Agenda

Manufacturers have less than a decade to get their data house in order before the fifth Industrial Revolution (Industry 5.0) takes over and the immersive metaverse is the norm on the factory floor. The key to tomorrow’s success is embracing digital transformation today. Join keynote speaker Walker Reynolds, the go-to thought leader for all things IIoT, as he outlines the steps required to navigate manufacturing’s digital frontier. As founder and Board Chairman of Intellic Integration and President of 4.0 Solutions and IIoT University, Reynolds applies next-generation architectures to modernize manufacturing using a holistic hands-on approach. A passionate advocate for creating middle class jobs that help manufacturers become more efficient, Reynolds is a sought-after speaker known for his ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely—which can be heard regularly on his popular 4.0 Solutions podcast.

Digital transformation is the process of adoption and implementation of digital technology by an organization in order to create new or modify existing products, services, and operations. Digital transformation is built on models used for decision making, and it is important to manage those models and their uncertainties to achieve the desired results. In this session, two MIT thought leaders describe the engineering skill sets that can impact the wider organization, and the process for defining Industry 4.0. Five strategies for digital transformation are described, while identifying the right level of complexity for different roles and technologies.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to adopt new and innovative IT technology in today’s traditional control systems due to their closed and proprietary nature. In 2016, an industry consortium was formed called the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) which consists of end users, suppliers, systems integrators and academia with a vision to create an open standard for process control systems, which will allow for interoperability between different vendors components and software portability across hardware platforms. These open systems will allow the insertion of new technologies when they become available and will help companies accelerate their digital transformation activities

The presentation will explore ALTA Refrigeration's transition from custom engineering services to a scalable industrial equipment manufacturer through the adoption of Opto 22's groov Edge Programmable Industrial Controller (EPIC) and MQTT technologies. It will highlight the challenges and solutions in developing the company's EXPERT series for efficient, modular refrigeration control, emphasizing improved serviceability, scalability, and the innovative use of remote monitoring and data analytics to enhance customer support and operational efficiency.

In this fireside chat, PTC's John McEleney talks with Philip Taber, Vice President of Engineering at Silverside Detectors, a manufacturer of high-tech sensors for nuclear security and water resource management. The two will explore how the digital thread can reshape manufacturing practices for sustainability. Through real-world examples, McEleney and Taber will demonstrate how leveraging the digital thread enables supply chain resilience, optimizes resource utilization, and supports innovation toward eco-friendly products. The session will highlight strategies for reducing dependency on traditional global supply chains, embracing localized production, and optimizing logistics through digital technologies like 3D printing and real-time data analytics. The audience will leave with insights and strategies for achieving a greener future in manufacturing.

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape, where product complexity is constantly on the rise, the need for sophisticated data management solutions has become paramount. Companies are increasingly seeking methods to streamline processes, enhance collaboration across multiple design teams, and manage data more efficiently. In this session, we demonstrate OpenBOM's capabilities to capture diverse design information from various CAD systems and translate it into a fully digital product data representation. One of the key strengths of OpenBOM lies in its seamless integration with all major CAD systems, allowing it to capture different design conditions effectively and streamline information flow to other parts of organizations, including contractors, suppliers, and partners.

We all experience some form of notification fatigue. For manufacturing technicians, it is paramount to take action on alerts that are meaningful. We will share our journey in building a functional ML tool that automates the process of setting thresholds for industrial metric data to ensure users receive the right information at the right time.

We will discuss how to build a system of searches and models that allow for automated improvements for condition monitoring tools. Then, we will deep dive into functional logic that injects field experience and reasoning into statistical modeling for relevant results. We will also provide business value examples for OT implementations of Splunk monitoring industrial machine data.

Manufacturing companies today face more than just the challenge to create and build smart, connected, and more sustainable products, and bring them to market faster than their competitors. In this session, Siemens' Dale Tutt and Anduril's Tom McCarthy discuss the digital transformation architecture required to achieve rapid product development. They'll draw upon McCarthy's oversight of the Anduril Development Environment (ADE), used to engineer the future of military defense systems, offering key takeaways around how to achieve a high level of digital maturity in any manufacturing setting.

In the age of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and EdgeAI computing, the landscape of cybersecurity faces unprecedented challenges. Unlike traditional systems, AIoT and EdgeAI compute extend connectivity to a vast array of equipment, field devices, and employee gadgets. This connectivity revolutionizes automation and remote asset management, but introduces a wide array of security concerns. In this talk, we will explore the vulnerabilities that are present when considering digital transformation of your manufacturing floor and we will show how Eurotech helps customers enable a standards-based security posture for customers’ AIoT applications at the Edge; all while accelerating their edge-to-cloud workloads.

Technologies such as AI, Industry 4.0, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), and Blockchain are radically transforming all aspects of manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain, and more broadly industrial and consumer markets at large. However, they also come at a price in terms of energy consumption as the majority of these activities are presently in the cloud. In this talk, we explore a more balanced approach that couples edge, cloud, and “fog” computing (somewhere between the edge and the cloud) to create a more sustainable future where we can still achieve the tremendous efficiencies and gains that these technologies promise. The role of Connectivity Plus is discussed as one key enabler. The long-term benefits will be more control over data and insights at a local level (democratization of AI) as well as a more sustainable, decentralized path to digital transformation.

PLM and MES solutions are transforming product development. The ability to configure the applications to an organization’s circumstances increases the potential for significant efficiency/productivity gains. Industry 4.0, accelerated by the current remote/virtual environment, is creating new ways of working in product development and manufacturing. For organizations to realize full benefits and return on investment, the workforce must also be transformed: embedding critical next-gen skills among impacted employees and rewiring the organization for success. In this session, you'll hear about several client case studies that will illustrate how to achieve effective change adoption and sustainment through time-tested approaches to effectively drive cultural change and adoption of PLM.