New IIoT Software Optimizing Industrial Automation Applications

Production systems company, Madison-Kipp Corporation (MKC), and industrial software producer, Inductive Automation, are partnering up to enhance the efficiency of industrial systems.

The collaboration will see Inductive Automation providing MKC with its industrial application software platform Ignition.

Ignition is a suite of products that features several tools designed to build solutions for human-machine interfaces, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and the industrial internet of things.

 

Optimizing Industrial Automation Applications

The new partnership between MKC and Inductive Automation is particularly relevant for the industry as it merges software and hardware expertise in industrial automation.

The Madison-Kipp Corporation, founded in 1889, has more than a hundred years of experience in the field.

MKC is known for its lightweight, high-pressure aluminum die castings, precision machined components and system subassemblies.

The company operates in different industries, including transportation, industrial, lawn and garden, and in the recreational product markets.

 

The Ignition platform. Image courtesy of Inductive Automation.

 

“Technology is very important to us,” said Bill Johnson, vice president of operations for MKC, commenting on the news. “We have to keep ahead of our competitors in many different areas.”

Johnson added that using Ignition and taking real-time data from industrial processes helps the company understand their data, which in turn helps MKC make better decisions. On the other hand, Inductive Automation has been around for about two decades, but according to the company’s website, 46% of Fortune 100 companies would be using their Ignition software in more than a hundred countries.

Some of the company’s most relevant clients include Shell, FCA, Fujifilm, and ADM.
 

Managing Your Plant Floor with Ignition

According to Inductive Automation, the ultimate goal behind the Ignition platform is for engineers and technicians to manage everything on the plant floor from one place. The platform’s flexibility allows CAD drawings of the plant floor to be utilized as the background for screens, thus showing operators what is happening in real-time.

Ignition is web-based and comes with both unlimited licensing and extended interoperability, meaning it can be connected to machines from different manufacturers.

“The Ignition platform has filled a void for us between multiple manufacturers and platforms,” said Jay Sandvick, senior automation controls engineer at MKC. They also have the ability to generate reports from machines with a stronger connection.   

 

The Ignition software suite. Image courtesy of Inductive Automation.

 

In fact, Ignition is also cross-platform and, because of its server-centric web-deployment model, it can be connected to SQL databases, PLCs, and client machines.

Following the establishment of the new partnership, MKC is now using Ignition to manage central SCADA, control of Ignition Edge clients, part track, part history, reporting, alarms, transaction management, API access, predictive control for HVAC, text notifications, and more.

 

The Ignition Onboard Program

Inductive Automation’s partnership with MKC is not the only one the company is pursuing to fuel the improvement of efficiency in industrial automation The Ignition Onboard Program is a project where Inductive Automation teams up with trusted hardware providers in order to deliver selected device solutions compatible with the Ignition suite.

The St. Lucie West Water Services center in Florida started using a full Ignition SCADA system recently along with many other companies and facilities, such as Enerchem International, an oilfield services company. Enerchem has been using Ignition to optimize the process of fractionation.

Building on these successes, MKC plans to keep on expanding globally using Ignition.

“Strategic initiatives are vitally important for any organization,” Johnson said. 

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Does your company use Ignition or other software to improve industrial automation processes?