MACHINE SAFETY: CMTS 2019:

Four danger zones for ENERGY EFFICIENCY: New technologies at the

industrial security. p. 17 Integrated motors offer design flexibility. p. 24 Canadian Manufacturing
Technology Show. p. 20

Your resource for Canada’s industrial automation news AutomationMag.com

PUSH
TO
THE EDGE
New data analytics solutions
suggest manufacturers employ a
hybrid cloud-edge model backed
by a robust data centre. p. 18

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
Vol. 34, No. 7

DEPARTMENTS

4 From the editor

5 Automation upfront
The latest industry news,
deal makers, and movers
and shakers
10 Centre stage
18
Carol Leaman, president,
Axonify

COLUMNS

12 Industry watch
Zero to one
CONTENTS
14 Across the enterprise
COVER STORY
Tackle Industry 4.0 with
edge, fog and cloud
computing 18 Push to the edge
16 Going digital New data analytics solutions suggest manufacturers employ a
SD-WAN and hybrid cloud-edge model backed by a robust data centre
manufacturing: A match By Kristina Urquhart
made in heaven?
20 The future factory
20
17 Machine safety
Industrial security: 4 danger CMTS 2019 highlights new technologies as solutions to the
zones and protections manufacturing skills gap
30 The smart factory By Kristina Urquhart
Research and applications
to guide your digital 22 Power to the process engineer
transformation Practical use of self-service data analytics helps process
engineers to improve operational performance
NEW PRODUCTS By Edwin van Dijk

26 Automation Software 24 Integrated motor 101

26 Material Handling These all-in-one motors offer design flexibility in industrial

16
27 Process Control applications with servo control systems
27 Communications & By Eric Rice
Networking
28 Machine Safety
28 Robotics
29 Motors & Drives

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MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 3

MA_NovDec19_Murr.indd 1 2019-10-16 1:19 PM
 FROM THE EDITOR
BY KRISTINA URQUHART
OVERHEARD Your resource for Canada’s industrial
ON TWITTER automation news
EDITOR
Kristina Urquhart
Patents and people are
@MikeMcCready
kurquhart@annexbusinessmedia.com
I was honoured
Tel: 416-442-5600

pipelines to growth
that I was
approached to PUBLISHER
provide insights Klaus B. Pirker

E
on VR/AR possi- ncouraging innovation in the losers,” Balsillie said. “I think the policy kpirker@annexbusinessmedia.com
Tel: 416-510-6757
bilities for training manufacturing sector was one bodies have recognized that there is a
solutions in @ of the main messages at the market failure.” VICE-PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER
AutomationMag. Canadian Manufacturing Tech- He suggested manufacturers start on Tim Dimopoulos
#VR #AR nology Show (CMTS) earlier this fall. their journey to innovation by devel- tdimopoulos@annexbusinessmedia.com
#VirtualReality Jim Balsillie, chair of the Council of oping knowledge. “Be smart and look MEDIA DESIGNER - TEAM LEAD
#AugmentedReal- Canadian Innovators, delivered a key- for pieces to claim,” he said. “It has to Graham Jeffrey
ity ow.ly/ note at the conference and shared that be part of your cost structure or you’ll gjeffrey@annexbusinessmedia.com
3blY50wH9wX only two per cent of SMEs in Canada always be squeezed on margins.” (Search ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
hold a patent. “I think this is a place
SMART AUTOMATION:
Canadian companies equip
manufacturers with IoT and AI
CENTRE STAGE:
Rittal Canada president Tim Rourke talks
CYBERSECURITY:
Where are your industrial
operations vulnerable? p.20
“funding” on automationmag.com for a Debbie Smith
for policy,” he said. “That two per cent list of available manufacturing grants.)
solutions. p.18 Industry 4.0. p.10

dsmith@annexbusinessmedia.com
needs to get to 20 per cent, fast.”
Your resource for Canada’s industrial automation news AutomationMag.com
Another thing to remember is that Tel: 416-442-5600 ext 3221
Balsillie discussed the shift from innovative ideas don’t always come CIRCULATION MANAGER
tangible assets (such as plants and from the top floor. Manufacturing Urszula Grzyb
THE
FUTURE OF
equipment) to intangible assets (such as AUTOMATION’s own columnist, Paul ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com
TRAINING
OCTOBER 2019

the Internet of Things and complex data

PM 40065710

Virtual and augmented reality headsets are

improving skill retention, optimizing workflows
Hogendoorn of FreePoint Technolo- Tel: 416-442-5600 ext 3537
analytics systems). He noted that today, gies, gave a talk at CMTS on engaging
and prioritizing safety. p. 16

We Speak Automation & Control PRESIDENT & CEO

intangible assets comprise 91 per cent of machine operators for not only better
alliedelec.com

MA_Allied Electronics _Sept19_CSA.indd 1 2019-08-15 4:09 PM

Mike Fredericks
@HumeraMalikHM the market value for the S&P 500. equipment performance, but also
COO
The combination “The basis of wealth [in the global workforce performance. “Industry 4.0
Scott Jamieson
of connected marketplace] is driven by control of data can help us get there but we can’t forget sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
sensors and AI and control of intellectual property,” about the people,” he said.
is providing new shared Balsillie. He said that Canadian The first step is to mitigate risk so you CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Jonathan Gross, Paul Hogendoorn, Marc Laliberte,
ways for humans SMEs holding formal intellectual prop- can see where there are opportunities Eric Rice, Jennifer Rideout, Edwin van Dijk
and machines erty (IP) are three times more likely to for improvement or innovation. One of
to interact in the have expanded domestically and four the easiest and most low-cost ways is Manufacturing Automation is published seven
pursuit of oper- times more likely to have expanded by collecting data from your machines times a year by:
ational excellence. internationally. “Simply put, if you have to figure out where you stand. “Get Annex Business Media
111 Gordon Baker Rd.,
Read some of my IP, you do much better,” he said. yourself an empirical baseline now,” Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M2H 3R1
thoughts via @ After the keynote, Balsillie held Hogendoorn advised. Tel: 416-442-5600
AutomationMag a conversation with Peter Cowan, Any machine can be connected to the Fax: 416-442-2191
pos.li/2diwk0 co-founder of strategy advisory firm cloud. For example, FreePoint brought Printed in Canada ISSN 1480-2996
Northworks IP and head of the Inno- a client’s machine from 1928 online and Publication Mail Agreement #40065710
@RittalCA vation Asset Collective. The non-profit began collecting data to show where CIRCULATION
Tim Rourke, “patent collective” is receiving $30 downtime was occurring. The compa- email: lmalicdem@annexbusinessmedia.com
president, million from the federal government ny saw 12 to 15 per cent improvement Tel: 416-510-5187
Fax: 416-510-6875
#Rittal, discusses to help SMEs in the clean technology just by making that data visible to the Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400,
the trends in sector to expand their businesses. The operators, who became more engaged Toronto, ON, M2H 3R1
#manufacturing Canadian Council of Innovators has in wanting to troubleshoot if something SUBSCRIPTION RATES
[to] #automation partnered with Innovation Asset Col- went wrong, and in suggesting changes Canada — $43 per year
& #digitization! @ lective to develop a national IP strategy to be made based on the analytics. “The United States — $75.50 (US) per year
Foreign — $86 (US) per year
AutomationMag focused on boosting awareness and best way to engage your operators is to Students — $20.50 per year
bit.ly/2OSKOpz education among business owners. listen to them,” said Hogendoorn.
ANNEX PRIVACY OFFICER
“This shift [toward IP] is happening For more coverage from CMTS, turn email: privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com
@TrilliumMfg and it’s separating the winners from the to p. 20. |  MA Tel: 800-668-2374
@AutomationMag Occasionally, Manufacturing Automation will mail
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© 2019 by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. and may not
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available #funding AL DIGGINS, Chairman of the Board, Treasurer and General Manager, Excellence in be reproduced in whole or part without written consent.
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#manufacturers. DON MCCRUDDEN, Vice-President, Business Development, Festo reliance upon information in this publication.
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bit.ly/2kTb5Hw BILL VALEDIS, Vice-President, Precision Training, Products and Services Inc.

4 @AutomationMag
 AUTOMATION UPFRONT

NEW DIGS inventory continues to increase.

Weidmuller Canada
unveils new warehouse
at renovated HQ
After completing two years of
renovations that increased ware-
house efficiencies and updated its
office space, Weidmuller Canada
hosted a grand re-opening event
on September 17.
The company hosted a tour,
lunch and “cord-connecting”
ceremony at its 30,000-square-
The company has also expanded
its value-added services division,
which emphasizes its ability to
deliver complete rail assemblies.
Engineering software and tools
are free for customers to use so
that they can plan their applica- The cord-connecting ceremony at Weidmuller Canada’s reopening.
tion. The company will pre-wire
rail assemblies and can produce for an application arrives ready to As an automation specialist, the
custom component kits, so that a go for the customer, with only one company also offers design and
box containing everything needed part number. wiring of customer setups.
| EK11-17USA |

foot facility near the intersection

of highways 7 and 404, north of
Toronto. Simple, scalable
energy efficiency
Javi Richmond, who joined
Weidmuller Canada as managing
director in 2018, Terry Hodgson,
executive vice-president of Weid- EtherCAT Terminals for energy management
muller North America, and Dr.
Timo Berger, chief sales officer of
the Germany-based Weidmüller
Group, were present.
Hodgson indicated the com-
pany is not only working on
strategies that are tailored to the
North American market, but also
will begin to manufacture products
specific to the market. “Tradition-
ally it’s been something where we
make the best of what we had,” he
said. “And now our job is to create
solutions that our customers are
looking for.”
An outpost of industrial connec-
tivity manufacturer Weidmüller
Group, Weidmuller Canada was
founded in 1975 close to its current Maintenance Power measurement Power monitoring
building, which it has owned since
1986. The space has been renovat-
ed twice before; this time, the team
www.beckhoff.ca/power-measurement-terminals
freshened up the office space with Efficient energy management in manufacturing environments and in power utilities creates the most diverse
standing desks, flex workspace, demands, from pure mains monitoring and process control to high-end power monitoring. The new cost-effective
EtherCAT Terminals optimize process control and enable efficient energy management in a standard I/O system.
LED lighting and orange paint,
Weidmuller’s brand colour. Maintenance
In the 12,000-square-foot EL3423: 3-phase power measurement, Economy
warehouse, additional LEDs and EL3483: 3-phase mains monitoring terminal for voltage, frequency and phase
skylights make for a brighter
Power measurement
PHOTO: MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

environment. With over 13,000 EL3443: 3-phase power measurement

SKUs available to ship to distri- EL3453: 3-phase power measurement up to 690 V AC
bution partners across Canada,
optimizing the central warehouse Power monitoring
flow was a key driver of this most EL3773: Power monitoring, oversampling 100 µs
EL3783: Power monitoring, oversampling 50 µs
recent renovation. Fast-moving
inventory was moved closer to
the packing area, and Weidmuller
Canada is considering adding a
third warehouse shift overnight as
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 5
MA_NovDec19_Beckhoff.indd 1 2019-10-09 11:13 AM
 AUTOMATION UPFRONT

