MONEY MATTERS:

Grants for ERP: What you need A TELLTALE TWIN: LEARNING 4.0:
Sensing future innovations with
to know. p. 10 Racer Machinery uses a digital twin to shorten SICK Canada. p. 22
the critical path for implementing machinery. p. 18

Your resource for Canada’s industrial automation news AutomationMag.com

COMPUTING
ON THE EDGE
The edge is helping companies leverage the
power of unlimited computing resources from
the cloud, on the shop floor. p.12
 Motion in sync is easier than you think
with motion controllers from AutomationDirect

PS-AMC
Motion Controllers
starting at:
$284.00
(PS-AMC1)

2 1
The PS-AMC motion controllers are designed to work seamlessly
with select Productivity PLCs and provide accurate, coordinated,

plug-and-play motion control. Up to 16 independent axes of
motion control, or up to four groups of coordinated motion with
four axes each, is possible with these new controllers.
• Available in 1, 2, 3, or 4 axes models
• Maximum switching frequency of 1MHz
• Up to 24 general-purpose high-speed inputs
• Up to 12 general-purpose high-speed outputs
• Easy configuration of standard motion
profiles (flying cut-off, rotary table, etc.)
with the FREE Productivity Suite software
and built-in motion instructions
ProductivitySeries
3
PS-AMC compatible Flying cut-off
Productivity PLCs The primary function of a flying cut-off system is to
starting at:
synchronize the speed of a servo-driven carriage, on which
$203.00
(P1-550) a cutting mechanism is mounted, with the speed of a
continuously fed material to make a perpendicular cut
without stopping the feed. The flying cut-off shown above
employs four axes of motion, a rotating pipe cutter1, a
continuous pipe infeed system2, carriage positioning drive3,
and outbound conveyor4. With the PS-AMC4, all four of
these axes can be easily controlled and synchronized
within the same controller, and it's only $465.00!

Research, price, buy at:

www.automationdirect.com/motion-controller-productivity

Orders over $49 get FAST FREE SHIPPING

Our shipping policies make it easier than ever to order direct from the U.S.!

Fast free standard shipping* is available for most orders over $49 U.S.,
and that includes the brokerage fees (when using an AutomationDirect
nominated broker). Using our choice of carrier, we can reach most Canadian
destinations within 2 to 3 days.
*Free shipping does not apply to items requiring LTL transport, but those
shipments can take advantage of our negotiated super-low flat rates
(based on weight) that include brokerage fees.
See Web site for details and restrictions at: To see all products and prices, visit www.automationdirect.com
www.automationdirect.com/canada
All prices shown are U.S. Dollars

Order Today, Ships Fast!

* See our Web site for details and restrictions. © Copyright 2021 AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA USA. All rights reserved. 1-800-633-0405 the #1 value in automation
October 2021
Vol. 36, No.6

DEPARTMENTS

4 From the editor

5 Automation upfront

8
The latest industry news,
deal makers, and movers
and shakers
Show preview
12
German Technology Day

COLUMNS

10 Money matters
CONTENTS
ERP grants: what you need
COVER STORY

15
to know
14 Word of law
A primer for integrating 12 Computing on the edge
automation technology Cloud computing provides companies access to unlimited
15 Industry watch computing resources, while operational technology (OT) edge
Leading for success: Best computing helps them leverage that power on the shop floor.
practices learned over a By Jacob Stoller
40-year career
22 Learning 4.0 16 From mould to method
Sensing future innovations A once-traditional mouldmaker goes all in on robotics and
with SICK Canada automation to diversify operations and embrace the future of
manufacturing.
NEW PRODUCTS

18
By Kristina Urquhart

20 3D printing 18 A tell-tale twin

20 Hydraulics & Racer Machinery uses a digital twin to shorten the critical path
pneumatics for implementing complex machinery.
20 Machine vision & By Karen Smock
inspection
20 Motion control
21 Data acquisition
21 HMI & operator
interface
21 Sensors

ON THE COVER: JUST_SUPER / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021 AutomationMag.com 3

MA_Murr_Oct21.indd 1 2021-09-21 9:40 AM
 FROM THE EDITOR
BY SUKANYA RAY GHOSH
Your resource for Canada’s industrial
automation news
Reader Service

Hi there!
Print and digital subscription inquires
or changes, please contact:
Urszula Grzyb,

I
t is my pleasure to introduce myself as the platforms to have conversations about making Audience Development Manager
Tel: (416) 510-5180
new editor of Manufacturing AUTOMATION. the journey towards advanced manufacturing Fax: (416) 510-6875
I come from Annex Business Media’s Light and industry-wide digitalization. This is also Email: ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com
Construction Group, where I had the oppor- a chance to build a stronger community in the Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400,
tunity to work on four different media brands. I manufacturing automation sector with a Canada Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
have also covered the automotive industry in a focus.
EDITOR
previous role. On a separate note, I recently had the oppor-
Sukanya Ray Ghosh
As I step into this new role, I believe this is an tunity to listen to a group of industry experts dis- SRayGhosh@annexbusinessmedia.com
interesting time to cover the manufacturing auto- cuss about the future of automation in Canada. Tel: 416-510-5225
mation industry. The global pandemic has forced Concerns were raised about a seeming gap in
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
people to innovate, evolve and pivot on a regular the knowledge base about practical applications
Kathryn Swan
basis. The manufacturing industry in Canada of high-level concepts like Industry 4.0. As a kswan@annexbusinessmedia.com
has seen plenty of disruptions and faced several community, this industry has to come together Tel: 647-339-4880
challenges over the past year, for example, supply to find solutions and break down such barriers.
chain issues and labour shortages. However, oppor- It is not possible, of course, to go from zero to GROUP PUBLISHER
Paul Grossinger
tunities have also opened up for begin- 100 in a single day, where all com-
pgrossinger@annexbusinessmedia.com
ning a journey towards a wider digital panies suddenly have fully integrated
transformation. And this seems like the optimized systems. The group agreed MEDIA DESIGNER
perfect time to begin the conversation I would love that there is education that needs to Graham Jeffrey
about automating for the future. to hear about happen about the practical business gjeffrey@annexbusinessmedia.com
This Fall, we are seeing a lot of all the exciting applications and business benefits of ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
popular industry events coming back things that are automation. Debbie Smith
in a mix of in-person, hybrid and vir- happening in It all comes down to having dsmith@annexbusinessmedia.com
tual formats. People and companies your company continuous conversations across all Tel: 416-442-5600 ext 3221
are ready to connect as a community. lately – what levels. And that is why I am here. In COO
2020 was ruled by virtual events and has worked for my role as editor of Manufacturing Scott Jamieson
online education dissemination, as you the best. AUTOMATION, it is my job to ensure sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
the virtual space was able to offer tre- that all of you have this platform at CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
mendous possibilities, with attendees from across your disposal. I am not the expert here – you Alena Barreca, Jon DeSouza, Treena Hein, Paul
Hogendoorn, Maxime Lacouture, Karen Smock,
Canada being able to join in from the convenience are. You know more about the latest automation Jacob Stoller
and safety of their homes. With the hybrid format, technologies, the actual challenges the industry
Manufacturing AUTOMATION is published
people can connect face-to-face once again, and is facing and what are the best solutions to these seven times a year by:
have the choice to join virtually if that is what they challenges. My focus will always be on ensuring Annex Business Media
prefer. In-person events offer a chance to enter that you are heard and information is shared. 111 Gordon Baker Rd.,
into organic conversations and build relationships I would love to hear about all the exciting Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M2H 3R1
Tel: 416-442-5600
on a personal level. However, public health and things that are happening in your company lately. Fax: 416-442-2191
safety remains a priority. Event organizers every- I want to know what has worked well for you,
where are taking extra precautions and following what plans you have for the future and the lessons Printed in Canada ISSN 1480-2996
Publication Mail Agreement #40065710
government guidelines to ensure that the return learned along the way. Do you know people whose
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
to live events is a true success. Many have im- achievements and contributions to the industry Canada — $43 per year
posed limitations on the number of people who need to be celebrated? Tell me about them. What United States — $75.50 (US) per year
can attend. The virtual option is especially useful are the topics that have caught your interest the Foreign — $86 (US) per year
Students — $20.50 per year
in such cases as no one has to miss out on the most lately? Share your stories and ideas with me
information and education, even if they are not at srayghosh@annexbusinessmedia.com. I look ANNEX PRIVACY OFFICER
email: privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com
able to attend the live version. The key takeaway forward to meeting all of you soon sometime in Tel: 800-668-2374
here is that these events are offering excellent the near future. | MA Occasionally, Manufacturing AUTOMATION will mail
information on behalf of industry related groups whose
products and services we believe may be of interest to
you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please
contact our circulation department in any of the four
CONNECT ways listed above.

