Computer convergence & automation

Legacy control platforms still predominantly offer low volume, dedicated microprocessors instead of the latest Atom and Core i5 and i7 Intel processors. They tend to incorporate proprietary attributes in an era of open systems.

While these legacy platforms are now facing pressure from more advanced technologies, these platforms are still in wide use, even on new-build equipment. These limitations are unnecessary in light of available converged technologies.

Everything in an industrial control system used to be purpose-built. It was felt that for motion networks to be reliable on the factory floor, they needed to use special purpose fibre optic networks, but now most use Cat 5 Ethernet cables. There were even vendor-specific "flavours” of long-standing industrial standards such as RS-232 and RS-485 serial communications. PLCs were somehow considered different from industrial PCs, which today sport the same real-time operating systems and IEC 61131-3 compliant programming as purpose-built PLCs or PACs.

As the control platform transitions to an industrial PC, virtually any standard computer programming language can be supported. Users will not typically need to access code for troubleshooting, recipe changes or process optimisation. And the computing industry’s volumes are an order of magnitude higher than industrial control, so this is where the basic R&D into new technologies is cost-justified.

Communications between machine controllers, robots, vision systems and other third party devices typically account for 30% of the control software - this is often duplicated by each machine builder, even though they are using the same third party device suppliers. Integrated control reduces the proliferation of discrete controllers on a machine, using one powerful state-of-the-art machine controller instead. Today, an IEC compliant function block may be all the interface required to do the processing on a centralised, Intel powered machine controller.

The internet sets new standards by which we define control and communication architectures. We use on-board web servers, internet connections and VNCs (virtual network communications) to diagnose issues, as well as to download and upload data to and from remote locations, using intranets and in-plant Wi-Fi connections for recipe management, production data and OEE data acquisition. We are just beginning to apply multi-touch screen technology techniques and exploring how to apply the engaging aspects of video games and HTML5 programming to interact with machine operators. Mobile devices are already robust enough for most for the plant floor.

The Organization for Machine Automation and Control began in automotive manufacturing in 1994. At that time, OMAC stood for Open, Modular Architecture Control. It supported standards and PC-based controls. Since 2010, led by Nestlé and embraced by companies such as Arla Foods, Boeing, John Deere, MillerCoors, PepsiCo, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble.

Once the early adopters start loading animated work instructions into their HMI panels, it will soon become an expectation. It’s that much more effective than even video, and certainly a quantum leap from today’s practice of loading a pdf of the machine manual on the HMI.

This is one of Nestlé’s key initiatives in The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC). They do not want maintenance technicians to manipulate the code written by machine builders for their packaging lines. This will lead to another level of HMI development in which functions that were once viewed as lines of code will now become interactive dashboards that perform the complex tasks behind the scenes.