ROBOTICS supply in 2018. After a very strong

year in 2017 that saw a 21 per cent
Report: Global robot increase of installations, this
investment reaches level was maintained and slightly
US$16.5 billion increased by two per cent in 2018.
Investments in new car produc-
The global robot investment tion capacities and in moderniz-
reached a record US $16.5 billion ation have driven the demand
in 2018, according to the new for robots. Using new materials,
World Robotics report released developing energy efficient drive
by the International Federation systems and high competition in
of Robotics (IFR). all major car markets pushed for
A total of 422,000 units were investments. Seventy-nine per
shipped globally in 2018 – an cent of industrial robot installa-
increase of six per cent compared tions took place in five key mar-
to the previous year. IFR forecasts A total of 422,000 robots shipped worldwide in 2018, says the IFR. kets: China (39,351 units), Japan
shipments in 2019 will recede (17,346 units), Germany (15,673
from the record level in 2018, but units), the United States (15,246
expects an average growth of 12 per the International Federation of outlook shows that the ongoing units) and the Republic of Korea
cent per year from 2020 to 2022. Robotics. “The US-China trade automation trend and continued (11,034 units).
“We saw a dynamic per- conflict imposes uncertainty to technical improvements will re-
formance in 2018 with a new the global economy – customers sult in double digit growth – with Rethink returns with
sales record, even as the main tend to postpone investments. an estimate of about 584,000 Sawyer update
customers for robots – the auto- But it is exciting, that the mark units in 2022.”
motive and electrical-electronics of 400,000 robot installations Asia is the world’s largest indus- One year after its initial shut-
industry – had a difficult year,” per year has been passed for the trial robot market. In 2018, there tering and subsequent takeover
says Junji Tsuda, president of first time. The IFR’s longer-term was a mixed picture for the three of assets by HAHN Group,
largest Asian markets: Installa- Rethink Robotics presents a new
tions in China and the Republic update to its collaborative robot
of Korea declined, while Japan (cobot).
increased considerably. The Sawyer BLACK edition is
In total, Asia grew by one per now quieter, with more reliable
cent. Robot installations in the components and higher quality
second largest market, Europe, than initial versions of Sawyer,
increased by 14 per cent and which had previously struggled
reached a new peak for the sixth in the industrial market. Accord-
year in a row. ing to The Robot Report, the first
In the Americas, the growth version of the robot used series
rate reached 20 per cent more elastic actuators that presented
For Material Handling, than the year before which also
marks a new record level for the
problems with accuracy, and this
latest version is expected to fix
we’ve got your motion feedback solution sixth year in a row. the problem.
Robot installations in the Tasks that are dangerous
From raw material to finished product, EPC’s encoders United States increased for the for humans are, among others,
provide motion feedback in all kinds of material handling eighth year in a row to a new possible applications for the new
applications, including – but certainly not limited to: peak in 2018 and reached about Sawyer BLACK. Some of these
Cranes · Conveyors · Gantries · Lifts · Palletizers · 40,300 units. This is 22 per cent include CNC machine assembly,
Motor Speed Feedback higher than in 2017. Since 2010, circuit board assembly, metal
the driver of the growth in all processing, injection mould-
Call us today. manufacturing industries in the ing, packaging, loading and
We’ll help you find your motion feedback solution. U.S. has been the ongoing trend to unloading, as well as tests and
automate production in order to inspections. The cobot solution
Standard lead time just 4-6 business days strengthen the U.S. industries in is ready for use immediately after
Same day shipping on many models both domestic and global markets. delivery and is equipped with the
Regarding annual installations, powerful Intera software that de-
the country has taken third pos- livers user-friendly programming
ition from the Republic of Korea. and data insights, along with two
encoder.com The automotive industry camera systems.
1-800-366-5412 remains the largest adopter of The HAHN Group announced
robots globally with a share of it would continue work on the
almost 30 per cent of the total Sawyer cobot this past spring at
6 @AutomationMag November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
191017_ManAuto_MaterialHandling.indd 1 10/10/2019 9:10:27 AM
MA_NovDec19_Encoder.indd 1 2019-10-10 1:06 PM
the Automate 2019 fair.
Going forward, Rethink Robot-
ics GmbH plans to expand Saw-
yer into an entire robot family,
including models with a higher
load capacity as well as simpler
models with less equipment.
Service robots will complete the
portfolio in the future.
SAFETY
Fatal fall results in
$400K fine for cement
company
Lafarge Canada has been fined
$400,000 after pleading guilty
to an offence involving a worker
injury that resulted in death.
Following a guilty plea, the
company was fined $400,000 in
Woodstock court by Justice of the
Peace Michael A. Cuthbertson.
The court also imposed a 25-per-
cent victim fine surcharge to a
special provincial government
fund to assist victims of crime.
On August 23, 2017, a worker
was leading contractors on a
tour of a closed plant that had
ceased cement production and
mining operations in 2008. The
purpose of the tour was about the
potential demolition of one of the
decommissioned kiln buildings.
The worker took the con-
tractors to the upper level of the
kiln buildings onto an exterior
walkway. A corroded section of
the walkway collapsed and the
worker fell nearly 30 feet to the
ground below. The worker later
died from the injuries.
The walkway had corroded
to the point where it was struc-
turally unsound. It had not been
braced or shored up to prevent
collapse, and there were no ad-
equate barriers, locks, or other
safeguards to prevent access to
the kilns or walkways.
The court found that Lafarge
Canada failed as an employer to
ensure that the measures and
procedures prescribed in section
72 of Ontario Regulation 851
(the Industrial Establishments
Regulation) were carried out at
the workplace.
Lafarge Canada Inc. has been
convicted and fined for contra-
ventions of the Occupational
Health and Safety Act in 2003,
2007, 2010 and 2017. Three of
the four convictions were related
to the deaths of workers.
TRAINING
Industry’s first
recognized CAM
certification program
The National Institute for
Metalworking Skills (NIMS) has
launched the first-ever indus-
try-recognized Computer Aided
Manufacturing (CAM) Creden-
tials (CAM Milling Level 1 and
CAM Turning Level 1) program.
The credentials are sponsored
by Autodesk, encompassing 3D
design, engineering and enter-
tainment software, and based
on the rigorous CAM standards
developed over the course of a
multi-year intensive nationwide
validation process.
In 2015, more than 125 subject
matter experts from companies
such as Autodesk, Mastercam,
Rosenberger North America,
Barefoot CNC, and many others,
came together to define the com-
petencies and skills expected by
industry for entry-level CAM
positions.
Building on these standards,
NIMS in partnership with
Autodesk continued the advance-
ment of CAM training programs by
developing an industry credential
for educating and training entry-
level CAM programmers. Industry
leaders in CAM/CNC participated
in technical work groups to
provide their expertise to write a

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MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 7
Visit our website for downloadable data sheets,
MA_June_CarloGavazzi.indd 1 2019-05-15 12:37 PM
comprehensive theoretical exam
and create a performance-valid-
ating project. The development
process concluded with a rigorous
beta testing process before NIMS
released the credential offering to
the public.
TRIBUTE
Moore Industries
founder dies at 85
Leonard W. Moore (Len),
founder and owner of Moore
Industries-International.
Leonard W. Moore (Len), founder
and owner of Moore Indus-
tries-International, passed away on
September 6, 2019 at the age of 85.
The automation control com-
pany serves a variety of industries
such as chemical, pulp and paper,
food and beverage, and industrial
machinery and equipment.
Moore was born November 26,
1933 in Hazelton, Iowa. At the age
of 16 he graduated high school and
then attended Iowa State Univer-
sity, where he obtained a BS in
Electrical Engineering.
After graduating college, Moore
entered the Army in 1953 as a
weapons guidance specialist and
spent time at Fort Sill, OK and
Fort Bliss, TX. He then trained
and taught soldiers how to operate,
calibrate and repair various guid-
ance and artillery weapon systems.
This was when Moore realized he
had a passion for instruments and
control circuits.
In 1968 he founded Moore
Industries-International, Inc. in
North Hills, California. Beginning
8 @AutomationMag
with one instrument, the SCT
Signal Converter and Isolator,
Moore and his “troops” (the term
that he used for the company’s
employees) went on to design,
build and support more than 225
different products that isolate,
protect, convert, alarm, monitor,
control and interface with any
industrial or automation control
and monitoring system.
The company continues to
manufacture 100 per cent of its
products at this U.S. location,
something Moore insisted upon.
With two acquisitions, more than
19 industry-associated patents,
200 employees and remote
offices located in the United
Kingdom, The Netherlands, Bel-
gium, Australia and China, the
company continues to engineer,
design, manufacture and support
existing and new products for
worldwide process control and
automation customers.
DEAL MAKERS
Motion Canada
acquires The Fluid
Power House
Motion Canada has acquired On-
tario-based fluid power distributor
The Fluid Power House (FPH).
The transaction took place on
October 1, 2019. Motion Canada
is a division of Motion Industries,
which is a subsidiary of Genuine
Parts Company.
FPH is an engineering-focused,
full-service fluid power distributor
supplying hydraulic systems and
solutions. With approximately
40 employees in four locations in
Ontario, FPH serves a number of
industries: mobile applications,
factory automation, industrial
machinery applications and
renewable energy. For 2019, FPH
is projecting annual sales of more
than $21 million.
“This partnership is a com-
petitive advantage for us, and
aligns with our profitable growth
strategy that builds upon our core
capabilities – in this case, around
our Motion Canada Services offer-
ing,” says Dermot Strong, president
of Motion Canada. “We already
provide fluid power services,
and with this acquisition we can
deliver a more comprehensive and
national approach to fluid power
solutions and product delivery for
all of our customers.”
With annual sales of $600 mil-
lion, Motion Canada is an indus-
trial parts distributor of bearings,
mechanical power transmission,
electrical and industrial auto-
mation, hydraulic and industrial
hose, hydraulic and pneumatic
components, industrial and safety
products, and material handling.
With over 50 locations and
two distribution centres, Motion
Canada serves more than 160,000
customers from the food and bever-
age, pulp and paper, iron and steel,
chemical, mining and aggregate,
petrochemical, automotive, wood
and pharmaceutical industries.
Allied to distribute
Martin Sprocket & Gear
Allied Electronics & Automation
has signed a distribution agree-
ment with Martin Sprocket &
Gear, manufacturer of roller
chain sprockets, in-demand
power transmission compon-
ents, bulk material handling
products, industrial hand tools
and heavy-duty conveyor pulleys.
“Allied is excited to add this
industry leader to our product
portfolio,” says Will Morris,
product portfolio manager of
Allied. “With its diverse offering,
Martin Sprocket & Gear products
complement our portfolio depth
of motors, actuators, HVAC
products and encoders for busy
industrial automation facilities.”
The major industries Martin
Sprocket & Gear serves include
oil and gas, mining and aggre-
gate, packaging and food and
beverage. The company is head-
quartered in Arlington, Texas,
and has locations in the U.S. and
Canada.
Allied Electronics & Auto-
mation is an authorized dis-
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November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Excellence in Manufacturing
Consortium (EMC), a not-
for-profit consortium serving
and supporting Canada’s
manufacturing industry, has
appointed a new president.
Jean-Pierre (JP) Giroux, EMC’s
former national director of skills
and talent development, took
over from Shawn Casemore
as president, effective as of
October 8, 2019. “With 20 years
of experience working for the
manufacturing industry coast to
coast, JP’s expertise, network
and energy will be at the centre
of shaping the future direction of
EMC,” says Al Diggins, chairman
of the EMC board. Giroux says,
“This has been an easy choice
for me to make this shift in my
career as I am surrounded by a
fantastic organization of great
people and highly engaged and
caring members.” Casemore will
continue to be an active member
of the EMC team, and provide
management support with the
organization’s various programs
and projects to ensure a smooth
transition for EMC members.
Tempo
Automation, a San
Francisco–based
manufacturer
for prototyping
and low-volume
production of
Joy Weiss printed circuit
board assemblies (PCBA), has
appointed Joy Weiss as its
president and chief executive
officer. Weiss is one of Tempo’s
earliest investors and its first
outside advisor, serving on the
Tempo board of directors since
December 2015. Most recently,
she served as vice-president at
Analog Devices, where she was
responsible for the data centre
and IoT businesses. She previously
served as CEO of Dust Networks,
which was acquired by Linear
Technology, and as CEO at Inviso.
She began her career at Nortel
Networks, where she rose to the
position of president and GM
of the network management
division. “I am honoured and
excited to lead Tempo as we
continue to enable a major
acceleration in the pace of
hardware innovation,” says Weiss.
Jeff McAlvay, Tempo’s founding
CEO, is now Tempo’s chief
process officer.
Rockwell
Automation has
promoted Ernest
Nicolas, its former
vice-president,
global supply
chain, to senior
Ernest Nicolas vice-president,
operations and engineering
services (OES). Mike Laszkiewicz,
outgoing senior vice-president,
operations and engineering
services, has announced his
intent to retire effective January
31, 2020. Nicolas will report to
Blake Moret, chairman and CEO
of Rockwell Automation. Nicolas
will have global leadership
accountability for the six
functions in OES that include
global supply chain, quality
and continuous improvement,
engineering services,
manufacturing operations and
workplace services. Nicolas
will lead more than 9,500 OES
employees and contractors and
19 manufacturing plants globally.
“Ernest is precisely the kind of
leader I want to accelerate our
growth. Ernest brings a wealth
of manufacturing and supply
chain leadership experience,
and a passion for people,
with genuine care for team
success,” says Moret. “I value
his thoughtful and strategic
counsel.” Nicolas joined
Rockwell Automation in 2006
as a Lean, Six Sigma project
manager and has held several
roles within the OES functions,
including vice-president, global
supply chain and plant manager
of the Twinsburg operations.
Z-AXIS, an
electronic design
and contract
manufacturing
services provider,
has hired tech
industry veteran
Chuck McFee
Chuck McFee
as sales manager for the U.S.
and Canada to lead the sales
team and focus on business
development. McFee brings
more than 30 years of experience
in technical sales, market
development, marketing and
management for manufacturers
of high-tech instrumentation
and process control systems
including Sydor Technologies,
QED, Zygo, Honeywell/Measurex
and GE Power. McFee has BS
in mechanical engineering
and holds one U.S. patent.
He is co-author of several
contributions to the Review
of Scientific Instruments, the
Journal of Physics and SPIE (The
International Society for Optical
Engineering) conferences.
Lutze,
manufacturer of
industrial wire
and cable and
control products,
has named Brad
Meeks as its
Brad Meeks director of sales
for North America. Meeks is a
seasoned leader with more than
25-years of sales and channel
management experience in the
cable and electrical markets. He
will be responsible for overseeing
the sales strategy within the Lutze
business, which includes the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico. Meeks will
also focus on developing culture
to drive strategic initiatives of the
organization. Meeks previously
worked for NAI Group, Eaton
Corporation, Belden and Alpha
Wire. Meeks will be based in
Charlotte, NC. |  MA

