Intelligent Cloud Platform Chameleon

The manufacturing industry is steeped in the use of classical automation tools. This involves buying software licenses, installing hardware and extensive use of expensive engineering and IT programming services. Classical automation is costly, time consuming and often reduces flexibility. It is unduly cumbersome. To remain competitive, manufacturing needs to accelerate the design concept to automation delivery timeline. A new and fully automate d approach to programming is needed.

 

The innovative and intelligent cloud platform Chameleon concept delivers quick, dependable and ready-to-use software that can be immediately downloaded and installed from the cloud. Using minimal effort and time the platform uploads the PLC and HMI to customers using industry standard tools making it easier to install and start production. The development time from the factory design concept to system delivery is minimal. It is easy to change system parameters and get the desired results. The Intelligent Cloud Platform Chameleon is the wave of the future. Below are some benefits of Chameleon.

 

• Process owners can automatically generate their PLC and HMI using tried and true industry standard tools.

PLC software can be populated using a template library. You do not have to learn programming of the PLC software. As a process owner one can easily learn how to compose the objects from the template library. Once the PLC program is up and running a standard HMI is generated by the cloud platform. This approach, empowers users to create, run and modify their PLC code and HMI without the help of automation engineers.

 

• Chameleon is cloud-based, it’s easy to download and install. Projects can be up and running quickly and efficiently.

Automation projects start with a Functional Analysis phase where the process owners painstakingly describe the project deliverables to the automation engineers. Together they attempt to document the desired behavior of the system design. Often this involves hundreds of inputs and outputs and requires careful precision. Usually, this phase takes time and unnecessary effort for all parties and there is no guarantee that it will yield the required result. With Chameleon`s novel approach process owners explicitly implement the functional requirements, decide on the system parameters and change them when needed. Elimination of functional analysis phase reduces frustration and saves up to 30% of the project duration.

 

• Chameleon reduces or completely avoids the frustration between the process owners and the engineering team.

Documentation of the Functional Analysis with full precision is an arduous task. The time spent on detailing the system logic is more than half of the time it takes to program the PLC software. The lack of complete precision creates misunderstanding between users causing delays and revisions. Using Chameleon, process owners automatically develop the PLC code which eliminates the middleman in the equation. Process owners own the system and are empowered to make changes at will.

 

• Process owners get the product they want and can easily modify project parameters without having to go back to the drawing board each time they make a change.

Production systems are very dynamic due to the nature of manufacturing environment. Competition and customer expectations force manufacturers to change their products frequently which results in changing machines or lines and reprogramming automation systems. With the Chameleon automation platform, process owners can modify their software easily.power.

 

• Cloud implementation means reduced costs for in-house hardware and hardware maintenance.

Automation systems require computer hardware to manage manufacturing data. Chameleon is cloud based. The cost of hardware investment and maintenance is saved.

 

• Using template-based software reduces overall project time and cost.

Template-based, industry standard software reduces the project man-days as well as total project duration. The following table illustrates average the difference between classical automation approach and Chameleon’s cloud-based platform approach in terms of engineering days.

 

 

Due to these significant differences in the two approaches, organizations can increase their market competitiveness by bringing projects to the market more quickly using the Chameleon platform.

 

• The shortage of talent for IT and Others in Manufacturing has reached critical mass

Currently, businesses want to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., however, there is a shortage of trained and qualified engineering and IT workers. Solving the problem will take time and resources. In the meantime, manufacturers need immediate solutions to maintain competitiveness. Chameleon offers the opportunity to automate without engineering and IT hours allowing organizations to have less reliance on staff and more reliance on sound technology.