Emerson, St. Louis, MO, has introduced the PACEdge software platform to help manufacturers quickly create and scale up machine-performance-improving applications.The PACEdge release coincides with the launch of Emerson’s new PACSystems RXi2-BP edge computer, a small form-factor industrial PC that enables high-performance analytics to be run close to the machine (shown below). The RXi2-BP computer uses patented temperature management technologies to enable the small form-factor industrial PC to achieve optimum performance in difficult-to-access industrial locations without being limited by internal temperatures.
According to the company, the PACEdge software platform lets users securely collect, analyze, store, and serve up machine data near the source or across enterprise systems. End users can easily build and deploy applications for a wide range of uses including monitoring energy, machinery health and productivity. Emerson’s modular, pre-configured development packages containerize applications that let developers start in a pilot environment with a few units, then quickly scale to hundreds or thousands of units, and do so without expensive network and server infrastructures or worrying about inconsistencies among operating environments.
Using modern IIoT protocols such as OPC UA, MQTT and REST, the PACEdge platform provides access to data from industrial control systems and field devices, as well as IT systems and cloud services for plant or enterprise data aggregation. With drag-and-drop programming and embedded web interfaces and visualization, users can access this information to create applications and dashboards to analyze and view operational data, such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), compressed air usage, energy consumption, acceleration and vibration, and more.
Advanced applications can combine these outputs with external data sources (i.e., weather, public utility rates) and machine-learning algorithms to drive better asset health and performance by detecting potential failures sooner. Operators in the field have immediate access to diagnostic and production information, allowing them to make better decisions faster. A case in point in Emerson’s own Fluid and Measurement Motion Control business, which (as shown in the feature image at the tope of this page) uses PACEdge dashboards software to monitor energy consumption, including gas and electricity, of its production lines to help drive the organization’s sustainability efforts.
Click Here to Learn More About the PACEdge Industrial Edge platform and RXi2-BP Edge Computer