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MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 9
MA_Nov19_Wago.indd 1 2019-10-16 1:42 PM
CENTRE STAGE
CAROL LEAMAN, president and CEO of Axonify – a Waterloo,
Ontario-based online training platform that deploys “micro-
learning” via AI – discusses how manufacturers can face the skills
gap by doling out knowledge to workers, one minute at a time
Manufacturing AUTOMATION:
What gap were you filling in the
market with Axonify?
Carol Leaman: We had an
initial customer who was
looking to dramatically change
some business results from
what employees were doing on
the job.
The employees would get
out in the field and they would
do a whole bunch of things
incorrectly, and it wasn’t until
those things were very visible
that they realized the extent
of the loss. The client was
looking for a way to change
behaviour quickly and be able to
tie that behaviour change to a
measureable business outcome.
So we conceived of this idea
that went 100 per cent against
the way people were typically
being trained in corporate
enterprise, then we worked with
that customer to roll it out. It
worked to change behaviour
and to get a business outcome
for them, and we used that initial
use case to then expand in many
areas [including at Cambridge,
Ontario manufacturer Precision
Resource. For more on how
Precision is using the platform,
visit automationmag.com.]
MA: What is the driving force
behind the platform?
CL: It was this idea that corporate
training is broken. The way we
do it in corporate enterprise
doesn’t make anybody remember
anything. People are human and
they do their best but when they
don’t remember, they guess –
and when you guess at things,
you often will do them wrong, or
you won’t do them at all. Both of
those things result in an employer
not maximizing their revenue
potential or profit potential.
We’ve locked on a system that
does, in fact, create memory
very quickly, which changes the
10 @AutomationMag
behaviour of the individual very
quickly, and we can tie what they
know and don’t know to the
specific business objective the
company is trying to achieve with
knowledge.
MA: How does Axonify work?
CL: Instead of one long
form, a boring classroom or
online sessions – which are
basically the ways people get
trained – we decided that we
would do something that was
really fun, fast and personalized
to each individual based on
their demonstrated levels of
knowledge in each topic area.
With Axonify, we built a
really robust learning platform
and algorithm that delivers a
three- to five-minute-a-day
experience of learning (“micro-
learning”) that involves some
gamification –like competitions
with your co-workers – and it
targets key pieces of knowledge
to each individual every single
day that are potentially different
based on how they perform on
the platform.
We built in cognitive science
capabilities to ensure that [the
platform] maps to how the
brain works best to remember
information.
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
MA: Can you give an example of
how this training might be used
in the manufacturing space?
CL: If you have a new
employee, you can enrol
them in all of the foundational
training that they need to have
before you send them out on
the job. If somebody’s doing
something dangerous, you can’t
just go, “Oh you’re going to
learn three minutes a day for
the next month.” So they do the
foundational stuff first, and then
immediately get enrolled in all
of the reinforcement modules.
It’s that reinforcement that is
critical to memory creation,
long-term retention and the
behaviour change.
MA: How does the platform use
artificial intelligence to tailor
training?
CL: Every single day, we collect
millions of data points that come
from what everybody is doing
on the platform. The content
the user sees has very granular
levels. We ask questions so we
know specifically what they
know and don’t know. We also
know who they are, what job
they have, how long they’ve
been enrolled in that topic, how
long it took them to answer
a question, how many times
they’ve seen that question, and
if they’ve gotten it right five
times or wrong 10 times. If you
collect 10 data points a day from
500 people, you’ve got 5,000
data points a day. Over a very
short period of time, you end up
with hundreds of thousands of
data points. Then we marry the
business outcomes.
Let’s say that you’re trying
to reduce a particular kind of
safety incident with a forklift that
PHOTO: AXONIFY
for some reason continues to
happen in your manufacturing
facility. We track the actual forklift
accident, when it happened, what
type of accident it is – and then,
using the machine learning and
AI, we look back automatically at
who knew what in that topic area.
We can then help our customers
predict what their needs
are – for example, if you don’t
have enough people who know
enough about forklift safety.
Or if something is wrong in the
content that you’re delivering
around this topic area because it’s
not mitigating those accidents.
We have had customers who
find they are not actually training
on the right things that are tied
to that business result. Then
resistance with employees or MA: Why should manufacturers the needs of the modern
even with managers in plants be evaluating their current workforce, and also allowing
saying you can’t expect some- methods of training? those manufacturers to compete
body to spend three minutes in CL: With the global landscape, by providing them with skilled
a shift doing something like this, it is so incredibly important for people. With the skills shortage
playing a game and answering manufacturers to be able to being what it is, employers need
questions. It’s a leap of faith that compete effectively. They incur to be thinking about how to
this is an effective way to learn so much cost that results from continuously train so that they
things. Once they get on the lack of knowledge on the part don’t fall behind and they don’t
train and see the impact of it, we of their workforce. Fortunately, lose people. |  MA
see that mindset shift, but there advancements in technology This interview has been condensed and
can be initial resistance. and brain science are addressing edited.
We understand the challenge of finding the right balance between plant
e�ciency and compliance with industry standards and legal requirements.

OBSERVE
they have to go back to rewrite
the questions, because they’ve
realized that the questions they’re

+ CONSERVE
asking and the training they’re
giving is not effective.
Supervisors can see where
[employees] are really struggling
and then can address it. In some
cases, people are guessing
at questions and not actually You meet your e�ciency goals and reduce costs
learning anything, or in other without compromising on water quality.
cases the content is just really
poor and it’s not well worded.
There all kinds of things we can
expose that manufacturers can
take corrective action around.

MA: Would giving supervisors

that level of information be
concerning for the workers?
CL: We have not had a single
customer that we’re aware of
use it in any kind of punitive way.
They genuinely want their people
to be safer and more efficient and
effective on the job. Improve your processes with our comprehensive portfolio of measuring instruments:

MA: What are the biggest

challenges in developing
training solutions for
manufacturers?
CL: There are several challenges.
One is sometimes just access
Turbimax CUS52D: Memograph M RSG45: Field Xpert SMT70:
to training. There are many Digital sensor for inline Advanced data manager Smart tablet PC is your
manufacturers who don’t allow measurement enables exact takes compliant, safe and companion for easy device
cell phone use on the shop water-quality monitoring secure operations control configuration and mobile
floor, or don’t have advanced at lowest turbidities. to a higher level. plant asset management.
machines that are Wi-Fi or
web-enabled [the app requires
an internet connection].
The other one is that it is a Do you want to learn more?
www.ca.endress.com/water-wastewater
completely different way and
mindset to train people, so
sometimes you find pockets of
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 11
MA_NovDec19_EndressHauser.indd 1 2019-10-21 9:59 AM
 INDUSTRY WATCH Paul Hogendoorn co-founded FreePoint Technologies seven years
ago with the goal of giving manufacturers the benefit of information
BY PAUL HOGENDOORN technologies that inform, empower and motivate their most critical
asset – their people. He can be reached at paul.hogendoorn@
getfreepoint.com or getfreepoint.com.

Zero to one

T
he hardest thing to do is
often just to get started.
Stepping into the unknown,
or perhaps looking forward
into a big, indeterminate and not
fully defined project, is easy to avoid
doing. As Shawn Casemore, the out-
going president of the Excellence in
Manufacturing Consortium (EMC),
rhetorically asked and answered at this
year’s Advantage Through Excellence
Conference, “How do you eat an ele-
phant? One bite at a time.” Another
wise expression I have often heard is
“Even a journey of 1,000 miles begins
with a first step.” It sounds easy in slo-
gans and sayings, but for many of us,
that first step – or bite – is not.
Let’s shorten the journey to 100
miles and break it into three stages:
zero to one, one to 10, and 10 to 100.
The idea is that the progress of the
journey is logarithmic and not linear,
which reflects the degree of difficulty
at each stage. Whether the journey is
starting a new business, attempting to
innovate the plant, or building a new
sales channel, the 100-mile journey is
the same: zero to one is often the hard-
est stage, but it is the most critical stage.
Why is zero to one so hard? Because it
requires not a leap of faith, but certainly
a few steps of faith, and very few people
in organizations are actually willing,
not to mention able, to take those steps.
That’s why new companies usually start
with one or, at best, just a few people.
The rest “don’t see it,” or see all the
roadblocks or impediments, or don’t
think it’s worth it. In an organization,
the few who believe and are willing to
take that first step have to contend with
the many who see only the roadblocks
or don’t think it’s worth it.
This is why I call this first stage
“launch.” Just like launching a rock-
et, it takes an immense amount of
energy to lift the rocket off the pad
even a few hundred feet, and the
resistance is intense. The resistance
lessens only slowly as small amounts
of momentum are gained, but it takes
the commitment and perseverance of
the few who believe to continue the
motion upward, against the persistent
resistance of gravity.
The second stage, from one to 10,
12 @AutomationMag
happens when the early momentum
makes it possible for a slightly larger
group to believe. As there is now some
growing momentum, there is also less
resistance – but there still is a lot of
resistance. However, now there is a
larger group to help, and some of those
that initially only saw problems and
impediments can now be recruited to
solve them. The key here though is to
recruit the folks that want to solve the
In an problem and get to the third stage and
organization, not those that want to make a career of
the few who being the expert on solving a particular
believe and problem. Vision has to be first, not ca-
are willing to reer. If the wrong people are added at
take that first this point, the initiative will stay stuck
in this stage and never hit the 10 to 100,
step have
or third, stage.
to contend If the vision was right, and the trajec-
with the tory correct, the rocket will accelerate
many who rapidly on the momentum gained in the
see only the second stage and will almost certainly
roadblocks hit its target, however lofty they may
or don’t think first have seemed. Getting everyone
it’s worth it. to jump onboard at this point (third
stage) will not be a problem, since the
objective is in sight and the course is
clear. At this point it’s a matter of scale
and continued propulsion. Since there
is far less resistance, the same amount
of energy applied can take you a lot
further and a lot faster.
Although getting to the third stage
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
is the goal, and getting the right people
involved in the critical one to 10 stage
is often the difference between success
and failure, the zero to one step is
where the vision is first formed and
where motion is first experienced.
One of the first lessons I learned as a
boater is that the boat can’t be steered
unless it is in motion. Unless there’s
water going past the rudder, the course
cannot be altered. First motion is key.
What happens after that then becomes
equally important.
In our manufacturing companies
today, there are a lot of companies
contemplating things like “Industry
4.0” and “smart factories,” thinking
they have to accurately predict and
plan their way from zero all the way to
100, and not knowing even where to
start. To them I’d suggest to simply start
with zero to one – find a simple project
and an early champion (or better yet,
champion it yourself), and take that
first step. Then after achieving first
motion, be careful who gets recruited
to help solve the first problems, choos-
ing people that are focused on the
third-stage objective over those that are
focused solely on solving second-stage
problems. Choosing wrong at the one
to 10 stage usually means remaining
stuck at that stage, and the critical zero
to one momentum is lost. | MA
CONSISTENTLY MORE EFFICIENT.