@AutomationMag srayghosh@annexbusinessmedia.com /company/automation-mag The contents of Manufacturing AUTOMATION are

© 2021 by Annex Business Media and may not be
reproduced in whole or part without written consent.
Annex Business Media disclaims any warranty as to the
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of
this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the
AL DIGGINS, Chairman of the Board, Treasurer and General Manager, Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon
DAVID GREEN, Technology and Business-to-Business Consultant information in this publication.
SHELLEY FELLOWS, Chair, Automate Canada
KARIN LINDNER, Founder and Owner of Karico Performance Solutions
DAVID MCPHAIL, President and CEO, Memex Automation
Association Partner
NIGEL SOUTHWAY, Business Productivity Consultant and Author on Lean Thinking
BILL VALEDIS, Support Systems Developer, KINITO Support Systems

4 @AutomationMag October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

 AUTOMATION UPFRONT

ROBOTICS together to design, engineer

Formic Technologies
offering robots for hire
Launched on Aug. 31, Formic
Technologies, a robotics-as-a-ser-
vice company, is offering manu-
facturers the option to hire
robots to help them do more
with automation without high
costs. Fully customized robots
from top suppliers are available
on an hourly rate basis, at no
and build a connected and
autonomous zero-emissions
vehicle (ZEV) concept car and its
digital twin, which will be used
as a virtual platform for testing
and validating connected and
autonomous (CAV) technologies
before they are integrated into
the physical car.
FedDev Ontario’s investment
in this project will support 80 Formic Technologies is offering robots for hire on an hourly rate basis.
| AT11-19US |

upfront cost. Aimed at helping

small and medium-size manu-
facturers, Formic will take care
of every aspect of financing and
deployment, including scoping,
: Take flight with
engineering, purchasing, imple-
mentation and maintenance.
Formic’s customers will not have
flying motion technology!
to pay for system downtime. Flying 2D product transport with up to 6 degrees of freedom
Purchasing robots can be a
lengthy and expensive process.
With this service, Formic intends
to eliminate such barriers from
the path of small manufacturers
so they are able to embrace auto-
mation.
“We started Formic because
Levitating
we saw all that automation can planar movers
do and we wanted to provide
a way for any manufacturer to Scalable
kg payload
easily adopt automation in a
simple, risk-free and on-demand 360°
360°
rotation
way,” said Saman Farid, CEO and
co-founder. 5° Tilting
by up to 5°

INVESTMENT Lifting
by up to 5 mm

Feds invest $5M in Velocities

up to 2 m/s
APMA

The federal government is

investing $5 million in the Auto-
motive Parts Manufacturers’ XPlanar enables new dimensions of freedom in product and material handling: Levitating planar movers
fly over flexibly arranged planar tiles accommodating nearly any track layout and path planning.
Association (APMA) to support
Individual 2D transport at up to 2 m/s
Project Arrow, the automotive Processing with up to 6 degrees of freedom
industry’s first Canadian-made, Transport and processing in one system
zero-emission concept vehicle. Wear-free, hygienic and easy to clean
APMA will use its connections Free arrangement of planar tiles enabling totally customized machine and process layouts
Multi-mover control enables parallel and individual product handling
in the automotive manufactur-
Fully integrated into the powerful and standardized PC-based Beckhoff control system
PHOTO: FORMIC TECHNOLOGIES

