Direct.
Stopping a drive, acknowledging a fault, and nudging a setpoint inside the band you set. One action, checked against who holds the machine, the range and the rate.
DigiFactory · Equipment and control
Take work to the machines, and take control from the screen in front of you.
DigiFactory reaches the PLCs on your machines and lines, sends each work order to the machine that will run it, and lets a named person start, stop and adjust that machine from the floor. Each command is confirmed, read back and logged.
Fill volume500.4mlSet to 500.0Tank level63%Product temperature71°C
Safety state, set in the PLC. Guard door 2 closed. Light curtain clear. E-stop clear. These come from the PLC; this screen cannot change them.
| Control | Level | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Start filler | Direct | Starts filling |
| Stop filler | Direct | Stops filling after the current bottle |
| Set fill volume | Confirm | 498 to 504 ml |
| Change recipe | Second person | Recipe R-12 to R-14 |
Set fill volume to 501.0 mlConfirm in 6 sCancel
- ConfirmedSet fill volume 500.0 ml, by DanaConfirmed. The filler reads back 500.0 ml.
- RefusedStop filler, by TariqRefused: Dana holds this equipment until 11:15.
- Rejected by the PLCChange recipe R-14, by DanaRejected by the PLC: a recipe change needs the line empty.
Change recipe on Filler F-3
Work order WO-7734 needs recipe R-14. The line is empty after the last bottle of WO-7731. Asked by Dana at 10:39. The request lapses at 10:55.
| What will change | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe on filler F-3 | R-12 | R-14 |
| Fill volume setpoint | 500.0 ml | 330.0 ml |
ApproveRefuseRosa
Level: Second person. Only Rosa (Quality inspector) can approve it, and not the person who asked. Nothing moves until then.
What connects
| Category | Names | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Machines and lines | PLC, OPC UA, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET | The machine's state beside the work order it is running, and the controls you allow on it. |
| Shared view | MQTT with Sparkplug B, unified namespace, edge gateway | Machines publish what they do into one view, carried by a gateway in your building. |
| Mobile robots | AMR, AGV, VDA 5050 | Robots bring material to the line from the same queue as your people. |
| Plant systems | MES, ERP, ISA-95 | Work orders come from your MES or ERP. DigiFactory sends back what the line did. |
Three levels of confirmation
Each control on a machine has a level. A site can tighten it, and only a second person can loosen it.
Confirm, then operate.
Starting a drive, opening a valve, changing a machine's mode, moving a setpoint beyond its band. Select it, confirm in a short window, and it runs.
A second person approves.
Taking a machine into maintenance or bypass, changing a recipe or a limit. A second person sees the exact change on the exact machine and approves it first.
From select to read-back.
A command can take one step, two or a second person's approval. It always ends with the value read back from the PLC and the result shown on the faceplate.
How a machine stays under control
- One person runs a machine.
- The operator at the machine holds it, and others see who.
- Local always wins.
- The machine's own Local and Remote switch beats the screen. A supervisor can take control with a second person's approval; the holder is told.
- Read back, every time.
- Once a command runs, the value is read back from the PLC and the result shows on the faceplate: confirmed, refused with the reason, or rejected by the PLC.
- Checked inside your building.
- The rules are repeated before a write. Writes go only to the points on the machine's list, and a command never waits in a queue for a link to return.
- A name on every command.
- Every request, approval, refusal and result carries a name and a time. An emergency stop is cleared on site, and DigiFactory tells the operator what to do.
Safety stays in the machine.
Interlocks, light curtains and emergency stops stay in the machine's PLC and your safety system. DigiFactory never takes part in a safety function.
Questions
Do we have to change our PLC programmes?
No. The programme stays yours. DigiFactory reads and writes only the points you list.
Can an operator bypass an interlock from the screen?
No. Interlocks and safety stay in the PLC. A bypass is a PLC function, and putting a machine into one needs a second person.
Does it work beside our MES?
Yes. Work orders come from your MES, and DigiFactory sends back what the machine did.
Describe one line.
Tell us what it makes and what it runs on. We'll show you its control screen.