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They monitor operational safety and enable predictive maintenance. They solve applications decentralized
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ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE
BY JONATHAN GROSS
Tackle Industry 4.0 with edge, fog
and cloud computing
A
ccording to a 2019 World
Economic Forum and
McKinsey research study,
70 per cent of manufactur-
ers want to implement Industry 4.0
projects to diversify business models,
increase market penetration and im-
prove efficiencies.
However, according to that same
study, only 15 per cent of manufactur-
ers have a responsive strategy in place.
So, why the disconnect?
Because most don’t know where
to start. The idea of using artificially
intelligent and integrated systems
to control your plant and warehouse
sounds daunting and unapproachable,
even scary. Who’s going to architect the
solutions? Implement and maintain
them? Secure them?
If you’ve read one of my previous
articles on the subject, you’ll know that
I advocate a deliberate approach that
breaks down a seemingly impossible
journey into manageable stages. First,
build a strong digital twin base that’s
adaptable to an unknown future state.
Second, implement a proof-of-concept
for an easy win. Third, take a bigger
leap – one that’s capable of delivering
significant value. Fourth, continuously
enhance, optimize and improve.
Here’s a real-world example.
Achieving ROI with
Industry 4.0
My firm works with a manufacturer that
extrudes resins used in a variety of ap-
plications – from highly regulated aero-
space products to sporting equipment.
At its primary production facility,
the company was wasting $350,000
annually because of poor product
quality. The losses included direct
costs of excessive scrap and indirect
costs of suboptimal customer service.
The company was routinely re-run-
ning work orders, causing it to juggle
production schedules and miss its
promised delivery dates. Customers
weren’t happy.
So, we helped our client architect
an environment that would allow it to
detect and react to quality issues much
more quickly. We designed a program
14 @AutomationMag
Jonathan Gross is the managing director at Pemeco Consulting. He helps his clients
architect and implement technology environments that integrate ERP with the edge.
pemeco.com
intended to reduce unplanned scrap
by 80 per cent and improve its perfect
order rate KPI to 90 per cent (a weight-
ed formula that accounts for quality,
lead times and fill rates). And, since
no company is perfect, we designed
a contingency process that provided
customer service personnel with sys-
tematized warnings prompting them
to proactively notify customers as soon
as unanticipated issues are detected.
An integrated edge, fog and
cloud computing architecture
What The technology environment involved
differentiates implementing and interfacing various
these tiers is information technologies (IT) and
the proximity operational technologies (OT) that
of computing include enterprise resource planning
to the data (ERP), a warehouse management sys-
tem (WMS), manufacturing execution
source and
system (MES), laboratory information
whether that management system (LIMS), pro-
computing is grammable logic controllers (PLCs),
centralized. production equipment and artificial
intelligence (AI).
The solution was designed using a
three-tiered architecture that includes
edge computing, fog computing and
cloud computing. What differentiates
these tiers is the proximity of comput-
ing to the data source and whether that
computing is centralized.
Edge computing pushes computing
application, data and services to the
logical extremes of a network and away
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
from centralized nodes. A company
decides to implement edge computing
when it has a need for extremely low
latency, where there are high costs to
transfer the data to the cloud, where
connectivity is an issue, or where com-
pliance demands local processing.
Fog computing is a superset of edge
computing that bridges the continuum
between cloud and edge computing.
There’s still a need for data-dense,
low-latency processing, but there’s also
a need to compute across multiple edge
solutions.
Cloud computing is at the end of
the spectrum opposite edge, where
broadly sourced data is centrally pro-
cessed. Companies move computing to
the cloud when they want centralized
computing horsepower that might
otherwise be too expensive or complex
to set up and manage themselves.
Implementing the three-
tiered architecture
The edge-fog-cloud solution proved to
a perfect fit for our resin manufactur-
ing client.
At the edge, the company leveraged its
existing investments in modern manufac-
turing equipment control systems.
The architecture included a new fog
computing tier that allowed our client
to realize big-time Industry 4.0 bene-
fits by automating, interfacing and
systematizing what were previously
manual, inefficient and costly This three-tiered solution isn’t Industry 4.0 is more LIMS and AI.
processes. our client’s end game. Rather, it’s approachable than you If anywhere, the challenge lies
Previously, shortly after the the foundation for its Industry think in properly architecting, acquir-
start of every work order, an oper- 4.0 program. The company has If you’re among the 15 per cent ing, planning and implementing
ator would run a product sample positioned itself to take advan- of manufacturers that doesn’t the solutions. Though even here,
to the lab to determine whether tage of machine learning innova- yet have an Industry 4.0 strat- the barriers aren’t insurmount-
the extruders were properly set tions that its technology vendors egy in place, don’t let the above able. Increasing numbers of
up to produce product of accept- are routinely releasing. These example scare you. The process companies are pursuing Industry
able tensile strength, melt point, innovations will ultimately drive isn’t as complex as it may seem. 4.0 programs, which means that
colour and a host of other quality further improvements to product The various technology systems you’ll be able to find people with
attributes. If the results were quality, process efficiency and are all commercially available the right expertise to fill whatever
outside of customer specifica- equipment performance. – from control systems, ERP, gaps you have. | MA
tions, machine operators would
manually adjust various process
controls to get the product within
acceptable tolerances.
We designed a system that
closed the loop among the LIMS,
MES and the equipment control
systems using the Internet of
Things (IoT) and application
programming interfaces (APIs).
When lab quality results are
posted, the results are capable of
automatically triggering changes
to equipment process controls
to yield product at appropriate
quality standards – updating
parameters such as flow rates,
temperatures and screw RPMs.
The purpose of this fog comput-
ing solution is to use the powerful
systems for what they’re good at:
quick, powerful data analysis and
efficient process execution. The
automation is far more efficient
and scientific than the previous
human-operator “thumb-in-
the-wind” process of guessing
how much to adjust the process
controls.
ERP, machine learning, and
business intelligence (BI) operat-
ed in the cloud.
ERP would manage all standard
back and front office functions,
master scheduling and MRP.
Bi-directional interfaces were
designed to release warehouse and
production orders from ERP to the
warehouse, laboratory and manu-
facturing systems. Those systems
would close the loop by reporting
actuals back to ERP for inventory,
costing, financial accounting, cus-
tomer service, supply chain and
other purposes.
Business intelligence was struc-
tured to sit atop a data lake into
which data from multiple sources
would flow.
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 15
MA_Nov19_Yaskawa.indd 1 2019-10-16 11:30 AM
 GOING DIGITAL Jennifer Rideout is the manufacturing marketing manager for Cisco
Canada. She is responsible for developing go-to-market strategies for
BY JENNIFER RIDEOUT the manufacturing sector in Canada, including channel alignment and
content development. She can be contacted at jerideou@cisco.com.

SD-WAN and manufacturing: A match made in heaven?

S
D-WAN has been heralded as
the future of networking, a way
for businesses to save money on
traditional networking costs and
add functionality without sacrificing the
quality of their connection or employee
productivity. Which is great, if you know
what SD-WAN is and how it can benefit
your business.
In this, my last column for Manu-
facturing AUTOMATION, let’s dig into
SD-WAN and what it means for your
manufacturing business. But first – let’s
start at the beginning.
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN is an acronym for Soft-
ware-Defined networking in a Wide
Area Network. SD-WAN simplifies
the management and operation of a
WAN by decoupling the networking
hardware from its control mechanism.
Put another way, it is a cloud-first,
software-driven approach to net-
working that routes traffic, maintains
application performance, and adapts
to changing conditions – all without
direct IT oversight.
How is SD-WAN different than
traditional networking?
Traditional WAN design is based on
multiple devices stacked in the branch
office with siloed management and
disparate WAN links connecting them.
Put another way, traditional networks
rely on physical switches and routers,
connected to each other, housed in
multiple locations.
They typically require backhauling
all traffic – including that destined to
the cloud – from branch offices to a
hub or headquarters data centre where
advanced security inspection services
can be applied. The delay caused by
backhaul impairs application per-
formance, resulting in a poor user
experience and lost productivity.
SD-WAN flips this concept on its side,
providing a comprehensive solution that
connects multiple clouds, allowing any
user on the network to connect to any
application, across any cloud, in near
real-time.
Why SD-WAN for
At its heart, manufacturers?
SD-WAN Using the power of software-defined
is about networking, businesses can improve
helping performance and reduce costs, while
businesses staying secure. Because at its heart, SD-
move more WAN is about helping businesses move
more data faster and more securely.
data faster
And let’s face it: manufacturers are
and more no strangers to excessive bandwidth
securely. demands. Most organizations have
multiple locations and juggle hundreds
of employees and customers – each pro-
ducing valuable data, typically feeding
back to one headquarters. Under trad-
itional networks, an overabundance of
this data on an unreliable connection
could cause delays and slow down
production, which could result in lost
revenue. In fact, it’s estimated that 70
per cent of application outages are tied
to networking problems.
So in addition to providing a more
flexible and versatile network solu-
tion, SD-WAN offers the opportunity
to lower costs through centralized
management, security, policy and
visibility. The solution also supports
business growth since bandwidth can
be added as your network expands,
whether you are adding a new satellite
office or a new piece of equipment on
the factory floor.
So everyone is deploying
SD-WAN, right?
Even with so many advantages, many
organizations are hesitant to adopt an
SD-WAN network because of concerns
that security can be compromised
when using cloud solutions.
And to some extent, that’s true.
Lack of unified, end-to-end security
from the branch to multiple clouds
does increase risks to organizations,
and opening the enterprise to cloud
expands the surface of vulnerability
points. So providing the right level of
network access to the right people at
the right points in the network is truly
critical.
If you’re still on the fence about
adopting SD-WAN – or if you haven’t
given it much thought yet – now is a
good time to check out the many advan-
tages the technology can bring to your
manufacturing business. | MA
This is Jennifer Rideout’s last column for
Manufacturing AUTOMATION. MA thanks
Jennifer for her digital insights over the past
several years. Read more at automationmag
.com/topic/opinion/going-digital

