Harness The Power Of Data With Inductive Automation & OnLogic At Automate 2019

The term “Industrial Automation” can be applied to a huge range of applications, but if there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s data. The heart of the Industrial Internet of Things is the information created and shared by sensors and devices, but that data is useless unless it can be captured, analyzed and acted upon.

At next week’s Automate 2019 trade show in Chicago, we’ll be joined in our booth by Inductive Automation, the makers of Ignition, a powerful industrial application platform that gives users incredible access to, and control over, their data. The team from Inductive Automation will be doing a live demonstration of Ignition, which will soon launch version 8.0, showing attendees how the platform, paired with our industrial hardware, can help them harness the power of data.

We asked Matthew Raybourn, a Sales Engineering Analyst at Inductive Automation, to help give us a preview of what Automate attendees will get to see when they stop by the OnLogic booth (#8356) at next week’s show.

Matthew, can you give readers a quick introduction to Inductive Automation?

Matthew Raybourn: Inductive Automation is a software company that provides a simple, yet powerful, platform called Ignition that enables our customers to quickly and easily fulfill their SCADA needs. Ignition can be as simple as an operator’s HMI screen on the plant floor, all the way up to resource management at the enterprise level. Ignition is a flexible solution that includes the tools necessary for customers to create applications that fit their needs. Ignition is where IT meets OT, leveraging the power from both to solve many problems facing customers today.

Tell us a bit about the demo Inductive Automation will be showing off at Automate.

Our Ignition 8.0 Demo shows off the main features of Ignition using our new next-gen visualization system, the Ignition Perspective Module. It includes many functional examples that demonstrate how Ignition can be used, from simple component displays to fully-featured, real-world projects.

Where does OnLogic hardware fit in?

I could see customers using OnLogic products near the edge of their architectures, right alongside industrial equipment. The closer you are to industrial operations, the more likely you are to run into harsh conditions, which a standard computer system will simply not handle. Rugged computers are perfect for industrial environments where there are concerns about shock, dust, or temperature.

The Panel PC is another great option that would fit perfectly with Ignition Edge, with the combination of a computer and display in a single unit. That gives customers the ability to easily provide HMI screens for their operators, custom-built using Ignition.

What potential advantages does OnLogic industrial hardware offer for Ignition users?

By combining Ignition software with OnLogic hardware, you get a setup that is functional right out of the box. Users can then focus on the larger picture, instead of incurring additional cost in both time and money while trying to find the right hardware for their solution. OnLogic with Ignition Onboard takes the guesswork out of the equation.

What are the most exciting features of the upcoming Ignition 8.0?

The Perspective Module is a very exciting new addition to Ignition 8.0. It’s an amazing tool to develop responsive applications that are easily accessible from anywhere. If you can run a modern web browser, then you can run a screen in Perspective, it’s that simple.

There are also some cool new features under the hood, including the way that Ignition 8.0 handles project resources. Source-control tools, like Git, can be used to help manage those resources.

If you’ll be in Chicago for Automate 2019 (which is free to attend), stop by booth #8356 to chat with the OnLogic and Inductive Automation teams to see how our industrial hardware, combined with Ignition from Inductive Automation, can help you turn data into dollars.

Editor’s Note: Inductive Automation has ended their Ignition Onboard program. Ignition licenses must now be purchased directly through Inductive Automation. While the IGN versions of our solutions are no longer available, our computers remain a great fit for use with Ignition software. Explore our recommended hardware here.