“For operators without deep metrology expertise, a closed system quickly turns into a black box.”
Proprietary environments demand multi-disciplinary know-how in robotics, controls and metrology. When that skill mix is missing, teams struggle to operate and troubleshoot, leading to expensive external support and extended downtime. The result? Lost productivity, rising total cost of ownership, and a workforce that feels locked out of its own tools.
| Benefit | Impact on Operations |
|---|---|
| Plug-and-Play Integration | Stable devices can be swapped “almost like retro-fitting” while the line keeps running |
| Faster Time-to-Market | Customers integrate devices themselves and free our experts to focus on value-adding projects |
| Vendor Independence | Retrofits with legacy hardware become feasible; best-fit components stay in service instead of going to scrap |
An open interface must never become an open wound. The integrity of the run-time process is paramount; poorly validated third-party extensions can trigger crashes that damage both equipment and reputation . Eleven Dynamics therefore enforces a rigorous “test-before-release” policy in our Demo & Testing Center where every supported device runs endurance cycles under production-level loads .
Unified—and transparent—data models let us react to sensor drift, schedule predictive maintenance and close quality loops in real time. Achieving unification requires common standards from competing sensor vendors—still a utopian ideal. Until then, our open interface remains the fastest path to actionable data for OEE improvements.
OPC UA, PROFINET, Modbus-TCP and Ethernet-IP are the lingua franca of modern factories. Supporting them ensures every Eleven Dynamics cell can speak fluently with MES, PLM and ERP systems—today and ten years from now .
When you migrate from closed to open automation, track metrics that speak to your CFO:
Integration lead time (weeks to hours)
Staff hours per change-over
Emergency travel costs for external specialists
Line availability (Uptime %) and OEE delta after each retrofit
Early adopters see payback inside one budgeting cycle because a single engineer can re-parameterise an entire cell instead of juggling five proprietary toolchains.
Imagine a lights-out factory where raw castings arrive oversize, metrology pinpoints the net shape, and autonomous machining removes excess material without human intervention. “You can’t achieve that precision without fully automated, geometry-aware inspection,”. Interdisciplinary workflow integration is the gateway to this autonomous workflow: they let measurement data flow instantly to robots, CNCs and quality systems—no manual hand-offs, no surprises.
Open automation isn’t only about flexible software; it’s a strategic hedge against talent shortages, supply-chain shocks and ever-shorter product cycles. By adopting an API-first mindset, manufacturers turn rigid islands into agile, data-driven ecosystems ready for whatever comes next. Eleven Dynamics is proud to lead this transition—one open interface at a time.