16 @AutomationMag November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

 MACHINE SAFETY
BY MARC LALIBERTE
Industrial
security: 4
danger zones
and protections
A
ccording to new research from
IBM, destructive cyberattacks ca-
pable of rendering victim systems
inoperable have doubled in the
past six months, and 50 per cent of affected
organizations are in the manufacturing sec-
tor. Outdated technologies such as printers
and fax machines are known to be possible
weak spots in an organization’s defense, but
hackers are constantly finding new and nasty
ways to infiltrate even the latest and smartest
industrial technologies.
Provisioning reliable security across entire
hyperconnected and increasingly complex
company networks has become a daunting
task for IT teams industry-wide. Here are four
danger zones that hackers are targeting in the
industrial space this year and what IT pros can
do to secure them ASAP.
1) Smarter tools, similar pitfalls. IIoT has
become a dynamic asset for many manu-
facturing facilities. Connected robotics and
other smart technologies are facilitating qual-
ity assurance controls, improving accuracy
and efficiency in inventory monitoring, and
boosting overall operational performance.
Despite all of its benefits, IIoT devices
still face the same pitfalls that threaten the
non-industrial Internet of Things (IoT) prod-
ucts because their design often lacks adequate
security consideration. For cybercriminals,
this presents new and attractive entry points
into victims’ networks.
There are a few things manufacturing com-
panies can do to address these threats. The
first is to partition the network into several
segments (IIoT, guest Wi-Fi, enterprise, and
so on). Not only will this isolate IIoT devices
from other technologies connected to the net-
work, but it can help limit the propagation of
potential cyber attacks. This type of network
segmentation can be performed using unified
threat management (UTM), a firewall that
offers layered security services.
Another useful strategy is to install secure,
cloud-managed Wi-Fi access points that
incorporate wireless intrusion prevention
system (WIPS) technology that can auto-
matically detect and remediate unauthorized
or rogue devices connected to the network.
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019
Marc Laliberte is senior security analyst at WatchGuard Technologies.
2) Threats lurking in the shadows. Shadow
IT is term that describes instances when
employees implement hardware or software
resources within a company without the
knowledge or consent of their organization’s
IT department. It’s an issue that most organiz-
ations face on some level, and one that should
be a major concern for manufacturing com-
panies in particular. Shadow IT implementa-
tions put networks at significantly higher risk
of cyberattacks.
A recent study revealed that companies
actually run between 17 and 20 times more
cloud applications their IT departments esti-
mate. Networks that aren’t fully understood
can’t be adequately secured. IT teams without
comprehensive knowledge of the software
and/or terminals that are active on a given
network will not be able to verify its security.
There are network mapping services that can
help by enabling the IT department to visualize
the network that is behind the firewall – in-
cluding all known equipment – using data from
Nmap scan results and DHCP fingerprinting,
and by analyzing the details of HTTP headers or
applications. This allows IT teams to perform
immediate, corrective action as soon as new or
unknown equipment appears.
3) Intellectual property at risk. Intellectual
property (IP) theft continues to be a major
threat for businesses in the manufacturing
sector. Production and manufacturing process
documentation is extremely high-value data
for industrial companies. Losing precious IP
to competitors or hackers can result in serious
financial and reputational damage. In order
to protect the bottom line and avoid losing
customers, manufacturing organizations need
to make IP security a top priority.
For IT teams at industrial organizations,
deploying a multi-factor authentication
(MFA) solution is an essential step in secur-
ing access to critical network data.
Data loss prevention solutions are another
security protection that can throttle data leak-
age in the industrial sector, keeping breaches
at bay by analyzing text files for any leaks
of sensitive information from the network.
Once detected, the connection is blocked or
quarantined, and the administrator is notified.
4) Workforce woes. The cybersecurity skills
gap is a major issue in IT, and according to
ESG, it’s growing significantly worse each
year. This is particularly concerning for the
manufacturing sector, which relies heavily
on more complex, specialized technologies
than most. Qualified candidates that can
properly manage and secure critical oper-
ational technology (OT) and industrial con-
trol systems (ICS) are scarce. Considering
the growing shortage of cybersecurity skills
and the fact that it can take up to five months
to fill a vacant manufacturing position, the
industrial sector as a whole should prioritize
security solutions that are simple to deploy
and manage to abate the ongoing pressure
to identify, hire and retain highly specialized
and trained cybersecurity personnel.
When it comes to bolstering your overall
security posture, simply securing traditional
networking and computing devices is no
longer sufficient. It’s important to be aware
that modern cybercriminals often wield a
multi-prong approach. As you forge ahead
with your security strategy, strive to simplify
the process. Be sure to prioritize visibility
into your connected devices, scan often and
keep all devices updated regularly. | MA
AutomationMag.com 17
COVER STORY
PUSH TO
THE EDGE
New data analytics solutions suggest
manufacturers employ a hybrid cloud-edge
model backed by a robust data centre
BY KRISTINA URQUHART
T
he world will house
175 trillion gigabytes of
data by 2025, according
to market intelligence
firm IDC, and about
30 per cent of that data
will need to be processed in real time.
The manufacturing industry is the
single biggest producer of enterprise
data in the world, with about 48 per
cent of the global share.
So what are manufacturers doing
with all of that data? Better yet, what
should they be doing?
With the Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT), data is collected by
endpoints such as sensors, PLCs and
actuators that are monitoring machines
for real-time data. Once a machine is
18 @AutomationMag
connected and data begins to accumu-
late, the data needs to go somewhere to
be processed and analyzed.
Edge, cloud, fog: what’s
the difference?
48% One way to do that is by edge comput-
ing, where the computation of data
is taking place close to the source of
IDC says collection. “Edge” refers to the “edge of
manufacturers are the a network” (access points such as rout-
largest producers of ers, gateways, switches, etc.) and its
enterprise data in the
world, accounting for size is relative – it might be one cabinet
48 per cent of the with servers, an entire data centre, or a
global share. “regional” edge, explains Frank Panza,
director of business development for
the secure power division at Schneider
Electric. The defining characteristic
of an edge solution is that it is either
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
close in proximity to its data source, or
to its end users.
“Amazon and Google would view
Canada as an ‘edge’ because they are
servicing the needs here in Canada,
then the data’s being backhauled as
required to their mother ships in the
States and around the world,” he says.
“Their data centre in Toronto or Mont-
real would be considered ‘edge,’ but it
would be a five-, 10- or 20-megawatt
edge – very substantial compared to a
cabinet, which may be 1,000 watts.”
Edge computing is an ideal way
to dive into data analytics because it
offers low latency, reduced bandwidth
use and data privacy. Large volumes of
data can be processed and visualized
in real-time because the data doesn’t
have to travel far from its source, like
it would in a direct-to-cloud scenario.
Physical security can be added around
the actual edge devices, offering further
protection for data.
An edge data centre is much more
than server space – it’s an enabler of
better business decision making. With
edge computing, operators can use

data to monitor the performance
of assets, including temperature,
speed and vibration. As the data
is computed and analyzed at the
edge, the system may recognize,
for example, that temperatures
of a part are increasing, meaning
the part may be due to fail sooner
than expected. Operators can
then schedule maintenance be-
fore failure.
“With cloud, you get latency
issues that – with respect to cloud-
based services – depending on
your process, you may not be able
to live with,” says Tim Rourke,
president of Rittal Canada, which
manufactures cooling, power
supplies and housing for edge
data centres. “So you’ve got to put
something in place that’s going to
be at the actual manufacturing
level at the site – potentially
even right at the machine level
– to be able to calculate and
process the large amount of data
that’s being generated.”
Cloud computing is still very
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019
“You’ve got to put something in place that’s going to be at the
actual manufacturing level at the site – potentially even right at
the machine level – to be able to calculate and process the large
amount of data that’s being generated.”
much an integral part of data
analytics because the cloud can
collect data from numerous
edge sources and process it,
performing logic and high-level
analysis (e.g. big data). The
cloud can also deliver machine
learning and artificial intelli-
gence back down to the edge for
use in predictive analytics, or to
optimize and adjust manufactur-
ing processes. The cloud is also
a data warehouse, with storage
capabilities that far exceed what
may be available locally.
Fog computing acts as a middle
ground between the edge and the
cloud, where a local network of
“fog nodes” can manage trans-
mission of data, distribute and
orchestrate resources across net-
works, perform data analysis and
reduction, and control responses.
Many analytics solutions now
offer a combination of edge, fog
and cloud layers (for more on
how the three tiers can be used in
practice, turn to p. 12). No matter
how big or small the solution,
incorporating edge computing
means that an edge data centre of
some sort will be required.
“Manufacturers are increasing
their automation and the amount
of equipment that they’re trying
to monitor, capture data from
and control,” says Rourke, who
notes that Rittal’s edge data centre
business is up over 50 per cent of
where it was last year. “They’ve
gone from not really having a
requirement for an edge data
centre to now. And they’re not
really certain how to build the
infrastructure to support it.”
Components of an
edge data centre
An edge data centre can be as
small as a single cabinet on the
shop floor or as large as multiple
cabinets in a dedicated room.
Servers and networking equip-
ment are housed in the cabinets.
Along with storage, data centres
require power and an overarching
network. A setup like this can pro-
duce considerable heat, so cooling
solutions ranging from manual
fans for low-density solutions to
liquid cooling units for medium-
and high-density solutions are
required, as is power distribution.
With modern networking, data
centres can be placed anywhere.
“[It] could be in the middle of
your plant floor. It could be in
a basement mechanical room
that you no longer require,” says
Rourke. “We can put solutions in
non-traditional spaces.”
Virtually any machine – new
or legacy – can be connected via
sensors and other endpoints to
transmit data to the edge. “As long
as the device can be connected
to a gateway of some sort, either
through a network interface card,
or some other type of protocol, we
will be able to access and collect
the data, and then start doing
some analysis of the data,” says
Panza. “Connectivity is becoming
less and less of an obstacle unless
you’re talking about something
that’s 30 or 40 years old. And even
then, you probably have some
way of connecting to a gateway
through a physical interface or an
Ethernet cable.”
Powering edge solutions for
manufacturing requires some
specific considerations. An un-
interruptible power supply affords
power continuity similar to what
you might find on your produc-
tion line equipment – without it,
an edge centre would be rendered
useless in a blackout or brownout.
Since each data centre is
customized to a manufacturer’s
specific needs, price ranges vary.
A single cabinet with basic cool-
ing and power is around $5,000.
Rourke says that depending
on density requirements, most
manufacturers requiring one or
two cabinets are looking at up to
$30,000. Prices go up from there
depending on the complexity of
the application.
Analyzing the data
Companies such as Schneider
Electric, Siemens, ABB and Rock-
well Automation help manufac-
turers to analyze and take action
on their collected data. They can
also construct protocols around
what to do if an alert is triggered.
“The critical part is really what
are you doing with the data,” says
Panza. “Do you want us to just
send you an alert, do you want
us to call you, do you want us to
dispatch a technician?”
For a yearly fee, companies
like Schneider Electric will send
out technicians to service equip-
ment as required – all without
the manufacturer needing to get
involved. “Analytics alone won’t
solve your problem if there’s
a technician that needs to be
dispatched,” he says. “You need
someone that can actually get to
the hardware and fix it.”
Whether your operation
needs such a service or not,
the key to any edge data centre
application is having a concrete
plan in place for the system
architecture and budget. Build-
ing an adaptable, modular solu-
tion that can grow as computing
needs change will also help to
protect your investment. Start
by connecting your assets to the
internet, then create the edge
computing infrastructure and
security measures.
Panza says taking the final step
to actually analyze data rather
than leave it trapped on a device
is where manufacturers will see
the most return on investment.
That may mean moving comput-
ing processes to the cloud for the
most holistic IIoT framework.
“How you make sense of and
how you create value from the
unstructured data that’s being
generated is one of the evolutions
we’re all going to benefit from,”
he says. | MA
AutomationMag.com 19
SHOW REPORT

THE FUTURE FACTORY

CMTS 2019
highlights new
technologies as
solutions to the
manufacturing
skills gap

BY KRISTINA
URQUHART

N
ew technologies
that encourage
innovation in
Canadian manu-
facturing and the
optimization of
production flows amid workforce
challenges were the focus of the
2019 edition of the Canadian
Manufacturing Technology Show
(CMTS) earlier this fall.
More than 9,000 manufactur-
ing professionals were expected to
attend the biennial event, hosted
by SME September 30 through
October 3 at The International
Centre with over 400 exhibits and
a three-day conference program
covering automation, robotics,
digital transformation and addi-
tive manufacturing.
Optimizing production
through automation
“The thread of CMTS 2019 is that
more than ever, speed matters,”
said Sandra Bouckley, executive
director of SME, in her opening
remarks on day two of the con-
ference. “Our industry has gotten
“Attracting Tomorrow’s Manufacturing Workforce” panel at CMTS 2019 from left: Rhonda Barnet, presi-
dent of AVIT Manufacturing; Chris McLean, HR manager workforce planning and development for Toyota
Motor Manufacturing Canada; Mihaela Vlasea, assistant professor at University of Waterloo; and Steve
Bonney, regional industry and OEM sales manager, Rockwell Automation.
China is the fastest-growing significant value and that are easy firm surveyed 2,000 businesses
market for industrial automation. to automate. For example, spot across Canada and found that 57
In a well-attended Automation and arc welding account for 40 per cent are not investing enough
101 workshop, representatives per cent of all robot applications. in technology. Fourteen per
from FANUC Canada told confer- “We need to do a great deal more cent are “techno-shy,” meaning
ence delegates why automation of this [automation] work, despite management doesn’t want to
should be central to the digital our highly skilled workforce,” said invest. Another 10 per cent are
transformation strategy of an Peter Fitzgerald, general manager “technocentric” – they’re pur-
SME, especially given the high of FANUC Canada. “Canada is chasing the latest technology but,
cost and shortage of skilled labour slow to invest.” He said that while without a strategy, the application
in Canada. Automation not only there remains uncertainty in the peters out within a few months.
reduces labour costs, but it also local marketplace, manufacturers Only 19 per cent of surveyed
reduces scrap, production errors, should be taking advantage of the businesses are considered ad-
product returns and energy usage, low Canadian dollar and its highly vanced, with high digital intensity
and can help achieve long produc- trained workforce. Rank potential and a high digital culture. These
PHOTO: MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