ing industry – its membership (TwinCAT, PLC IEC 61131, Motion, Measurement, Machine Learning, Vision, Communication, HMI)
accounts for 90 percent of all For use across all industries: assembly, packaging, food/bev, pharma, laboratory, entertainment, …
independent automotive parts
manufacturers in Canada – to
bring together industry and Scan to
experience
academic partners in southern XPlanar in
action
Ontario to facilitate the project.
The partners will work
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021 AutomationMag.com 5
MA_Beckhoff_Oct21.indd 1 2021-09-15 2:59 PM
 AUTOMATION UPFRONT
jobs, leverage over $6.6 million
in other funding, support at least
40 automotive suppliers and
technology firms, and generate
$50 million in additional invest-
ment.
DEAL MAKERS
Linamar to
manufacture drive
transmission system
Linamar Corporation plans to
manufacture a drive transmission
system for industrial robotics
developed by Netherlands-based
Innovative Mechatronic Systems
(IMSystems). The companies
entered into a global manufac-
turing agreement that will see
the Guelph, Ont.-based Linamar
bring the Archimedes Drive
transmission system to market
once the design has been proven
and production is at the point
where it requires scale-up.
Reliable
Motion Feedback
Encoders designed for industrial automation
Contact us to
find out more.
1-800-366-5412 | encoder.com
6 @AutomationMag
MA_Encoder_Oct21.indd 1
20210915_MA_QuarterPage-vert_3.375x5.indd 1
The Archimedes Drive system
is comprised of an assembly mod-
ule that uses frictional contact
instead of gear teeth to transmit
torque, resulting in a more effi-
cient and precise gearbox – and
one that promises to be more
scalable.
“This strategic partnership is
another great step for us into the
opportunistic industrial robotics
market, given the growing global
trend of industrial automation
and the ongoing demand for
better, more accurate robotic
systems,” says Linda Hasenfratz,
Linamar’s CEO. “IMSystems
is truly a leader in this area,
disrupting a technology that has
not seen significant innovation
or improvement in decades.”
IMSystems’ existing share-
holders include ABB Tech-
nology Ventures and Innova-
tionQuarter (IQ), a regional
economic development agency
for the greater Rotterdam – The
2021-09-13
9/13/2021
9:37:19 AMPM
Valley Mechanical will function under the ReadyForce banner.
Hague area in the Netherlands.
This latest Series A Investment
brings Linamar and Finindus, a
Belgium-based early-stage and
growth investment company,
into the consortium.
ReadyForce Holdco
acquires Valley
Mechanical
ReadyForce Holdco, a division of
the Metro Group of Companies,
has acquired Valley Mechanical.
The deal allows the companies
to offer comprehensive service,
strengthens their position
within the industry and opens
avenues for future growth.
Valley Mechanical specializes
in industrial, commercial and
process mechanical contracting.
As per the agreement, Valley
Mechanical will continue to
function as an independent
entity under the ReadyForce
banner. Valley Mechanical’s
complementary set of capabil-
ities, expertise and services will
help the companies address
growing demands and evolving
customer needs.
Mat Glen, past president of
Valley Mechanical, is staying on
as general manager to lead the
company and its team in align-
ment with Ready Machinery.
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
3:22
IBM partners with Black
& Veatch
IBM is partnering with Black &
Veatch to build Asset Perform-
ance Management (APM) solu-
tions, such as remote monitoring
technologies that incorporate
data analytics and artificial intel-
ligence. The offering will combine
Black & Veatch Asset Manage-
ment Services (AMS) and digital
analytics with IBM’s Maximo
Application Suite.
Black & Veatch operates four
monitoring and diagnostics cen-
tres and conducts near real-time
detection and analysis of emerging
problems by running thousands of
models and scenarios to predict
changes in asset performance.
IBM Maximo Application
Suite’s Assist, Monitor, Health,
Predict and Visual Inspection
capabilities will integrate Black &
Veatch monitoring and diagnos-
tics expertise and data analytics
with maintenance management.
The two companies also plan to
expand the IBM Digital Twin Ex-
PHOTO:READYFORCE HOLDCO
change by selling Black & Veatch’s
digital twin asset models in IBM’s
inventory.
As assets and facilities continue
to evolve and the volume of data
they generate grows, knowing how
to effectively manage and use this
information is a major challenge
for many organizations. As a result,
the dashboards used for monitor-
ing data can be overwhelming and
have so many alerts that important
ones may be ignored. AI and ma-
chine learning can help bridge that
gap and reduce this “alarm fatigue”
by sorting through the thousands
of incoming data points, so organ-
izations can prioritize alerts and
decisively plan their actions. With
their solution, IBM and Black &
Veatch aim to reduce the number
of incoming data points to a hand-
ful of actionable insights.
EVENTS
ATX Canada returns
in-person
Advanced Design & Manufac-
turing is returning in-person to
Toronto with its five well-known
event brands. ADM is taking this
step with the support of key in-
dustry partners, including Annex
Business Media.
The 2021 edition will take place
from Nov. 9 to 11 at the Toronto
Congress Centre. Automation
Technology Expo (ATX) is one
of the five event brands that will
occupy the show floor.
Attendees will have the
opportunity to explore the latest
trends and technologies shaping
the future of advanced design
and manufacturing across auto-
mation, robotics and more.
“The power of face-to-face con-
nection plays an undeniable role
in the industry’s advancement and
has been sorely missed over the past
eighteen months,” said Jenny Mc-
Call, group event director of ADM,
Informa Markets. “This event is
strategically held in Toronto, as it is
home to a selection of the world’s
leading injection mould and tool-
makers, additive manufacturing
metal powder suppliers, and emer-
ging R&D in machining technology.
Many of these innovators will walk
the halls of ADM in search of new
deals and peer-to-peer connection.”
The event is geared up to
connect 250 brands with thou-
sands of buyers and reunite the
community in-person.
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021
MOVERS & SHAKERS SensoNODETM for Accumulators
Powered by Wainbee Expertise
Attabotics has hired Cyra
Richardson as its chief
technology officer and chief
product officer, and Julien
Seret as vice-president of the
company’s network supply
chain. Coming into Attabotics
with 30 years of experience,
Richardson will lead the
company’s product strategy,
commercialization, product
development and technical
strategy in her new positions.
In her various previous roles,
her work has focussed on
IoT technology, AI, cloud
connectivity, robotics and
scaling technology products
and organizations. She has
been involved in scaling up
businesses as well. She has
held leadership positions in
Wind River, Microsoft and
Amazon. Seret will be in Long-Range Wireless Sensors for
charge of Attabotics’ novel
supply chain approach in his Measuring Pre-Charge
new role. He has previously
served in several leadership • Pressure-relieving thread that
positions at SoftBank improves safety by slowly
Robotics. He brings with
him his expertise in micro- releasing trapped gas pressure
fulfillment and knowledge upon disassembly
of automation and robotics • Easy Bluetooth connection
technologies.
• Customized module within
The Shape Process SCOUTTM mobile app software
Automation (SPA) group has • Consistent, accurate pressure
appointed Sargon Haddad
as the vice-president of & temperature readings
its Burlington division in • Connected mode for data
Ontario. Haddad will be collection & analysis
a part of the company’s
senior leadership team and • Broadcast mode for access to any
will report to Nino LaDuca, user within range
global president of SPA. • No external power supply needed
Haddad will be in charge of
several key functions within • LED indicator for sensor status
the company, including
applications, engineering Protect Your System From
and operations. Sargon has Costly Downtime
been an integral part of
SPA’s Burlington leadership Experience Superior Productivity
and operations team since & Ease of Use
June 2015. He has led
several key projects and WAINBEE.com
also oversaw the recent
operational transition in
1-888-WAINBEE (924-6233)
the company’s Burlington Your Motion & Control, Filtration and Automation Solutions Partner
facility.
AutomationMag.com 7
MA_Wainbee_Oct21.indd 1 2021-09-14 11:47 AM
SHOW PREVIEW
The four founding members of German Technology Day –
ANDREAS SOBOTTA, CEO and general manager at Pilz Automation
Safety Canada; ANDRE BOUSETTE, president of Rittal Canada;
JULIANO MATIAS, president of Wago Canada; and ROLAND
YOUNK, president of Eplan Canada – share their story of the
show’s journey.
MA: Andreas, this is the third
year for German Technology
Day. How did it all begin?
AS: Whoever has had a
chance to visit the Hanover
trade show has probably seen
the huge number of German
technology companies,
especially in automation halls
nine and 11. When I was at the
show in April 2018, I started
thinking about showcasing
German technology here
in Canada. Many mid-sized
German companies (mid-size
could mean anything from $50
million to $3 billion in sales)
are globally successful, but are
not very well known in North
America. A special event like
the German Technology Day
(GTD) benefits these companies
as well as their Canadian
customers.
MA: What were the next steps
that you took to make this
show a reality?
AS: I contacted the Canadian
German Chamber of Industry
and Commerce to get its
feedback. Thomas Beck
(former president) and Yvonne
Denz (the new president)
liked the idea. They offered
their support and connections
to have even the German
ambassador and the German
consulate involved. With this
backup, it was easy to convince
the first companies to join.
MA: Andre, how did Rittal
become a founding member
of GTD?
AB: After Andreas contacted
our former president Tim
Rourke, Tim approached
me to support the event. He
believed it would be a game
changer. I was all over it from
8 @AutomationMag
the beginning and thought that
this was a great opportunity
to showcase that Rittal offers
more than just enclosures.
A part of the Rittal solution
is the Eplan software. So, we
contacted Roland and shared
this idea.
RY: It took me a split second
to say yes. This was the perfect
opportunity to show the
Canadian market that the Eplan
software works with a lot of
products, and that these products
can be in one panel, working as
one solution.
JM: When Andreas shared this
idea with me and said that I had
the first shot, I did not hesitate at
all to join. Each of our companies
individually can address a certain
part of the Canadian market,
but all four together can attract
much more customers to an
event like this.
MA: The first GTD had four
participating companies. How
did the event pan out?
AS: We approached a couple of
other companies, but they weren’t
prepared at that time. So, the first
event had Eplan, Pilz, Rittal and
Wago – the “fab four”. We had two
venues, one in Mississauga, and
one in Kitchener. All marketing
departments worked closely
together to promote the events.
The IT teams from Wago and
Eplan did a great job creating a
website.
AB: The turnout was great.
The attendance in Mississauga
exceeded 130, and in Kitchener
we had over 30 people. I think
what made it so successful was
the mixture of educational
seminars and a trade show. The
attendees had the chance to
speak to various people at the
booths, as well as attend the
seminar sessions.
RY: Most of the attendees were
there for several hours, starting
with breakfast and staying back
even after lunch. By the way, the
entire event is free of charge. It
includes the seminars, parking,
food and beverages, plus some
giveaways.
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
MA: The 2020 GTD was a virtual
event. How did that go?
AS: This was an even greater
success. We had over 350
participants! One reason
was that Murrelektronik and
Bosch-Rexroth joined the
group. Another reason probably
was the chance to win up to
$1,000 cash. The German
ambassador provided a welcome
video, while the presidents
of the six companies gave an
introductory presentation. The
seminars were conducted live in
30-minute slots.
RY: Eplan has several years of
experience with virtual trade
shows. We used the Eplan
platform for the 2020 GTD. The
feedback from the attendees was
amazing.
MA: What have you planned for
this year’s event?
AS: With Festo joining us, we
have seven companies this year.
We have planned two face-to-
face events, one in Toronto on
Oct. 26, and one in Montreal on
Nov. 2. We also have a virtual
event parallel to the Toronto
event. We will live-stream all
presentations and keep the
virtual booths open. If people
cannot make it in person,
they still have the option to
attend virtually. The German
ambassador and the consul will
join us for the opening sessions.
MA: What do you have in mind
for future events?
JM: So far, we have only non-
competing German companies
as members. For 2022, we plan
to include direct competitors
of our seven current members
in the event. We hope to get
a total of 15 participating
companies. | MA
 Safely.
So you’re searching for a partner to safely automate your
machines? Look no further!

