Smart factories rely on cloud services to collect and store enterprise-wide data from various sensors. The advantage of maintaining this data in the cloud rather than on site is that it is accessible from anywhere.
To meet this need, Siemens Industry has made significant upgrades to its MindSphere offering, which the company describes as a Platform as a Service (PaaS). Because MindSphere is an open platform, users can integrate machines, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and applications from both Siemens and third-party providers.
In mid-January, the company launched its MindSphere partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing users with the potential to integrate with the full Siemens/AWS IoT partner ecosystems; data analytics capabilities through application programming interfaces (APIs); and a new online store from MindSphere (Digital Exchange). This is the broadest portfolio for IoT cloud-based connectivity for on-site and cloud information technology systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer-relationship management (CRM) and product life cycle management (PLM) systems, said Stephan Ihmels, director of business development and sales for MindSphere in the Americas.
To prepare for these planned upgrades, Siemens did extensive work last year to augment its partnership base, including an initiative to implement application centers to help customers to use best practices based on existing MindSphere implementations. As a result of these efforts, more than 300 customers connected to MindSphere last year, Ihmels said.
Cloud-based platforms allow users to upgrade end-device software by making one change — in the cloud — rather than upgrading every device individually. That advantage becomes more important as plants add more IoT sensors and as software providers add new capabilities to their applications. Siemens officials expect to make ongoing upgrades to the MindSphere platform to incorporate new capabilities.
"With MindSphere, there is no reason a company needs to build its own IoT infrastructure," Ihmels said. "Companies can use MindSphere to run data analytics without building out their own IT infrastructure. There is not another cloud infrastructure like this."
The MindSphere platform uses Open Platform Communications-Unified Architecture (OPC-UA), the machine-to-machine communication protocol for industrial automation, as well as embedded software tools — MindConnect and MindApps — to automatically link to third-party applications and devices. Because of this, the platform can be installed right away, without any additional programming to establish connectivity. The user only has to establish computer clients and user log-ins, which can be customized at the administrator level.
"We did the heavy lifting to make sure that the system was easy to adopt in different environments," Ihmels said.
Once configured, MindSphere collects data from machines and IoT sensors, and then forwards that data to a designated party via email or social media, or to custom alarm and warning systems. All communications are encrypted to ensure data security.
"You can use that information to monitor the condition of the machine so that you know when maintenance is needed; it's like an indicator that monitors the condition of the oil in your car that tells you when the oil is low or bad so you know when to go to the repair shop," Ihmels said.
Beyond just collecting data to learn when a machine needs adjustments or more extensive repairs, the MindSphere platform can also be used to collect data from machines plantwide or enterprise-wide so that technicians can spot differences in performance and make the necessary adjustments.
"There could be different raw materials, differences in temperature or something else," Ihmels said. "For newer machines, [the monitoring] is not all that important, but for older machines, it helps you know when they need repairs or need to be upgraded. With this information, you can proactively plan your upgrades."
Additionally, comparing data from machines from different manufacturers can give plant operators immediate insights into which brand of machine truly performs best.
The data collected through MindSphere also can help plant managers with their energy management, Ihmels adds.
Siemens will continue to upgrade MindSphere and develop new support services for partners, including data recording, transmission and safe storage, plus the framework for a development environment in which applications can be created swiftly. The company already has developed a partnership with AWS for cloud storage. Other partnerships are expected to be announced later this year.
In addition to using MindSphere in a plant environment, plastics machinery manufacturers can use the platform to design and simulate using a machine before actually putting it into service, Ihmels said. These simulations can help a manufacturer ensure the equipment works as expected.
"It will help you make improvements to the way you test and make machines to make them more productive," Ihmels said.
Phillip Britt, correspondent
Contact:
Siemens Industry Inc.Alpharetta, Ga., 800-743-6367, www.siemens.com