to the point where getting data in
real time and making actionable
insights based on that data is
fundamental.”
Automation is one way for Can-
adian manufacturers to increase
speed and market value. Foreign
competitors are using low-cost
labour – according to the Inter-
national Federation of Robotics,
20 @AutomationMag
tion runs on less floor space.
There are many incentives
available for manufacturers look-
ing to automate, between govern-
ment funding and tax breaks for
research and development. The
FANUC reps stressed that when
determining what processes to
automate, manufacturers should
consider projects that have
automation projects by risk, then
by return, and communicate
throughout the organization.
Embracing full-scale digital
transformation
In the “Digitize Now or Risk
Falling Behind” session, Ali La-
jevardi, regional director for BDC
Advisory Services, shared that his
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
companies control more revenue,
experience better profits, and
have more time to explore mar-
kets, allowing them to scale up.
“When you have new technol-
ogies, it’s very hard for companies
to visualize how it will help them,”
said Lajevardi. “Don’t think of
technology as something that will
save you money or make things
better and faster – think of it as
[something] that will change how
you do business.”
Recruiting new talent
At a media preview of Festo’s
CMTS booth, Greg James,
regional sales manager for Festo
Didactic, said the company’s edu-
cational arm is supplying the next
generation of talent at vocational
and secondary schools with state-
of-the-art technical equipment
for training. The company re-
cently installed a modular smart
factory outfitted with Industry 4.0
technologies, such as intelligent
sensors and a manufacturing
execution system, at Humber
College’s Barrett Centre for Tech-
nology Innovation in Toronto.
“We’re trying to fill the skills
gap in Canada by promoting
Industry 4.0 at the colleges and
universities,” said James. “We
want to provide the expertise
needed to run these systems.”
The company is rolling out its
Festo Industry 4.0 Certification
program in Western Canada by
early to mid 2020. The certifica-
tion, already in place in the United
States, spans three levels covering
fundamentals, mechatronics and
Industry 4.0 technologies, and en-
sures participants are trained on
the operation of modern systems.
In his introduction to the
conference’s final keynote, a
panel discussion called “Attract-
ing Tomorrow’s Manufacturing
Workforce: A Spotlight on
Inclusion and Diversity,” Dennis
Darby, president and CEO of
Canadian Manufacturers and
Exporters (CME), said there has
been a mismatch between skilled
jobs and curricula over the last 30
years. “The skills gap [problem]
has its roots in the primary and
secondary school systems,” he
said. “There’s been a gradual
realignment of elementary and
secondary curriculums to gear
students to university,” meaning
there are fewer students entering
the trades.
Darby said that not hiring the
right people translates to diffi-
culties increasing production,
investing in expansion and retain-
ing top talent who may leave in
favour of better work culture. He
suggested that secondary students
need access to more information
about the manufacturing sector
and the types of jobs available –
both from a government level and
a local level. Darby encouraged
manufacturers to regularly invite
students on plant tours.
The panellists all agreed it’s
especially important to promote
manufacturing and STEM jobs
to girls – women hold only 28
per cent of manufacturing jobs
in Canada despite making up
half the workforce, and only five
per cent of all skilled trades jobs.
CME has launched #WeCanDoIt,
an awareness campaign aimed at
attracting 100,000 female work-
ers to the manufacturing sector
over the next five years.
In working toward inclusion
in the workplace, manufacturers
should ensure that all of their
employees feel empowered to
make decisions. Hiring panels
should comprise workers with
diverse experience and back-
grounds. Focus groups within the
employee structure can help push
change forward. Communicating
why these shifts are important
can help employees to feel like
valuable agents in the process.
To get started on a gender
diversity plan, use CME’s toolkit,
available at http://womeninmanu-
facturing.ca.
CMTS 2021 takes place Octo-
ber 4-7, 2021 at The International
Centre in Toronto. | MA
For more about the show, read
the full version of this article by
searching “CMTS” at
automationmag.com.

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MA_NovDec19_PepperlFuchs.indd 1 2019-10-21 10:04 AM
BIG DATA
POWER TO THE
PROCESS ENGINEER
Practical use
of self-service
data analytics
makes process
engineers
more effective
at improving
operational
performance
BY EDWIN VAN DIJK
P
rocess engineers are re-
sponsible for the design,
implementation, con-
trol and optimization
of industrial processes.
They are typically in-
volved in the analysis, upgrading, modi-
fication and optimization of equipment
and the production processes. If the
production process is stagnating or
under-performing they need to figure
out why, but also in the shortest time
possible for avoiding production losses,
maintaining product quality and avoid-
ing high maintenance and repair costs.
Process engineers are expected to
monitor and evaluate all processes
and equipment, and develop more
streamlined, economical processes.
In a recent survey performed by CFE
Media, engineers indicated that when
analyzing manufacturing data their
main objective is to reduce costs and
waste (26 per cent of the participants),
directly followed by reducing energy
consumption (21 per cent). But how to
effectively use decades of data without
the need of data scientists?
Common data analytics
challenges
Although engineers are used to ana-
lyzing data for all kinds of operational
issues, they still run into various
22 @AutomationMag
The most important objectives of process engineers for improving their production process.
challenges:
1. Unintegrated, messy and disparate
data sources, including historians,
operator logs, shared drives, intra-
nets, document control DBs, DCS
alarm historians, SAP, OEE DBs,
incident report DBs, PHAs, MS Ac-
cess DBs, LIMS systems and written
round sheets.
2. Existing software is unstable
when looking at large volume of
sensor-generated time-series data
(crashes, delays and errors).
3. Over-reliance on spreadsheets for
aggregating critical plant informa-
tion. Spreadsheets are un-secure
and prone to errors, typos and
corruption.
4. Wrangling manufacturing data sets
into generic tooling is a manual
and painful process. It is hard to
find the signal through the noise of
maintenances, data losses, calibra-
tions, instrument failures and other
sources of data quality issues.
5. Large gap between analysis and
automating findings into actionable
real-time monitoring or alerting.
6. Plant data is difficult. Deeply covari-
ant time series measurements with
lag-times between cause and effect.
This makes statistical interpretation
of the data almost impossible for the
non-process expert.
Leveraging manufacturing data
Process manufacturing companies
have been gathering sensor-generated
time-series data for many years in their
historian of choice, so massive amounts
of process data is available for analy-
sis. However, turning this data into
26% knowledge is a different story. Ideally,
analyzing big data should be simple,
easy and fast and provide knowledge
with context.
The percentage of
engineers who said
Covestro, a supplier of high-tech
in a recent study that polymer materials, was facing two main
their main objective issues. First of all, big-data analytics
when analyzing
manufacturing data
was done in MS Excel – a slow process,
is to reduce costs obstructing engineers to use all data.
and waste. Also, handling large volumes of data,
the team needed a supercomputer to
get work done. Secondly, with complex
problems Covestro turns to its analytics
experts for data modeling. This not
only demands a lot of investigation
PHOTO: TRENDMINER
and modeling time, but also leads to
potential knowledge loss at the plant.
To leverage their historian to the
max, engineers started looking for a
way to advance the use of data. In order
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
The monitoring capabilities enable process and
production engineers to raise certain “red flags” in time,
and prevent incidents from happening in the future.
to do so, Covestro selected a self-service indus-
trial analytics platform, with no data modeling
needed to analyze many years of production
data and no Excel to analyze or monitor pro-
duction performance. The platform was able
to find root causes of problems and show them
through graphical visualization of data.
The use of this new way of analyzing their
manufacturing data has led to better control
and even reduction of energy consumption
at their site. In the past, the engineers would
use Excel files to manually compare energy
consumption data from one year to the other.
The self-service analytics platform helps them
bring a certain year to display. By adding the
following years of energy consumption as
layers, they are able to easily compare large
periods of time. No Excel needed anymore.
In another situation, process engineers
experienced unwanted production stops.
By tagging good badges as “fingerprints,” or
operating zones, in their analytics software,
Covestro was soon able to identify deviations in
its production runs – leading them to a problem
in the control system. Finding the root cause
with “fingerprints” helped them eliminate a
potential production loss of 125 tons.
Meeting organizational goals
Whether it is improving product quality or
reducing waste, process engineers are looking
for ways to contribute to the organizational
KPIs. To make them as effective in that goal as
possible they need to have adequate tools and
leverage the data available.
Ashland is a provider of specialty chemical
solutions that has recently shifted its focus
from the construction market to the pharma-
ceutical market. In order to succeed in this
transformation and leverage the benefits of
digital transformation, Ashland’s engineers
identified four key focus points regarding
people, process and tooling:
• Further automate the plant in order to
allocate more resources to pharmaceutical
products
• Use proven methodologies such as Six
Sigma and the DMAIC cycle
• Make capital available for improvement
projects
• Equip the engineers with the right tools,
such as advanced analytics
A steady production process is required to
maintain a steady product quality. Therefore,
the engineers need to familiarize themselves
with the equipment, and be very aware of the
influence the process has on the end product.
As Ashland works for pharmaceutical cus-
tomers, they need to be compliant to GMP
standards. One common factor in all those
challenges is the data they use to resolve
them. This raised an important question: how
do they use and transform large quantities of
data into something that product engineers
can actually use? And even develop new ideas?
Self-service industrial analytics proved to
be the solution that helped Ashland to analyze
and understand their data better and leverage
it to profit from digitalization. The monitoring
capabilities enable process and production
engineers to raise certain “red flags” in time,
and prevent incidents from happening in the
future. Based on patterns, they are notified
when an incident occurs.
By implementing the self-service industrial
analytics platform, Ashland was able to solve
previously unsolvable production issues and
enhance quality. More importantly, they were
able to increase their on-target production of
GMP products from 70 per cent to over 95 per
cent within the first year of using self-service
advanced analytics.
Expanding to the entire organization
Having the data at their fingertips in order
to quickly analyze it helps engineers to con-
tinuously improve operational performance
and contribute to organizational goals. After
analyzing the data and finding root causes for
performance issues, engineers can also easily
find best performance and use that to create
best operating zones of equipment. These can
be used for early warnings and notifications,
enabling to control business outcomes in areas
such as energy management, waste reduction,
and increasing uptimed.
The work of the engineers can be used
for real-time monitoring. Dashboards can be
created for each level of the company, based on
live production data and early warnings, creat-
ing a production cockpit for each operational
stakeholder in the organization. | MA
Edwin van Dijk is VP marketing at TrendMiner.

Safety Laser Scanner PSENscan. Experienced system planners and design

engineers know the score: the monitoring of danger zones is just as
indispensable for automation as protection is on the mountain. Risks must be
detected immediately and processed reliably. Based on many years of
experience in the field of optoelectronic sensors, Pilz is now taking the next
step. With a new product group: flexible, configurable safety laser scanner for
productive area monitoring. Play it safe: sensor technology, control technology,
drive technology and visualisation. A one-stop shop. The complete solution
from Pilz.

Pilz Automation Safety Canada L.P., Internet: www.pilz.ca

Safety Laser Scanner

MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019 AutomationMag.com 23

MA_NovDec_PILZ.indd 1
AD_PSENscan_Mountain_Tent_CA_203_2x88_9mm_2018_10.indd 1 2018-10-23
23.10.18 3:25 PM
08:28
ENERGY EFFICIENCY

INTEGRATED
MOTOR 101
These all-in-one
motors offer design
flexibility in industrial
applications with
servo control systems
BY ERIC RICE

S
ervo control systems are used in
numerous industrial applications
requiring position, velocity and
torque control. At the heart of
every system is a servo motor
and drive along with cables that
connect the two.
Traditionally, machine builders and robot
designers have invested considerable time into
the placement of servo drives and controllers,
as well as the routing of cables to connect all
of the system components. Integrated servo
motors offer a space-saving solution by com-
bining a servo motor with an onboard drive and cables into control panels or within the • Communications connectors for pro-
and controller, which eliminates the need to limited space of a robot housing. gramming, configuration and industrial
connect motor power and feedback cables to Integrated motors consolidate the follow- networking
an external motor controller (see Figure 1). ing components within one package: Without the need for cables or wire harnesses
This “integrated package” offers greater • Brushless servo motor (see Figure 2), integrated motors also simplify
design flexibility and frees space to accom- • Encoder the bill of materials and enable faster design
modate other critical components such as • Drive/controller cycles over traditional motion control systems
material handling mechanisms, sensors, addi- • Connectors to provide access to digital and with separate motor and drive components.
tional axes of motion and operator-interface analog inputs and outputs Machine designers can focus less on controller
components. Integrated motors also reduce • Connector for DC power, usually 24 or 48 placement and wiring and more on non-motor
the complications of fitting the external drive VDC system components for faster iterations.