Get to know us – Pilz is your global partner for

innovative products, systems and services covering all as-
pects of automation, safety and security.

Find out more: www.pilz.ca/we-automate-safely

- October 26 - Toronto (In-Person and Virtual)

- November 2 - Montreal (In-Person)
Pilz Automation Safety Canada L.P.
Visit www.germantechnologyday.com
Mississauga, ON
Website: www.pilz.ca
Email: info@pilz.ca
Phone: +1 905 821-7459
 MONEY MATTERS Matthew Mongeon is a marketing coordinator at Mentor Works. He
helps business owners by creating educational content on what
BY MATTHEW MONGEON government funding opportunities are available to Canadian business-
es. To find out your business’s eligibility for grants and tax credits, visit
mentorworks.ca.

Grants for ERP: What you need to know

E
nterprise resource planning
(ERP) software can help busi-
nesses streamline and manage
all core business activities,
processes and communications with
suppliers and other partners. This
can revolutionize key functions of
a business, including supply chain
operations, production, project
management, accounting, procure-
ment, finance, trade and more.
Implementing ERPs and embedding
the tool into employees’ day-to-day
workflows can be quite costly and
time-intensive given how complex
these systems need to be when man-
aging so many facets of a company. The
Canadian government has introduced
several non-repayable funding pro-
grams for the implementation, train-
ing and upgrading of ERP systems.

ERP implementation
The Canadian Agricultural Strategic
Priorities Program (CASPP) pro-
vides funding for projects that address
national or sector-wide priorities that
help the agricultural industry miti-
gate emerging issues and capitalize
on opportunities. CASPP provides up
to 50 percent of eligible project costs
to a maximum of $1 million in non-re-
payable funding. Eligible projects
include adopting new technologies,
such as ERP systems, to help improve on the funding stream that an appli- program administered by the Ontario
productivity, environmental sustain- cant applies under, including streams Centre of Innovation (OCI) and the
ability, strategic planning, capacity covering costs towards ERP imple- Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ As-
building and emerging issues. mentations, productivity improve- sociation (APMA). It helps automotive
Eligible businesses include not-for- ments, waste monitoring, and more. supply chain businesses improve
profit organizations and associations, The goal of Applicants for this funding stream their operational efficiency and global
cooperatives, marketing boards and the Canada must be Ontario-based manufac- competitiveness through the adoption
indigenous groups. This program is Job Grant turers that have a CRA number. of lean manufacturing processes and
accepting applicants until funding is program is They must have under 200 full- Industry 4.0-related technologies,
depleted. The projects cannot exceed to increase time equivalent employees, a valid including hardware and software im-
five years in duration. employability Premises Identification Number plementation and related training.
The Canadian Agricultural Part- and vendor quotes that demonstrate This program covers up to 50
of Canadian
nership (CAP) is a $3 billion invest- project costs. They must be directly percent of eligible project costs to a
ment from the federal, provincial, workers by involved in transforming agricultural maximum of $100,000 in Ontario gov-
PHOTO: YOH4NN / E+ / GETTY IMAGES

and territorial governments to grow
the agri-food sector over the course
of five years (2018 to 2023). One of
the streams within this program is
the CAP Ontario: Agri-Processors
Stream, which provides between 25
percent to 50 percent of eligible ex-
penses to a maximum of $20,000 to
$250,000 in grant funding depending
10 @AutomationMag
teaching commodities, food, beverage or
them new agri-based bio-products. Application
skills that are intake periods for this program are
desirable in announced on the program’s website
their industry throughout the year for their various
and role. project focus areas.
The Ontario Automotive Mod-
ernization Program (O-AMP) is an
Ontario provincial government funding
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
ernment grants. Businesses eligible for
O-AMP funding must be an Ontario
automotive business with fewer
than 500 employees and at least 50
percent of revenue coming from the
automotive supply sector. The O-AMP
program is currently closed. Watch out
for information about future funding
rounds in fall 2021.
Funding for ERP training manufacturing productivity and as it receives funding top-ups application is approved and a
The Canada Job Grant (CJG) is promote exports. from the government. contribution agreement is signed
a federal-provincial co-funded The applicant must be a before carrying out project ac-
program that launched in 2014 Southern Ontario manufacturer Applying for ERP grants tivities or expenses. If you need
with the purpose of upskilling that is financially stable, has ten One common element across help determining which pro-
new and existing employees. to1000 employees, has been in- all of these programs is the need gram is best for your business,
The goal of the program is to corporated for more than three to proactively submit a funding please call Mentor Works team
increase the employability of years and is currently exporting proposal to the funding agency at 1-888-599-3111 who can help
Canadian workers by teaching or intends to as a result of the before starting your project. Most you target the most suitable pro-
them new skills that are desir- training. This funding initiative government grants and repayable grams for your business’ unique
able in their industry and role. has been around for several years funding programs require appli- investments and streamline the
The CJG maintains a provincial and releases funding periodically cants to wait until their funding application process. | MA
stream for each province, except
for Quebec, and each provincial
stream has varying funding
amounts and eligibility criteria.
Each provincial variant of the
CJG program has unique eligi-
Looking for cost effective and
bility criteria and funding limits. energy efficient positioning?
Between 50 to 100 percent of eli-
gible training costs are covered
based on the type of training,
employer and trainee. Eligible
training costs typically include
third party training costs,
course fees, textbooks, materi-
als, supplies and examination
fees. Eligible training themes
vary by province. Many variants
allow training for post-second-
ary courses, technical skills
development and transferrable
skills development.

Implementing ERPs and

embedding the tools into
employees’ day-to-day
workflows can be quite
costly and time-intensive.

The program is generally

open to the majority of small
and medium-sized enterprises
Easy Integration
to train Canadian employees
and new hires and can be used
towards ERP training.
The Ontario Manufacturing
Training Program (OMTP) The simplicity of pneumatics combined with the advantages of electric automation
provides up to $100,000 in grant The Simplified Motion Series axes are ideal for simple positioning and pressing/clamping
funding or 25 to 50 percent of movements.
eligible trainer costs (third party
or in-house) and 25 to 50 percent • Quick and easy commissioning using the integrated buttons on the motor or via IO-Link
of trainees’ internal labour costs • Connection via IO-Link for enhanced functionality including diagnostics
for time spent being trained. The • Simple control with 2 digital inputs for basic functions or enhanced control with
training projects that are eligible IO-Link for additional functions
for funding must be related to
software (for example, ERP,
CRM or CAD software), equip- festo.com
ment and processes to improve
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021 EA-SMS-MA-Oct-5.875x7.875.indd 1 9/16/2021 12:23:56 PM 11
AutomationMag.com
MA_Festo_Oct21.indd 1 2021-09-20 2:12 PM
COVER STORY
COMPUTING
ON THE EDGE
Cloud computing has given companies access
to unlimited computing resources. Operational
technology (OT) edge computing is helping them
leverage that power on the shop floor.
BY JACOB STOLLER
A
ssembly line cameras that
can sense minute paint
quality defects are, by to-
day’s standards, ordinary
devices. What’s difficult
is reducing the massive amounts of
data they collect to timely information
for updating ERP systems, adjusting
machines on the fly, alerting operators
or even shutting down production lines.
Industrial edge computing, some-
times called operational technology
(OT) edge computing, provides the
computing brainpower that makes this
possible. According to IDC research
data, annual growth for the segment in
Canada is 12.3 percent, with the annual
total reaching $7.5 billion by 2024.
“If you’re looking at a very simple
high-definition webcam setup to track
paint quality on cars, there’s a huge
amount of data it’s processing,” says
Dave Pearson, research vice-president
of infrastructure at IDC Canada, “but
only a tiny portion of that ever needs to
be acted on.”
Edge computing is tough to define
because it’s a topology rather than a
class of technology. “Edge computing is
really a networking philosophy, so it’s a
very broad umbrella,” says Mike Daly,
vice-president of sales at St-Laurent-
based automation provider Rotalec. “It
brings computing together to simplify
it and it works across many different
platforms. So, it’s defined by what you
are using it for.”
What the approach does is fill in gaps
where cloud computing and storage are
not viable options. The most commonly
12 @AutomationMag
discussed issue here is latency – the
delay in sending and receiving data to
and from the cloud. By bringing the
necessary computing power to the
shop floor, edge computing lowers
the latency significantly, enabling the
instantaneous response required in
high-speed automation applications.
“I often illustrate this by pointing
out that you don’t want to have a system
that’s sending an email off to find out
whether or not it needs to shut off a
machine when an employee’s hand is
caught inside it,” says Pearson.
A related data transmission problem
is one that manufacturing shares with
mining and agriculture – limitation in
bandwidth between the work facility
and the cloud. In many situations, the
bandwidth is simply not available. In
others, the cost of transporting high
volumes of data between the plant
and cloud servers is prohibitive. This
is amplified by what IDC calls source
density – the staggering number of IoT
devices that are collecting data in the
typical plant.
“You never want to send all the data
back,” says Pearson. “You want to pro-
cess it there, discard the non-essential
information and deal with the outliers
that you’re finding on the floor.”
Edge computing not only makes
local decisions for automated processes
but provides real-time information for
enterprise apps hosted in the cloud. As
such, it acts as an intelligent grid that
understands the apps that it is com-
municating with – for example, a sup-
ply chain control tower – and decides
whether information gets transmitted,
stored or deleted.
“When I have a control tower, I want
summarization data,” says Vijay Pandi-
arajan, director of product management
at IBM Sterling. “Later on, I might need
some other portion from the millions
and millions of data bits that I’ve got,
but I don’t know what portion I need.
So you want to keep and process that
data on the edge.”
Edge computing also keeps sensitive
data within the factory walls, reducing
According to IDC its exposure to potential hackers. “I
research data, annual
growth for industrial
think security is one element that’s driv-
edge computing in ing the adoption of cloud and connected
Canada is 12.3 edge computing, allowing customers to
percent, with the
view and manage security holistically
PHOTO: BJDLZX / E+ / GETTY IMAGES
annual total reaching
$7.5 billion by 2024. across their IT infrastructure,” says Hen-
rik Gutle, general manager, Microsoft
Azure, Microsoft Canada.
A common issue, Gutle says, is
compliance with security standards
such as ISA 95. “This has specific re-
quirements around network isolation
that can be really tricky to deal with,”
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

