Edge computing specialist Stratus Technologies has created a “solution in a box” process controller that provides Industry 4.0 capabilities in a single industrial-grade panel-mounted edge device. The new edge device, which hosts Rockwell Automation PlantPAx 5.0, is designed to allow organisations to scale up Industry 4.0 across multiple sites using turnkey edge devices.

PlantPAx is a plant wide distributed control system (DCS) that uses a common automation platform to integrate process and discrete control as well as plant-wide information. Version 5.0 has been designed to improve the availability of system assets that drive compliance in regulated industries and enables analytics at enterprise levels.

The DCS runs on Stratus ztC Edge, an industrial-grade edge platform which meets Class 1 Division 2 requirements to operate in hazardous environments. The ztC Edge is designed to be simple to deploy and operates autonomously. The device can be installed across multiple locations without the need for specialised skills or IT support.

“Whether it’s control in Water and Wastewater management, Machine Builders innovating for their customers, or managing remote assets in Oil & Gas, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving operational excellence. Enterprises require plant-wide data and control solutions with high availability that can both scale up and scale down based on the use case and location, while being cost effective and easy to implement,” said Dave Rapini, Business Manager for PlantPAx at Rockwell Automation.

Craig Resnick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group said, “Companies are looking increasingly for scalable edge solutions that adapt easily to their existing assets and OT infrastructure and help them achieve the flexibility, real-time visibility, operational excellence and operational resilience needed to sustain their businesses in a world where often the only certainty is uncertainty.”

“From an implementation standpoint, the Stratus and Rockwell Automation ‘Solution in a Box’ process control architecture not only addresses those market demands for industries, such as food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and life sciences, but also does so in plug-n-play fashion that is well suited for distributors and channel partners to effectively sell and support,” Mr. Resnick continued.

Frank Hill, Director of Rockwell Partnership at Stratus said, “With ztC Edge’s industrial-grade design, teams can now install redundant, virtualised Edge Computing on the DIN rail in the same cabinet as the PlantPAx DCS controllers, even in harsh environments. In addition, ztC Edge’s built-in virtualisation allows users to integrate multiple solutions – PlantPAx applications and Rockwell’s ThinManager that previously required multiple computers – into a single platform which delivers enormous savings for engineering, operations, and maintenance.”