Benefits of integrated motors

Integrated motors – including integrated ser-
vo motors and integrated step motors – offer
several benefits over conventional, non-inte-
grated motors:
• Reduced number of components: Integrat-
PHOTOS: APPLIED MOTION PRODUCTS

ed motors eliminate the need for external

drive electronics.
• Reduced number of cables: Eliminating
motor power and feedback cables reduce
the total number of cables in the machine.
Smaller diameter cables used for connecting
Figure 1: Unlike a conventional servo system that requires a separate motor and drive com- DC power, communications and I/O to the
ponents along with the cables to connect the two, integrated motors consolidate the com- integrated motor are easier to route and
ponents within one package. require less space.
24 @AutomationMag November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
• Smaller control panels: Eliminating exter-
nal drives reduces the size of control panels
and even the need for them in some cases.
• Space savings: Reducing the amount of space
needed for motion control axes frees space
to accommodate other critical components
such as material handling mechanisms,
sensors or operator-interface components.
• Product selection and application: An
integrated motor eliminates confusion
about the drive and cable requirements and
simplifies the system configuration.
• Performance: When using an integrated
motor, users get the same torque and speed
performance from the same size motor.
Applications of
integrated motors
Integrated servo and step motors are suited
for high-speed automation applications in-
cluding automated test and measurement,
automated assembly, packaging and labeling
machinery, mobile robots and more. Here
are a few real-world applications that bene-
fited from switching to integrated motors.
1. Moving cartons on smart
conveyors
Application: A smart conveyor system is used
for de-palletizing, sorting, singulating, align-
ing and transferring cartons in multiple dir-
ections to downstream processes. Specialized
actuators that handle the lateral movement of
cartons are driven by step motors. With one
motor per mechanism, long conveyors can
have up to 100 motors in a single installation.
Solution: An integrated step motor with built-
in encoder enhanced the positioning capabil-
ities of the actuators while reducing space.
The use of integrated motors greatly reduced
the size and number of control panels. Cost
savings resulted from a reduction in motion
control components, especially when multi-
plied by the number of axes per installation.
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AUTOMATION
MA_NovDec19_Balluff.indd 1
Figure 2: While the conventional servo motor (left) requires an external servo drive and
discrete cables for power and feedback connections, the integrated servo motor (right)
eliminates these components, offering a space-saving solution for machine builders.
2. Laboratory sample testing
equipment
Application: Automated sample testing equip-
ment allows for batches of laboratory samples
to be tested according to pre-programmed
parameters. After samples are loaded into a
rack system, an XYZ pick-and-place mechan-
ism inserts each sample into a test chamber,
and then retrieves each sample after testing is
complete. Lab techs can load and program the
machine, then leave it to run autonomously.
Solution: Integrated closed-loop step motors
offer quiet and smooth operation with great
torque. By eliminating the need for separate
drives, integrated motors saved space and
reduced the overall size of the machine to
better fit into the limited space of a test lab.
The space saved by using integrated motors
made the installation of data acquisition and
test components into the machine easier.
3. Traction drive and steering
for mobile robots
Application: Automated guided vehicles
(AGV) and mobile robots are increasingly
used for material handling and warehouse
management. Mobile robots transport
finished work from one area to another,
eliminating the need for manual labour.
Electric motors drive the forward motion
(traction drives) and steering, and provide
the actuation of the material handling axes
(lift, convey, divert, sample, rotate).
Solution: Integrated servo motors provided
peak torque and high speed for traction drive
and steering axes while eliminating compon-
ents and freeing valuable space within the
mobile robot housing. Combining a servo
motor and controller into a single, integrated
package eliminates the need for mounting an
external motor controller inside the body of
the mobile robot. Integrating the motor con-
troller into the motor housing also eliminates
the need for motor power and feedback cables
normally needed to connect the separate
servo motor to its external controller.
Integrated motors are not suitable for every
application, such as those using motors larger
than a NEMA 34 frame or providing more than
600 watts of continuous power. For motor
requirements within that range, you may find
that integrated motors offer design flexibility
and simplified bills of materials. | MA
Eric Rice is marketing director at Applied
Motion Products.
SHOP
Balluff.ca
10/16/2019 2:58:22 PM 25
AutomationMag.com
2019-10-17 8:53 AM
NEW PRODUCTS
AUTOMATION SOFTWARE
Commissioning
software for drives
Festo has released the free,
PC-based Festo Automation Suite
commissioning software, to help
users get new drive packages
up and running. Five steps will
parameterize and configure all
parts of an installation, from
the mechanical system to the
controller. The Automation
Suite works with both Festo
and third-party controllers.
Besides parameterization and
programming of connected
Festo components, it can
display their status, provide
process data and any pending
diagnostic messages can be
seen at a glance. The interface
can be customized for the user’s
requirements by importing only
those components relevant to
that installation. The Automation
Suite software also contains the
basic workings of all Festo drive-
related electric and pneumatic
components. Device information,
manuals and application
descriptions can be downloaded
from the software.
festo.com
App for forklift
inspection checks
The newly released MasterCheck
app is designed to automate the
process of the required forklift
inspection checks every shift,
and to provide the supervisor
with important operational
insights. Operators can now
26 @AutomationMag
complete the forklift inspection
checks quickly and virtually on
their mobile device or tablet and
click “send” to have the record
of that inspection sent to their
supervisor. The forklift inspection
is saved in the cloud, and on the
device for the operator’s own
records. Once the inspection is
sent, the supervisor can receive
a notification that all inspections
are complete. In addition,
operators can complete and
send repair reports, accident
reports and near-miss reports.
MasterCheck is available
worldwide in the App Store and
on Google Play.
mastercheck.ca
ERP software with
AI and supplier
management
SYSPRO has introduced
additional functionality to its
latest ERP release to improve
overall ease of use, system
performance and security. New
features include Ken the SYSPRO
Bot, which provides the ability to
set alerts to surface on preferred
messaging apps, enabling the
user to take action all within
one conversation. New artificial
intelligence capabilities have
also been included to predict
MATERIAL HANDLING
Shuttle/transfer cart
Verti-Lift has developed
shuttle/transfer carts with the
integration of portability, lifting
and conveying. With the option
of V-groove casters or flanged
casters (for plant pedestrian
traffic areas that will not allow
obstruction), portability allows
product movement between
multiple work cells or processes.
The integrated scissor lift allows
for elevation changes, while the
and inform certain business
outcomes, such as forecasting
customer profitability based on
customer characteristics or the
probability of an order being
shipped late.. There’s also greater
governance and compliance,
through a full traceability system
and the inclusion of new product
recall capabilities, which allow
organizations to recall suspect
products from customers quickly
with all the relevant information
available at the touch of a button.
A digital tax tool allows financial
controllers to create digital tax
outputs that align with regulatory
requirements to remain
compliant.
ca.syspro.com
conveyor provides the ability
to transfer product between
multiple work cells or processes.
All Verti-Lift products feature
easily accessible internal power
units, heavy-duty cylinders, hand
or foot controls, heavy-duty
tubular frames and hydraulic
cylinders, and lifetime lubricated
bearings.
verti-lift.com
Modular forklift
battery charger
Crown Equipment Corporation
has debuted the V-HFM3 series
of modular battery chargers
for lead-acid and lithium-ion
batteries. The chargers are
designed to help maintenance
managers reduce energy costs
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
Software upgrades for
project management
Eplan has added new upgrades
to its Eplan software suite. In
the engineering phase, the
focus is on the digital twin of
a control cabinet. The basis
for this is high-quality 3D data
that represents the housing
and accessories that are
supplemented with component
and wiring information relevant
to the project. This makes it
possible to store information
in a central location – in the
Eplan Project – including saving
parameter data of smart sensors,
and using it in downstream
processes. Open, standardized
interfaces, such as AutomationML
(AML), for example, make this
data available to any user without
any application-specific formats
or data structures. QR codes on
installed components assist in
finding them in the system and
make their attributes – including
and extend the life of their forklift
batteries. The V-HFM3 series
offers an efficiency performance
level of 97 per cent. Ease of use
is enhanced through automatic
voltage sensing technology
that identifies a battery upon
connection and intelligently
applies the correct charging
profile from 24-96 volt without
the use of a monitoring device.
crown.com

