IIoT holds the key to smart manufacturing

June 12, 2018 12:03 pm

Manish Walia,
Head-Industrial Automation Business Group, Delta India
With manufacturing coming into play in a big way we are heavily invested and committed to promote research and embrace IIoT in a big way.

Future looks bright for IIoT in the manufacturing vertical
Internet of Things (IoT) is taking the world by storm and manufacturing is no exception. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions can help deliver IoT data where it is created, reducing latency, increasing security, amplifying productivity and delivering new value propositions from operations. IIoT includes different technologies like sensor data, machine learning, Big Data, M2M communication, and automation. Manish Walia, Head-Industrial Automation Business Group, Delta India, informs, “In an era where time, productivity, machine uptime and quality output predominantly are more critical than ever, IIoT holds the key. IIoT supports everything from remote monitoring and telemetry to predictive maintenance. At the same time, it improves workforce productivity, operational efficiency and enhances customer experience. As per Gartner, over 20.4 bn smart devices will be connected to the IoT by 2020, indicating the huge potential in the years to come.”

Also, the number of devices and applications to be connected is also high. The future looks all bright for the IIoT in the manufacturing vertical. As per another report by Software.org: the BSA Foundation, IoT has the potential to drive huge economic gains, generating up to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025 with a global economic impact. The report also highlights that over 50 billion devices, ranging from smartphones and TVs to watches, pipelines and trucks, will be connected by 2020.

IoT is also closely linked to automation. India is fast emerging as a preferred choice for global investors in manufacturing, and focus and innovation is increasingly shifting to finding newer ways to introduce automation and connected machinery for the workforce and also providing the required skills and training for operation. The innovation and automation in factories will simplify, speed up and improve the overall business agility across manufacturing industries. Exciting times ahead with more IIoT enabled innovations in the near future.

Walia asserts, “We at Delta Electronics are committed to leveraging IIoT and remain committed to continual innovation and research on this front. We are confident and upbeat about IoT and its applications impacting across our product lines.”

IoT has impacted almost every sphere
While IoT is impacting almost all the industry verticals, as per a recent IDC report, manufacturing vertical made the largest IoT investment in 2016 amounting to over $178 billion in total. IIoT is able to permeate in the manufacturing vertical so seamlessly because the machines, the manufacturing processes and the market itself have high inclination to adopt IIoT easily while delivering maximum output or result.

Delta’s preparedness in the area of IIoT
Delta is one of the leading power management solutions, components, display solutions, industrial automation, networking products, building management and renewable energy solutions companies. Walia states, “With manufacturing coming into play in a big way we are heavily invested and committed to promote research and embrace IIoT in a big way.”

Take a look at some of the key IIoT backed solutions offered by Delta.

Remote connectivity solutions for Smart Manufacturing
The company have industry leading cloud-based IIoT platform –DIACloud, which provides remote connectivity for smart manufacturing including remote monitoring, maintenance, data collection and data storage. The platform uses Delta’s patented technology for authentication, authorisation, and data encryption ensuring that the devices are secure end-to-end enabling devices to securely communicate as if they are on the same network, allowing users to connect and see device status online or through Delta’s DIACloud phone app. Moreover, DX-2100 and DX-2300, Delta’s enabling hardware products, easily connect legacy and standard non-Delta devices to the platform.

Factory and line automation applications
With the rise of the IIoT, smart and digitalised automation solutions are spreading throughout the industrial automation industry. This automation technology trend integrates multiple network technologies that link personnel, equipment, information, processes and other factory sectors together to form a smart factory. The ultimate goal is to create a fully-automated environment where machines can communicate with each other, and operators can obtain real-time data through the cloud for analysis and remote monitoring and control. Walia informs, “We are enabling machine automation through the new IIoT-enabled platforms in a big way. Last year we introduced three new technology platforms and nine new products, all of which support machine builders looking to integrate the IIoT. The new automation technology enables machine builders to make smarter and greener packaging machinery and production lines. The wide breadth of features embedded in every product and platform solution translate into real value for machine builders in terms of design flexibility and supporting plant-wide digitisation initiatives. This expansion of the industrial automation portfolio to the packaging industry marks a major contribution to the Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.”

DIAView SCADA
Delta’s DIAView SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system is an industrial automation management system for providing real-time system control, gathering information and carrying out analysis for remote monitoring and control, implementing system management and production line visualisation, and increasing overall plant efficiency and capacity. It can be widely applied in industries such as machinery, metallurgy, water treatment, HVAC, packaging, central heating control, environmental monitoring, textiles, energy management, transportation, smart buildings and others. The DIAView SCADA system shows current alarms, historical alarms and accumulated data such as temperature, pressure, current, and operation efficiency. This information can be displayed on a curve chart, bar chart, or in a data format. In addition, the system provides alarm texting functions that automatically send a warning message to the operator’s phone number when an alarm arises. This software provides easy accessibility via multiple computers where operators can access an equipment monitoring system at any location. The operator only needs to login with a project authorisation code on any computer that has DIAView software installed to remotely monitor the equipment status and control operation.