By bringing the necessary computing
power to the shop floor, edge
computing lowers latency significantly,
enabling the instantaneous response
required in high-speed automation
applications.
he says. Another is data residency –
keeping sensitive data from crossing
international boundaries.
Implementation
As Daly points out, edge computing
adoption is being driven by particular
use cases. Rotalec is seeing strong
demand for predictive maintenance,
which uses artificial intelligence (AI)
to scan large amounts of IoT data for
potential failure patterns.
Bringing technologies like AI and
video processing to the shop floor has
become increasingly viable with the
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021
release of ultra-fast server technology
from the likes of Xeon and NVidia.
“Hardware has changed a lot in the last
couple of years,” says John Younnes, co-
founder and COO of edge platform pro-
vider Litmus. “With the high-powered
servers and chip processors that are
coming out, a lot more can be done on
the edge with AI and video processing.”
Graphics processing units (GPUs)
and vision processing units (VPUs),
for example, are enabling use cases for
image processing and recognition.
Implementing automation projects
that leverage edge computing, however,
involves some serious hurdles from
an IT perspective. The primary one is
integration with legacy equipment that
might be thirty years old.
“I think probably the hardest thing
for manufacturers to do right now is to
integrate this technology into existing
legacy systems,” says Pearson. “A lot of
those systems are proprietary and don’t
communicate well with each other. So,
if we say we’re suddenly going to make
our processes machine-learning cen-
tric, that becomes a very difficult task.”
As Younnes explains, the Litmus
edge computing platform functions
as a smart data broker that processes
and transmits data from diverse legacy
devices. “Our core competency is really
solving that first piece, which is dealing
with data collection from control sys-
tems and legacy devices,” says Younnes.
“We’ve developed hundreds of different
drivers, so we can connect to all the data
sources, collect that data and then we
normalize it into a common structure
and format. And then we have different
tools where you can do things like KPI
calculations, or run different AI models
on top of the data with closed loop con-
trol back to the control systems.”
The challenge, however, is not just
technical – there is often a significant
culture gap between the engineers that
plan automation projects and the IT
people who support edge computing.
“Generally, it’s the IT people who control
the budgets,” says Younnes, “but people
who fully understand how they should
be grasping the benefits of these technol-
ogies are not always easy to find.”
Moving forward
The future of edge computing is tied
to the use cases it enables. Predictive
maintenance, quality control, aug-
mented reality, safety and robotics are
frequently-discussed examples, but
the possibilities span the entire field
of manufacturing automation. Once
VPU
A vision processing
manufacturers have mastered the learn-
ing curve of installing and maintaining
an edge computing environment, auto-
unit (VPU) is a mation is likely to accelerate.
specialized micro- “As manufacturing gets more and
processor that
accelerates macine
more connected and generates more
vision, machine and more data, this will drive acceler-
learning and artificial ated edge computing adoption,” says
intelligence
technologies.
Gutle. |  MA
Jacob Stoller is a journalist and author who
writes about Lean, information technology and
finance.
AutomationMag.com 13
 Robert Piasentin is a partner in McMillan LLP’s technology group. He offers practical
WORD OF LAW legal advice that drives the success of his clients’ leadership, governance and strategic
BY ROBERT PIASENTIN AND negotiation initiatives. His commercial practice encompasses technology outsourcing
transactions; software development and licensing solutions; strategic IP and technology
ANIKA KLASSEN commercialization arrangements; and privacy and cybersecurity issues.
Anika Klassen is an articling student at McMillan. For more information about the
authors, please visit mcmillan.ca.

A primer for integrating automation technology

T
he manufacturing
technology landscape
has evolved drastically
over recent decades.
As we enter the fourth industrial
revolution, assessing the various
technologies available and iden-
tifying those best suited for your
business can be a daunting task.
In recent years, innovation in
automation technology (AT) has
burgeoned and, with a healthy
push from changes caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic, has
resulted in a significant acceler-
ation in AT adoption.
Thoughtfully integrating
technology can help streamline
operations, improve output
quality and cut costs, all of which
can lead to competitive industry
positioning and profit maximiz-
ation. Conversely, rushed or
ill-conceived integration can lead
to inefficiencies, material cost in-
creases and operational headaches
for management.
Articulating your current
goals and needs
The first step in integrating
manufacturing technology is to
determine what motivates your
pursuit of automation. AT can
help your business by improv-
ing quality control, enhancing
scalability, improving speed to
market, lowering operational
costs, improving safety, or some
combination of each. Clearly ar-
ticulating your goals and needs for
automating early in your analysis
will enable you to focus your pur-
suit towards AT that maximizes
efficiency and profitability within
competitive industry positioning.
Demand for sustainability and
energy efficiency throughout the
manufacturing supply chain is
another important AT integration
consideration. Environmentally
unsustainable and inefficient
energy practices can both derail
any material cost-savings arising
from AT investments and con-
tribute to negative consumer
perceptions of your business.
Climate-focused initiatives and
increased consumer pressures to
incorporate sustainable practices
are compelling manufacturing
companies to adopt environ-
mentally sustainable automation
processes. Early adoption of
sustainable and environmentally
sensitive AT can yield competitive
advantages by reinforcing con-
sumer loyalty, decreasing operat-
ing costs and minimizing future
regulatory compliance costs.
Negotiating a licensing
agreement
business plan. For instance, if
your affiliate companies need to
use your AT, you must ensure the
license does not impose signifi-
cant additional costs or blanket
prohibitions on such use. Relat-
edly, it is prudent to understand
all applicable licensing fees (per
user, monthly, per transaction,
etc.) and how changes in vendor
fee structures can affect your
bottom line.
It is also crucial to understand
whether the license grants
ownership of any copyright, pat-
ent or other intellectual property
rights associated with production
outputs to the technology vendor.
For example, if by using AT you
are able to develop a more effect-
ive means for manufacturing or
delivering your products and ser-
vices, you will want to preserve
commercialization and use rights
under license terms that reflect
those requirements adequately.
Accordingly, it is important to
verify that such developments do
technology poses cybersecurity
risks. Malicious actors frequently
take advantage of vulnerabilities
in operational technology (OT)
ecosystems, the networks of
hardware and software that
enable manufacturing equip-
ment and processes to operate
efficiently. As these actors de-
velop more sophisticated attack
strategies, OT networks are often
slow to or fail to adopt corres-
ponding defences. Traditional
information technology defence
strategies and regulatory re-
sponses to cyber-threats are often
unsuitable for OT networks. For
instance, OT devices may lack
the programming sophistication
to enact precautionary measures
such as encryption as a first
line of defence. Moreover, OT
ecosystems that rely on multiple
AT vendors have heightened
cybersecurity risks because of the
increased scope of infrastructure
exposure to malicious actors.
Each AT product must have its
own cybersecurity protocols
while working cohesively within
the ecosystem. Simply assuming
that various technologies are
secure and can securely interact
is a dangerous game.
There are abundant opportun-
ities for manufacturing business-
es to leverage AT for improved
operational efficiency and profit
maximization. However, it is easy
to fall into the trap of licensing
or acquiring AT simply because
others are taking that approach.
AT specifically tailored to your
business needs can certainly
help you achieve your business
PHOTO: ROBERT DALY / OJO IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES

