In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, the need for modern, scalable, and efficient automation solutions has never been more critical. As industries strive to enhance productivity, access real-time data, and make smarter decisions, the limitations of legacy systems become increasingly apparent. Enter Ignition by Inductive Automation, a revolutionary platform designed to meet the demands of contemporary industrial automation.
Current State of Industrial Automation
Many facilities continue to rely on outdated and standalone SCADA systems, which, while functional, are not built to address today’s needs. These legacy systems are often difficult to scale, challenging to integrate, and come with significant costs in terms of maintenance and licensing. As the industry shifts towards Industry 4.0, companies are seeking solutions that offer better access to real-time data, cloud integration, edge computing, remote monitoring, and predictive maintenance driven by analytics.
Challenges with Legacy Systems
Legacy systems, including older HMIs and standalone SCADA, have served their purpose but are now falling short. They are difficult to maintain, lack modern features, and are not designed for interconnectivity or integration with external services. The costs associated with scaling these systems can be prohibitive, as illustrated by a large appliance manufacturer’s estimate of $540 per data point to pull into their systems.
Introduction to Ignition
Ignition by Inductive Automation is a modern industrial platform designed from the ground up to handle today’s automation needs. It is fully web-based, runs on virtually every operating system, and includes containerized environments. One of its standout features is its unlimited license model, which eliminates the need for a price per tag, client, or device, allowing for unparalleled scalability and flexibility.
Benefits of Ignition
Ignition offers numerous benefits, including:
- Unlimited Licensing: Scale as much or as little as needed without incurring additional costs.
- Web-Based Deployment: Cross-platform compatibility, running on Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and more.
- Real-Time Control and Visualization: Unified development environment for HMI’s, dashboards, and reports.
- IT Readiness: Supports MQTT, OPC UA, and integration with cloud services.
Core Functionality and Capabilities
Ignition is built on modern software technologies and offers a unified development environment. It includes modules such as Vision for traditional HMI applications, Perspective for mobile-first browser-based applications, Tag Historian for logging real-time data, Alarm Notification for configuring and delivering alarms, and Reporting for creating automatic or on-demand reports.
Examples of Ignition in Use
One example of Ignition’s capabilities is its use in monitoring over 100 machines on a shop floor. By incorporating material usage algorithms into machine UDTs (User Defined Types) and creating template-based dashboards, operations can gain visibility into material levels, running status, product details, and tooling setups. This approach allows for seamless scalability and real-time updates across all machines.
Conclusion
Ignition by Inductive Automation is a game-changer in the world of industrial automation. Its modern design, scalability, and flexibility make it an ideal solution for both large and small manufacturers looking to enhance their automation capabilities. With Ignition, companies can embrace the future of automation, making smarter decisions and driving productivity like never before.
This article originally appeared on Sandalwood System’s Integration Services LinkedIn Showcase page; The Future of Industrial Automation: Embracing Ignition by Inductive Automation.
Sandalwood Systems Integration Services Group provides services for manufacturers on a dedicated, project, support contract, or part-time basis.
Our services range from tactical, mission-critical integrations and implementations to strategic planning and resource development.
We work with Change Agents and Operation Technology/Information Technology teams to drive improvements in their company’s digital capabilities with maximum focus and optimal yield on resources.
Why Sandalwood?
We are a one-stop-shop for launching job rotation for any employer from conception to implementation. Our experts tailor our services to meet the needs of our customers by collaborating with them throughout the entire process. We do not offer cookie cutter solutions for job rotation because the needs of employers vary significantly.
Why Sandalwood?
Sandalwood is pleased to offer solutions above and beyond the traditional ergonomic assessments. With an in-depth knowledge of various digital human modelling software suites, integration and adoption to your health and safety programs has never been easier. Sandalwood is experienced in ergonomic program design as well as industry leaders in digital human modelling services. We have a diverse team that is able the leverage the results from the digital human model to provide in depth risk assessments of future designs and current state. Sandalwood is also able to pair these assessments with expertise and provide guidance on the best solution for you. Sandalwood is also on the forefront of emerging technologies and able to integrate Motion capture, Wearables, and extended or virtual reality into your ergonomic program.
