Posts

This article was written for the United Manufacturing Hub in cooperation with Jeremy Theocharis and is based on the presentation given by Jeremy Theocharis at Cloudland 2024. Connecting a USB stick to the “cloud” seems to be a stupid thing to do. Yet, it is something that we must do if we want to increase the efficiency of our world’s production and therefore reduce CO2. Nearly every factory in the world—whether they’re churning out cars, energy, shampoo, or just about anything else—still operates on technology from the 90s....

This video was recorded by me for the United Manufacturing Hub In this first part of the UNS Basics mini series, we introduce the Automation Pyramid as a system to control the plant. We highlight the challenges related to data analytics and present the Unified Namespace as the solution. We also show how the Automation Pyramid connects to the Unified Namespace, according to the United Manufacturing Hub’s philosophy. Finally, we briefly discuss where historical data from the Unified Namespace is saved....

This week at Metal Connect, we, the hosts Denis Gontcharov and Luke van Enkhuizen, had a conversation about digital transformation in the aluminum industry. We delved deeper into Denis’s journey from an aluminum process engineer to a data consultant and the unique challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in this sector. If your current challenge is navigating digital transformation in the aluminum industry, then listen to this episode when you have a moment....

Article written for the United Manufacturing Hub. Why do we need the Unified Namespace if we already have the NAMUR Open Architecture? In this article, we compare the Unified Namespace (UNS) and NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA). First, we highlight that they both extend the traditional automation pyramid to enable industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Second, both architectures outline a highly-reliable IT infrastructure. Third, both architectures are applicable to operate in manufacturing, chemical and pharma, all very conservative industry that are slow to adopt new technical innovations....

In this episode of the Smart Metals Podcast, hosts Dennis Gontcharov and Luke van Enkhuizen explore the challenges and common pitfalls of digitalization in the metals manufacturing sector. They discuss the high failure rate of digital transformation initiatives, the difficulty in transitioning from pilot projects to full-scale implementation, and the absence of comprehensive digital strategies with a focus on data infrastructure and quality. The conversation addresses the misalignment between IT and OT departments, the drawbacks of relying on legacy solutions, and the essential role of a unified data strategy in breaking down operational silos....

Navigating Digital Transformation in Multi-Site Enterprises. Do you struggle with managing digital transformation across multiple factories in different countries? Navigating cultural and technological disparities can be tricky. Let’s explore how enterprise manufacturers can overcome these challenges for successful multi-site deployments. In this episode of the Smart Metals Podcast, hosts Luke van Enkhuizen and Denis Gontcharov delve into the complex world of digital transformation across multi-site enterprises. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of deploying a unified digital strategy either top-down or bottom-up, exploring the pros and cons of each approach....

This video was recorded by me for the United Manufacturing Hub In this tutorial, we guide you through the process of integrating Ignition by Inductive Automation with the United Manufacturing Hub (UMH). The objective is to build an operational dashboard in Ignition that displays real-time MQTT data coming from the UMH, using UMH as a Unified Namespace (UNS). This tutorial requires a running UMH instance, and (at least) the demo version of Ignition by Inductive Automation....

This video was recorded by me for the United Manufacturing Hub In this tutorial, we guide you through the process of building a Grafana dashboard based on the PackML model. We begin with a look at the PackML MQTT simulator, which simulates a real production line using the PackML standard and integrates with MQTT for messaging. Following this, we build a dashboard that can display various machine states (such as Starting, Running, Stopped, etc....

In this debut episode of the Smart Metals Podcasting Show, hosts Luke van Enkhuizen and Denis delve into the world of Industry 4.0, focusing on the critical shift from data science to data engineering within industrial environments. Denis shares his journey from a data scientist to a data engineer, sparked by the challenge of accessing and preparing data for analysis in the metal industry. He highlights the insufficiency of current systems to support the data analytics needed for Industry 4....