your business systems.
Considering your future
needs
In the automation space, data
analytics is indispensable and
leveraging data-driven solutions
is imperative. Proactive identifi-
cation of process improvement
opportunities as well as scalable
data analytic tools and their
respective license offerings are in-
tegral to securing and maintaining
14 @AutomationMag
Before committing to an AT
vendor, it is paramount that your
licensing agreement accurately
authorizes your intended use
of the technology. Licenses will
often contain limitations on the
duration or scope of the license,
number of licensed users and lo-
cations for permitted use. Some
limitations may be agreeable,
but it is critical to ensure that
prescribed limitations do not
impede the execution of your
not immediately become vendor
property requiring an additional
fee to use them. Neglecting to
consider ownership terms at
the outset of an AT licensing
relationship may result in costly
litigation, inability to profit from
innovation and missed mar-
ket-penetration opportunities.
Understanding
cybersecurity risks
Adopting any form of modern
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
goals when you have thoughtful-
ly and carefully considered and
identified your short-, medium-
and long-term goals, surveyed
available AT options and nego-
tiated appropriate AT licensing
terms. Like any technology, AT
has the potential to grow your
business and yield efficiencies,
but AT cannot overcome a lack
of preparation or analysis with
respect to your business needs
and requirements. | MA
 Paul Hogendoorn co-founded FreePoint Technologies with the goal
INDUSTRY WATCH of giving manufacturers the benefit of information technologies that
BY PAUL HOGENDOORN inform, empower and motivate their most critical asset – their people.
He can be reached at hogendoorn.paul@gmail.com or linkedin.com/in/
paulhogendoorn.

Leading for success: Tips to help you make your

company great

I
’m continuing the series of sharing
tips I’ve learned from manufacturing
companies and leaders I had the
privilege of working with that were
clearly succeeding and thriving, rather
than just surviving. The tips are the
best things I gleaned from them. The
idea behind this series is to share all so
everyone can do even better.
In the first column, the two tips were:
1) “Don’t make a big production of it”,
and 2) “Your people are the smartest
people in the room”. The first dealt with
introducing new ideas and technology
to the floor, and the second was to make
sure you listened to the smart people
involved in your day-to-day operation
before relying on outside advice or
influence. (You can find that column
in the September 2021 edition).

Tip #3: “What gets measured

gets improved.”
You might’ve heard this before, but
there’s a catch – two actually. The first
is “what” you measure is very import-
ant. If you measure the wrong thing, the
improvements you make won’t make
much difference – if any at all – to your
operation. The best example I saw was a
large tool and die company undertaking
a major project to measure the OEE of
their critical machines to improve that
number. Several years into the project
and their second attempt at doing it,
one very astute manager concluded
that they were focusing on the wrong
thing. He observed that the time “under
spindle” was relatively short compared
to all the time that the pieces of work
sat on skids at the end of aisles waiting
for the next process to be run on them.
He also found that minimizing the time
PHOTO: SHIRONOSOV / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
for the people actually involved.
Sharing reports at the end of a month
may be good for plant managers and
executives to review in their meetings,
but that has little motivational or be-
havioural change value.
Tip #4: “You can get a lot more
done when you don’t care who
“Giving credit gets the credit.”
where it’s I learned this one early on, from one of
due adds my mentors at the London Economic
to your Development Corporation (LEDC).
currency He quarterbacked all sorts of small and
in the large initiatives, deferring the credit
to others. He was making investments
organization
into the people that he knew could
as well as leverage the projects’ successes, and if
be a strong advocate for manufacturers
in the region.
But there is a catch to this tip too.
Be careful that the right people get
the credit. There are ‘credit takers’ in
every organization who will quickly fill
every credit void. Even worse, there
are ‘credit destroyers’, people sensitive
to the perception that when someone
else looks good, it’s not good for them.
To counter this, praise and credit
should be shared publicly and evenly
sprinkled over a larger group. The
primary praise and credit should be
shared more specifically and shared up
the ladder a couple of rungs so that the
individual may receive more oppor-
tunities to do even more great things

