from source to consumer bypassing layers as required.
However, the Purdue Model (and ISA95) certainly do describe different types of functions of a manufacturing enterprise. How these functions are distributed and how they interrelate has undergone subtle changes over the years, yet they remain relevant.
Inductive Automation recently published an article explaining how its Ignition platform fits within the Purdue model. It’s an interesting read. Certainly there remain levels of applicability within the model. It depends upon what you are building.
Check out the article.
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.
