PlantPAx is a brand new Distributed Control System by Rockwell automation that turns data into valuable information for industrial users; particularly in manufacturing where IT and OT intersect.
During Rockwell’s 30th Automation Fair, Shanon Chen, Project Engineer at Rockwell, compared the PlantPAx capabilities to Lego architecture. It facilitates data management and, by separating data ‘into pieces,’ it gives the user an accessible overlook of what is happening in the asset.
“Is something similar of a Lego architecture. PlantPAx manages tons of information and makes it accessible to the user by separating into pieces and ordaining it in a certain way, so it’s easy for the user to read it.” He said during an exhibition of the new product.
Indeed, the PlantPAx DCS helps producers to make better and faster operative decisions. The system enables quick responses to demands from customers or other market specifications. The latest version of the system includes features that allow digital transformation to be easily implemented.
Moreover, the 5.0 version of the system includes new controllers with cutting-edge processing power to reduce the time and complexity of the data architectures; enhanced drivers for consistency, and better configurations to achieve streamlined workflows. In addition, it includes top-level cybersecurity certifications.
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Three pillars of the PlantPAx solution
About the matter, Chen explained that the PlantPAx solution has three pillars that allow a seamless digital transformation: report-making capabilities, PTC experience, and a System View. About the report-making, Plant Pax features several databases, independent of one another, but also a centralized data center that allows the user to know everything about a plant.
Furthermore, the software analyzes and processes all that data through an SQL server and makes it available for other servers. Chen underlined that these capabilities allow better and easier reports.
On the other hand, the PTC experience is about user experience. The PlantPAx solution allows easy access through processing objects of a particular asset through its ThingWorxs digital environment. “A user, for example, can walk through the plant floor and visualize a pump and verify its execution data. All through a tablet or a cellphone.”
Consequently, operators can have actual access to the execution data and stay ahead for security events; or maintain a substantial standard in maintenance and monitoring.
Finally, Chen said that through FactoryTalk Energy Manager, users can enhance their experience by having all of the PlantPAx Solutions in a single platform. This approach would help users to monitor water, air pressure, gas, or even electricity use.