part numbers and technical data
for sourcing replacement parts –
available anywhere in the systems
and at any time via tablet or
smartphone. The Eplan Platform
gives users the possibility to
transfer data generated in the
used applications to the cloud.
eplancanada.com
Manufacturing
operations
management
Siemens Digital Industries
Software has released Siemens
Opcenter, a cohesive portfolio
of software solutions for
manufacturing operations
management (MOM). Siemens
Opcenter integrates advanced
planning and scheduling,
manufacturing execution, quality
management, manufacturing
intelligence and performance,
and formulation, specification
and laboratory management. The
new portfolio combines products
including Camstar software,
SIMATIC IT suite, Preactor, R&D
Suite and QMS Professional into
a single portfolio. A web-based
user interface implemented
throughout the Siemens
Opcenter portfolio offers a
situational user experience and
facilitates the implementation of
new capabilities while reducing
training efforts. Siemens
Opcenter can integrate with
other systems across the value
chain, including product lifecycle
management (PLM), enterprise
resource planning (ERP) and
shop-floor automation solutions.
It provides end-to-end visibility
into production, helping enable
decision makers to readily identify
areas for improvement within
product design and associated
manufacturing processes, and to
make operational adjustments
for smoother and more efficient
production.
siemens.com
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019
PROCESS CONTROL
Fork level switches for
liquid level detection
ProSense VFL Series Vibration
Fork Level Switches from
AutomationDirect are
designed using tuning fork
technology for reliable liquid
point level detection for
monitoring, alarming and
control applications. The switch
tuning forks vibrate at their
natural frequency. When the
COMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKING
Cloud solution for
manufacturing
Salesforce has released the
Manufacturing Cloud, which
delivers business visibility and
collaboration between the sales
and operations organizations
of a manufacturing company.
This allows them to have a
better view of their customers
through new sales agreements
and account-based forecasting
solutions, providing visibility
into their customer interactions.
Sales agreements allow
manufacturers to unify their
run-rate business with data
housed in ERP and order
management systems with the
contract terms negotiated. If
any changes to the agreement
are needed, they are
incorporated into the existing
sales agreement, ensuring
there is always a single source
of truth. This allows account
teams to manage the full sales
agreement lifecycle and have
visibility into committed and
actual order volumes and other
time-phased custom metrics.
salesforce.com
Cabinet domes
for wireless
communications
The new CU8210 series WLAN
forks contact a liquid, the fork
vibration frequency changes
and triggers the switch output.
Suitable for use in tanks, vessels,
and mobile devices from
Beckhoff Automation establish
reliable wireless communication
via the USB port of an industrial
PC. The C8210-M001 cabinet
domes support efficient
and globally usable wireless
solutions for PC-based control
technology when combined
with the appropriate CU8210-
D00x USB-2.0 sticks from
Beckhoff for WLAN and 4G
mobile communications.
The components inside the
housing dome, such as the
USB-2.0 stick for wireless
connection, are completely
protected against physical
contact, dust and moisture in
industrial environments. The
cabinet dome can therefore
be mounted both in the panel
of the control cabinet and
also directly on the machine
or outside of control cabinets.
The cabinet dome, which
measures 54 x 100 x 54 mm,
has a USB-2.0 socket type A
and is designed for operating
temperatures from -40 to +60
degrees Celsius. Increasing
the dome placement options
for the industrial PC and the
respective application, different
versions offer the choice of USB
cables in lengths of one, three
or five metres. Beckhoff offers
and pipes, the VFL series is an
ideal alternative for applications
where other liquid point level
technologies such as float
switches or conductive, optical
and capacitance sensors are not
suitable. The switches are offered
in two process connection sizes
with short and extended insertion
lengths, and standard and high
temperature constructions.
automationdirect.com
several WLAN and 4G/3G/2G
USB sticks for wireless
communication.
beckhoff.com
Wireless access point
for data transmission
Emerson has partnered with
Cisco to introduce a next-
generation industrial wireless
networking solution for data
management, to improve
plant productivity, reliability
and safety. The new Emerson
Wireless 1410S Gateway with
the Cisco Catalyst IW6300
Heavy Duty Series Access
Point uses WirelessHART
sensor technology to deliver
reliable and highly secure
data, even in harsh industrial
environments. The wireless
access point provides enhanced
Wi-Fi bandwidth necessary for
real-time safety monitoring,
including Emerson’s Location
Awareness and wireless video.
A reliable and fast connection
between devices and people
streamlines decision making by
providing real-time analytics.
The new access point supports
mobile applications that offer
instant access to process
control data, maintenance
information and operation
procedures.
emerson.com
AutomationMag.com 27
NEW PRODUCTS
MACHINE SAFETY
E-stop switch with
integrated connector
APEM has launched the first
compact emergency
stop switch with
an integrated
connector
for mounting.
Available
with solder
lug terminal or
a connector for
easy integration,
the EC series has
a standard Ø22 mm
diameter bushing. This
ergonomic emergency stop
switch is vibration-resistant
and ideally suited for use on
material handling, autonomous
guided vehicles (AGVs) and
off-road vehicles. The EC series
emergency stop switch has a
connector terminal. Mounting
is significantly easier and safer
as the connection between the
switch and the cable bundle
is immediate. The limited
under-panel depth and 22
mm diameter bushing makes
it the ideal emergency stop
switch for applications where
compact design is required. The
EC series is front panel sealed
up to IP65 and qualified to the
latest international standards EN
60947-5-1 and EN 60947-5-5.
apem.com
Advanced safety light
curtain for flexible
production
Omron Automation
Americas recently
launched a state-
of-the-art light
curtain that meets
the needs for more
flexible production
line design. The broad
functionality of the
F3SG-SR Series Safety
Light Curtain helps
manufacturers comply
with global safety
standards. Omron’s curtain
minimizes wiring connections
and provides easy-to-see colour
indicators for quick verification
of beam status and alignment. In
addition, the F3SG-SR supports a
28 @AutomationMag
broader range of manufacturing
needs by providing the
necessary ruggedness to
function in harsh environments.
With an oil-proof IP67G
rating and the ability to
function in temperatures
as low as -30°C (-22°F),
this advanced design
helps avoid the tendency
of malfunction in many
demanding industrial settings.
The light curtain has simple
beam adjustment and multiple
accessory options to reduce
installation time.
automation.omron.com
Virtual sensor for
reading safe speed
B&R has developed a virtual
sensor for its ACOPOS P3 servo
drive: the Safe Speed Observer.
The sensor determines speed
in accordance with SIL 2 / PL d
/ CAT 3 requirements, reducing
the cost of implementing the
Safely Limited Speed safety
function by eliminating the
need for a safe encoder. From
the electrical variables of a
permanent magnet synchronous
motor, the Safe Speed Observer
calculates two redundant
models of the motor –
achieving a high safety level for
the calculated speed. The virtual
sensor can be used for both
linear and rotary synchronous
motors. The Safe Speed
Observer can be configured
in the Automation Studio
engineering environment via the
respective encoder interface.
The user can implement the
safety functions available for
the safe axis from the safety
library. This new solution is
made possible by the drive-
integrated safety technology of
SafeMOTION.
br-automation.com
ROBOTICS
PickMaster with digital
twin technology
ABB Robotics has launched the
third generation of PickMaster,
its robotic software for vision-
guided random flow picking
and packing application. The
software is equipped with digital
twin technology for the first
time, to shorten commissioning
times. Digital twin technology
allows customers to test out
robotic configurations on virtual
production lines before physical
lines are built. Enabling offline
programming of picking and
packing tasks means users
can create, simulate and test a
complete robot installation in
a virtual environment without
having to disturb their actual
production line. In addition,
PickMaster Twin complies with
the OMAC PackML (packaging
machine language) standard,
which makes it ideal for modern
packaging machines. PickMaster
Twin works with all ABB robots.
abb.com
Cobot for heavy-duty
payloads
Universal Robots (UR) has
developed a new collaborative
robot, the UR16e, for heavy-duty
payloads up to 16 kg (35 lbs).
The new UR16e combines the
high payload with a reach of 900
mm and pose repeatability of
+/- 0.05 mm, making it ideal for
automating tasks such as heavy-
duty material handling, heavy-
part handling palletizing, and
machine tending. UR16e is ideal
for automating high-payload
November/December 2019 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
and CNC machine tending
applications, including multi-part
handling, without compromising
on precision. Like with UR’s
other e-Series cobots, the UR16e
includes built-in force sensing,
17 configurable safety functions,
including customizable stopping
time and stopping distance,
and an intuitive programming
flow. UR16e meets compliance
regulations and safety standards
for unobstructed human-robot
collaboration.
universal-robots.com
Long-reach robots
Yaskawa Motoman has
announced its long-reach,
shelf-mounted PH-series
robots specifically designed
for the rigours of press-room
environments. Available in two
models, the six-axis PH130RF
and PH200RF robots feature a
high vibration rating for press
handling applications. The
streamlined, long reach design
allows the robots to work in
tight spaces and service multiple
presses. The PH130RF model
services press pitches up to seven
metres, and the PH200RF model
services press pitches from six
to 8.5 metres. High moment
and inertia ratings enable the
PH-series models to easily handle
large blanks and formed parts.
The shelf-mount design saves
valuable floor space, expands
the work envelope and eases
die change-out, while providing
flexibility for custom layouts.
Both models feature long-life
speed reducers to facilitate highly
repetitive handling operations, as
well as high-performance drive
systems. The PH130RF robot
offers a 130-kilogram payload
capacity, and the PH200RF robot
offers a 200-kilogram payload
capacity.
motoman.com
MOTORS & DRIVES
Linear brushless DC
motors
Moticont has added two new
linear DC motors to its LCVM
series of linear voice coil
motors. The newest additions to
the LVCM series share the same
physical dimensions – each
is 50.8 mm (2 in) in diameter
and the housings are 127 mm
(5 in) long. Features of these
efficient, high acceleration/
deceleration, low inertia,
clean, zero cogging, brushless
voice coil motors makes them
ideal for: sorting, packaging,
sampling, work holding and
clamping, laser machining and
drilling and wafer handling. For
applications requiring a longer
stroke, the LVCM-051-127-02
features a stroke of 44.5 mm
(1.75 in) with a continuous force
of 61.5 N (13.8 lbs) and a peak
force of 194.4 N (43.7 lbs). In
comparison, the LVCM-051-
127-03 has a higher continuous
force of 99.5 N (22.4 lbs) and a
peak force of 314.5 N (70.7 lbs)
and a stroke length of 25.4 mm
(one inch) for applications with
a higher force to size ratio.
moticont.com
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Cybersecurity & Risk Management:
ERP Best Practices
How to secure your industrial control systems
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · November/December 2019
Integrated motor with
PoE functionality
Applied Motion Products has
introduced the TSM14POE
StepSERVO integrated motor
with Power over Ethernet
(PoE) functionality commonly
used in IT applications such
as wireless access points. PoE
technology provides DC power
and Ethernet communications
over a single cable. The
TSM14POE StepSERVO
motor offers a complete
motion control solution with
a motor, encoder, drive and
controller combined in a single
integrated motor package.
On-board motion control
using Applied Motion’s Q
Programming language enables
the motor to run motion
control profiles on its own
as well as programmatically
react to messages received
on the Ethernet network. Two
connector options, X-coded
M12 and modular RJ-45, permit
the use of standard, widely
available Ethernet cables.
applied-motion.com
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Digital drive for motion to 20 kHz while also permitting
control real-time digital and analog
Aerotech has released the XC2 I/O processing,
PWM digital drive, a small form- data collection,
factor, single-axis motor drive process control
designed for motion control and encoder
applications. It is compatible multiplication.
with the Automation 3200 The XC2 includes
motion platform using the safe torque off
HyperWire motion bus. The (STO), a data array
XC2 can control brushless consisting of
DC, brush DC, voice coil, or over four million
stepper motors at up to 100 32-bit elements,
VDC operating voltage and 10 dedicated home
A peak current capability. The and end-of-travel
current loop and servo-loop limit inputs, and an enhanced
are digitally closed to ensure current sense device. Encoder
the highest level of positioning support includes square-wave,
accuracy and rate stability. This sine-wave and absolute.
allows loop closure rates of up aerotech.com
ADVERTISER INDEX
Allied Electronics & Murr Canada 3
Automation 1 + 31 Pepperl+Fuchs 21
AutomationDirect 2 Pilz Automation Safety 23
Balluff Canada Inc. 25 SICK Ltd. 13
Beckhoff Automation 5 Siemens Canada 32
Carlo Gavazzi 7 WAGO Canada 9
Encoder Products Yaskawa America -
Company 6 Motoman Robotics
Endress+Hauser 11 Division 15
MA Webinar Series 29
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THE SMART FACTORY

SMART INNOVATIONS
MA rounds up research reports and industrial automation applications
to help manufacturers make smart decisions on the path to digital
transformation

Rite-Hite has introduced an

Industrial Internet of Things
platform for its products including
loading dock equipment, in-plant
safety equipment and industrial
doors. The Opti-Vu platform distils
the data collected from sensors
mounted on these sources into
insights and actions. The platform
applies analytics to correlate
developing trends with historical
data, helping to predict potential
Turning challenges into opportunities problems and proactively identify
opportunities for efficiency.
In its recent Canadian CEO Outlook study, KPMG surveyed 75 Canadian CEOs about how they perceive the
Operators can view insights on
marketplace today. Among their challenges: cyber risks, remaining agile and attracting talent that will help them to
the system’s dashboard, which
embrace change. However, manufacturing CEOs also align with 73 per cent of total Canadian CEOs who feel confident
also provides real-time alerts
in their ability to compete. Here’s what the survey authors suggested manufacturers do to maintain their edge:
when something’s wrong, so that
• Embrace the new technologies that are making way • Engage women and underrepresented demographics managers can take immediate
for new roles that operationalize data, such as tech (Indigenous communities, new arrivals, etc.) to boost action.
specialists and data analysts. your talent pool.
• Create employer brands that cater to modern appetites • Become more knowledgeable about cyber risks and
for innovative thinking, career development and work- threats, and invest in controls and training.
Canada’s manufacturing
life balance. • Increase strategic industry partnerships to help expand
sector is now feeling the
• Develop better relationships with Canadian students markets and meet growth objectives.
effects of the slowdown in
through scholarships, in-school campaigns and work Source: Moving Canadian manufacturers ahead, Canadian CEO Outlook, global manufacturing, says
placement opportunities. KPMG, 2019.
audit and tax consulting
firm RSM Canada. The
manufacturing sector
contributes 10 per cent of
$70.26 With the global manufacturing market hitting a $38 trillion valuation
in 2018 and a 15 per cent increase in worldwide production output,
Canada’s industrial output.
Billion manufacturers must continue to invest in new technologies to boost
In addition to recessions
looming in Germany and the
trade. Cloud solutions provider Sage recently polled 3,000 U.S. businesses
U.S., manufacturing in Canada
to ask what they think would be the most significant technology to affect
the future of trade over the next five years, and this is what they said: has had its own struggles
The global industrial robotics market since 2018 due to lower
is projected to double in value to
demand for Canadian energy
reach $70.26 billion by the year 2023,
growing at a compound annual
59% net connectivity resources, and buyers finding
alternate sources.
growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 per cent.
39% artificial intelligence (AI)
The study indicates four
measures that could pump
$15.4 Other key findings: up the economy:
1. Adjustments to
Billion of businesses expect the amount of trade with customers
55% and suppliers to increase over the next year
employment insurance
2. Individual tax relief, credits
of businesses believe that investment in digital compliance and rebates
The global total installed base of 33% could increase their international trade over the next year 3. Business tax incentives
AI-enabled devices in industrial 4. Increase in government
believe that further digital investments could increase their
manufacturing will reach 15.4 million
in 2024, with a CAGR of 64.8 per cent
25% opportunity for market entry
spending, such as
infrastructure projects
from 2019 to 2024.
Source: The Real Economy, Canada:
Source: Industrial Robotics - Decoding the Source: Solving the productivity puzzle, Sage, 2019 Volume 3, RSM Canada, 2019
Robotics Impact on Manufacturing, Frost &
Sullivan, 2019

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