Distributed Analytics Framework for Integrating Brownfield Systems to Establish Intelligent Manufacturing Architecture

Abstract

Intelligent manufacturing otherwise called as smart manufacturing concentrates upon optimising production and processes by making full use of data available. It is regarded as a new manufacturing model where the entire product life cycle can be simplified using various smart sensors, data-driven decision-making models, visualisation, intelligent devices, and data analytics. In the Industry 4.0 era, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architecture platform is required to streamline and secure data transfer between machines, factories, etc. When certain manufacturing industry is equipped with this platform, an intelligent manufacturing model can be achieved. In today's factories, most machines are brownfield systems and are not connected to any IoT platforms. Thus they cannot provide data or visibility into their performance, health, and optimal maintenance schedules, which would have improved their operational value. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by demonstrating how brownfield equipment can be IIoT enabled and how data analytics can be performed at the edge as well as cloud using two simple use cases involving industrial robot on the abrasive finishing process. The focus of this paper is on how a scalable data analytics architecture can be built for brownfield machines at the edge as well as the cloud.