between machining processes was a
more pertinent objective than mini-
mizing time under the spindle. The
net result of measuring and improv-
ing that more relevant metric was a
near 100 percent capacity increase in
their facility, eliminating all overtime
and outsourced operations as well as
winning more business and taking on
more work. The second catch is that to
engage everyone in the improvement
effort, the measurement must be
shared in real time and be meaningful
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021
puts another he ended up placing great champions
potentially to lead them from that point on, it
impactful would become a recurring win with an
contributor exponential result. Plus, he’d be free
on the to quarterback another project. One
corporate of his most successful endeavours was
radar.” the formation of the London Region
Manufacturing Council. He initiated
it and then placed it in the hands of a
series of people (myself included) that
received a lot of the credit for what the
organization accomplished. Twenty
years later, his initiative continues to
for your company. Giving credit where
it’s due adds to your currency in the
organization as well as puts another
potentially impactful contributor on
the corporate radar. True winning
team players are never afraid of having
another high performer on the team.
‘Credit’ is an important currency and
needs to be invested back into the
business wisely.
Feel free to send me a note at hogen-
doorn.paul@gmail.com if you have tips
to share. We are in this together! | MA
AutomationMag.com 15
OPERATIONS
FROM MOULD
TO METHOD
A once-traditional mouldmaker
goes all in on robotics and
automation to diversify
operations and embrace the
future of manufacturing
BY KRISTINA URQUHART
A
quick turnover for a
Tesla order prompt-
ed Windsor, Ont.,
tooling company
LAVAL to purchase
its first two robots five years
ago. When the electric vehicle
maker asked LAVAL to deliver
1,000 parts for the Model X in a
month’s time, president Jonathon
Azzopardi says he knew there was
no other way to get the work done.
“Since then, our robots haven’t
shut down,” he says. “They’ve
been on 24/7 doing client work.”
Not only have the robots not
stopped operating, they’ve been
joined by two others, as well as a
host of other automated solutions,
such as a hot air oven, a portable
measurement arm, and seven
presses ranging from 250 to 2,000
tons of power.
“Robots have allowed us to
do the things that human beings
are incapable of doing,” explains
Azzopardi. “You can’t design for
human error. You can somewhat
predict it, but human error exists
no matter what. Robots allow us
to be able to move past that.”
Diversifying into
development
If robotics and automation setups
in a mouldmaking company seem
novel, that’s because they are.
They’ve also been essential to the
company’s survival. LAVAL has
been laser-focused on broadening
16 @AutomationMag
its scope beyond traditional
mould manufacturing over the
past decade.
The company was founded in
1975 as Laval Tool & Mould by
Jonathon’s dad, Larry Azzopardi.
In the years after its inception,
Laval Tool & Mould designed and
built injection moulds for the
automotive industry. But by the
early 1990s, the company had lost
a significant chunk of business to
lower-cost countries, Jonathon
Azzopardi says.
“This transition, although slow,
has had a huge impact on the Can-
adian mouldmaking industry,” he
says. “It has forced mould makers
to think in different ways, and to
come up with ways to stay relevant
and still retain market share.
“The route we took was to come
off of the crack cocaine we call the
automotive industry,” he laughs.
“That is only about 30 percent of
our business now.”
The youngest Azzopardi took
over the family business in 2009,
and now employs 80 people at two
locations in Canada. The company
still offers injection moulding
for specialized projects, but fo-
cuses primarily on compression
moulding with a thermoplastic
and thermoset process using trad-
itional materials as well as new
options such as biocomposites,
renewable polymers and carbon
fibre.
The tail of the company has
Jonathon Azzopardi, president, LAVAL
grown longer, too – instead of
solely manufacturing moulds,
the company (still formally
called Laval Tool & Mould but
now operating as LAVAL) takes
responsibility for the entire part
by performing the processes that
occur before and after the mould.
And that’s what has pushed
the company to install technol-
ogy more commonly used by
engineering firms and Tier 1
manufacturers, not mouldmakers
– the benefit to clients being that
outsourcing these processes can
save costs and reduce disruption
on their own shop floors.
“I create processes in a box,”
says Azzopardi. “My primary role,
as a company, is to de-risk the
composite solution journey for my
clients. That means I must be able
to do everything that they would
normally do.”
This includes product proto-
typing that moves a part from en-
gineering and moulding through
to assembly, using simulators
to predict a product’s quality or
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
longevity, and production docu-
mentation, customization and
assembly. LAVAL will also sample
products at volumes on a long-
er-term basis – for example, the
company produced and shipped
parts directly to an automotive
manufacturer for two years be-
fore LAVAL’s actual client, Magna
International, was ready to bring
the part production in house.
“When you’re responsible for
the parts themselves, not the
piece of equipment, your scope of
risk and your scope of influence
is much larger,” Azzopardi says.
“In the engineering phase, I now
have to go through a full failure
and mode analysis, and actually
make sure it’s strong enough or
that it looks nice enough, or that
it can actually go through the
process without any obstacles. I
have to make sure it’s mouldable,
so I have to look at that part totally
differently.”
PHOTO: LAVAL
LAVAL embarks on an en-
gineering review at the start of
every project, redesigning and
reengineering along the way until
they have a working sample for
the customer.
“Now I need to build the
whole process – so that not only
requires moulds, but also it re-
quires press, it requires material
verification and selection. It
requires all of the fixtures that
part depends on,” Azzopardi
says. “If a part warps, if it needs
holes, if it’s discoloured, if it gets
scratched, if it has any deforma-
tions or imperfections – we’re
responsible for all of that now.”
Developing a more nose-to-tail
process for composite solutions
is why LAVAL has had to bring
in more automation. “When
you start to invest in technology,
you have to continue to invest in
technology. And you have to con-
tinue to invest in the replacement
technology,” says Azzopardi.
Flexible setups
This has been a key ingredient in
LAVAL’s secret sauce: state-of-
the-art technology is propelling
the company toward a more
flexible future.
Azzopardi sees the market
trending toward regional flexible
manufacturing, where production
is localized and the processes and
products vary within one facility,
all using the same machines and
tooling. As such, he’s purposefully
designing LAVAL that way, too.
“Say the GM Oshawa plant
could make cars, but it could also
make industrial air conditioners
– sounds totally crazy, right? But
we do it every day at LAVAL,”
Azzopardi says. “We’re not doing
full assemblies like they would
be – we’re doing a small fraction
of that – but it shows that you
can actually do it. You can have a
product mix in the same space at
the same time if you set yourself
up for it.”
Azzopardi admits that building
out flexibility comes with chal-
lenges because the technology
hasn’t quite caught up with the
vision. “Simple things like cables
hanging down from a robot – if
you’re doing the same part all the
time, you can put those cables in
one location and they’re safe,” he
says. “But as soon as you stick a
different part in there, now the
cables are in the way because
you didn’t predict all possible
outcomes. Now, we have to figure
out the technology to get these
wires out of the way. We’re still
working through it.”
The company has had to
source robots that are universal
enough for a variety of pro-
cesses, and, consequently, that
they have enough facility space
to accommodate the setups.
LAVAL is also collaborating with
multiple stakeholders on digital
commissioning, or a digital
twin, that will provide the level
of flexibility the team needs.
Getting to a stage where they
can plan the entire engineering
and production process virtually
first means that they won’t waste
time and money proving out
physical prototypes, and that
they’ll be ready to go when the
project hits the shop floor.
LAVAL is working with St.
Clair College, NGen Canada,
the National Research Council
(NRC), Siemens and InCycle
Automation Services on the
digital commissioning research
project, which involves the use
of simulation software, RFIDs,
vision and other automation
technologies to evaluate process-
es, parts and fixtures.
“It will look for problems and
make adjustments on the fly
without a human being actually
having to be part of the solution,”
says Azzopardi. “The computer
and the robots do it all.”
The goal is to have production
cells that can immediately recog-
nize fixtures and parts and adjust
themselves automatically. “Today
it costs us $5,000 every time we
put a fixture in, because it has to
be all recalibrated and re-set up,”
Azzopardi says. “We want to be
at the point where you can drop
any fixture in there and as long
as it’s been programmed off site
and [the machine] knows what it
is, it’ll go ahead and run.”
Canada’s path forward
Flexible manufacturing is the
way forward not just for LAVAL,
but for companies across the
country, Azzopardi says. He
sees it as Canada’s ticket to
competitiveness in the global
marketplace, since it demands
high quality but also carries rela-
tively high risk since it involves
investment and low volumes.
In order to achieve flexibility,
Canada – individual companies,
industry and the supply chain, all
levels of government – will have
to think differently about how it
leverages its facilities, technolo-
gies and geographic location.
“And they are – there are a
select few who are doing a great
job of that,” Azzopardi says. “But
there is another group that is just
doing the same thing they were
doing 50 years ago, over and over
again. And those are the ones that
are going to disappear.
“We have a rule here at
LAVAL – if you’re not moving
forward, you might as well be
going backwards.” |  MA
Kristina Urquhart is the former editor of
Manufacturing AUTOMATION.

You create - We build - You install

Discover the new generation of our safety relays. Experience

the limitless potential combinations, clever product features
and innovative myPNOZ Creator for yourself.
Create your safety – individual, tailor-made, easy.

myPNOZ.com

myPNOZ.
Pilz Automation Safety Canada L.P. - Mississauga, ON
Your new safety relay. www.pilz.ca - info@pilz.ca - +1 905 821-7459

MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021 AutomationMag.com 17

MA_PilzThird_Oct21.indd 1 2021-09-20 1:54 PM
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES
A TELLTALE TWIN
Racer Machinery uses a digital twin to shorten the
critical path for implementing complex machinery.
BY KAREN SMOCK
A
lex Vojinovich, chief
operating officer at
Ontario-based auto-
mation and custom
machinery builder
Racer Machinery
International was impressed by the
results from using the digital twin of
the new Sinumerik One controller
from Siemens. “Even during the global
pandemic, we saw an acceleration in
our development and process time by
up to 33 percent.”
A digital twin is a virtual representa-
tion of a product – in this case, a ma-
chine – that is used to simulate a pro-
cess. Evolved well beyond mock-ups,
these digital simulations have earned
the label “twin.” The accuracy and re-
liability of a digital twin is making it an
18 @AutomationMag
essential tool for designing, optimizing,
troubleshooting and even providing
machinery training.
For a project involving a complex
piece of machinery, Racer engineers
were working with Siemens to use
33
Even during the
the Sinumerik One digital-native
CNC. Tiansu Jing, product manager
at Siemens says, “For this project,
pandemic, Racer
Machinery saw an
Racer had a customer request for a
acceleration in its solution to drive a multi-axis machine
development and that used complex technology. When
process time by 33
percent.
Racer came to us, we introduced the
newly-released Sinumerik One control-
ler, which covered all the requirements
and performance needed for Racer’s
customer’s machine. And, when we
introduced the new Sinumerik One,
we also introduced the native digital
twin, which is unique in the market.
Key CNC visual using Sinumerik One
At that time, neither Racer nor Racer’s
customer were thinking about this kind
of digital twin.”
Vojinovich explains, “We were not
familiar with digital twin technology;
however, we knew that we could trust
in Siemens and its product’s quality.
The fact that Sinumerik One allows us
to have an acceleration in the develop-
ment time of our machines and test
them before being launched, encour-
aged us to use the digital twin.”
Having the digital twin available
became extremely important once the
pandemic restricted cross-border travel.
Jing explains that normally they would
do in-person training for a new piece of
equipment. Since the Sinumerik One
had a native digital twin, Siemens and
Racer engineers each had a virtual ma-
chine on their computers. They were
able to use online conferencing tools
for training and troubleshooting.
PHOTOS: SIEMENS
No waiting necessary
Not only did the digital twin save
time that would have been lost due to
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
“The accuracy and
reliability of a digital
twin is making it
an essential tool
for designing,
optimizing,
troubleshooting
and even providing
machinery training.”
training delays, it also allowed
the engineers to work on the
solution without waiting out the
two-to-three-month lead time to
receive a physical controller. Jing
explains, “Because they have the
digital twin, Racer’s engineers did
not need to wait for the real con-
troller. They could start working
on the digital twin to build the
controller for that machine and
start designing.”
In addition to normal lead
time for the controller and other
equipment, the pandemic caused
delivery delays. However, since
the engineers had the digital twin,
they could continue to build the
3D model of the machine and
configure the controller without
waiting for delivery.
Vojinovich says, “With the
virtualization feature, we can see
how the machine will perform and
make adjustments to our designs
before proceeding through the
building process, benefiting both
the customer and the production
process.”
Faster troubleshooting
When designing a new solution
for complex machinery, challen-
ges come up. Jing explains that
normally, to help with trouble-
shooting, Siemens would send
someone to the machine builder
or have them send an archive of
the machine that would allow
Siemens engineers to replicate
the issue on a test rack. To build
the right test environment, the
Siemens engineers have to make
sure they have the same system
software and setup and make the
necessary PLC changes to create
the same configuration as the
customer. But, in this case, Racer
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021
engineers were able to simply
send their digital twin project for
the Siemens engineers to load
and troubleshoot. The digital
twin saved the time it would have
taken to configure a physical test
environment. Instead, the solu-
tion was found right away using
the digital twin.
Training on virtual
machines
The time-saving benefits of the
digital twin aren’t limited to
the design phase. Jing says, “If
everything including training
and testing is done on the real
machine, then all these tasks are
on the critical path of the overall
project. But, with the digital twin,
they can move the training to the
virtual machine. With the 3D
model Racer built, you can see
the movement of each axis on the
machine, and also see the material
removed by the different tools. It
can also simulate or detect if there
is any potential collision.”
Jing explains the importance of
taking the material removed into
account, “At the beginning, the
raw material is very big, but for
example, after hours of cutting,
the material is much smaller.
So, when the machine is moving
where there used to be raw ma-
terial, there’s no collision alarm
because the software knows that
part is cut out.”
The training benefits include
not only saved time, but saved
raw materials and reducing the
exposure of the actual machine
to operator errors. With a digital
twin, production doesn’t have to
stop to allow a new operator to be
trained.
Academic
opportunities
Jing sees the digital twin as
beneficial to vocational training
programs as well as manufactur-
ers. Schools that teach students
how to design parts and operate
machines, don’t have to be limited
to the physical equipment in the
labs. They can use digital twins to
provide additional training. New
students can make mistakes on
the digital twin without damaging
a physical machine or risking an
accident. Using a digital twin will
reduce raw material costs and
wear on the tool. First cuts can
be dangerous, but by having them
verified virtually, problems can
be identified and resolved with
virtual simulations.
Jing explains how real the vir-
tual machine can be for training
purposes, “With the Sinumerik
One digital twin, we offer soft-
ware which is exactly the same
as the real machine, as well as
programming and a 3D model
that’s the same as the real CNC
controller. We can even add a
Creating a virtual machine
real machine control panel so
that instead of using a mouse, the
operator does everything exactly
the same way as they would do on
a real machine.
Using the digital twin in
academic settings also has Vojin-
ovich’s support, “We are working
with universities and colleges to
develop and use academic plat-
forms with Sinumerik One for
operator training such as CNC
machining, maintenance and
repair.”
Vojinovich is impressed with
the results. “With the digital
twin, customers from education
to manufacturing can learn,
develop and experiment before
they produce components on the
machine. This brings us more
integrated automation, the next
level of Industry 4.0, the online
and connectivity aspects and
greater levels of productivity.”
The digital twin proved itself
during the challenges brought on
by the pandemic, but the benefits
apply to normal business as well.
Says Vojinovich, “Racer is always
looking for advanced technology
to address our customers’ needs
and help them address the grow-
ing complexities and changes to
manufacturing today. The digital
twin helps not just to fulfill this
goal, but also represents an
improvement in our quality, pro-
ductivity and performance.” | MA
AutomationMag.com 19
NEW PRODUCTS
MACHINE VISION & INSPECTION
Vision system software
expansion package
Balluff has released a new vision
system software expansion
package that allows users to add
up to four additional cameras
to the SmartVision controller.
This brings the total camera
count to eight. Each camera
operates independently using
its own instance of the Balluff
Cockpit software. Cockpit,
Balluff’s camera interface and
programming tool, allows users
to set up tasks like verifying
MOTION CONTROL
Compact medium-
voltage drive
Rockwell Automation has
released its new PowerFlex
6000T medium-voltage drive
in a compact design. The drive
accepts up to 13.8 kilovolts of
primary voltage in a footprint
that is 2,310 to 3,010 millimetres
(7.58 to 9.87 feet) wide. The
product’s compact design is
targeted at new and retrofit
industrial applications in IEC
markets, especially those with
space constraints. The PowerFlex
6000T drive allows the direct
20 @AutomationMag
measurements or reading codes.
The SmartVision controller runs
these tasks without the need
for additional software. The
Cockpit graphical user interface
is accessible from a web browser.
The Cockpit software, which is
licensed for up to four cameras,
comes preinstalled on the
SmartVision controller. The new
expansion package provides
licensing for an additional four
cameras. The expansion takes
advantage of the existing power
of the controller. The controller
connection of high-voltage
feeds from the main distribution
line without an additional
step-down transformer or
substation equipment. The
A-Frame PowerFlex 6000T drive
also features adaptive control, an
economizer mode and predictive
maintenance. It is designed for
managing motor control for
heavy applications in industries.
rockwellautomation.com
3D PRINTING
3D printer with heated
chamber
Roboze, a manufacturer of
industrial 3D printing technology,
has developed a 3D printer with
a heated chamber designed to
produce large-scale parts with
super polymers and composites
for industrial applications. The
ARGO 1000 printer can now
offer customizable, industrial
parts and on-demand production
at scale, and produce parts
offers the connection of up to
four GigE and USB3 cameras
each for a total of eight. To
upgrade an existing SmartVision
controller, users have to purchase
the expansion license through
the Balluff WebShop.
balluff.com
Cameras with back side
illumination
Vision Research has added two
models to its line of Phantom
cameras. Featuring a CMOS
sensor with back side illumination
(BSI), the new T3610 and TMX
5010 cameras sustain their image
throughput with optimized light
sensitivity for high frame rates
HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS
Pneumatic vacuum
grippers
AutomationDirect is offering a
new range of pneumatic vacuum
grippers and related parts from
Schmalz. The product lineup
includes suction cups in a flat
style up to 60 millimetres in
diameter made of Elastodur;
bellowed style cups up to 78
millimetres made of Elastodur,
silicone or nitrile rubber; and
vacuum ejectors that support
a suction rate of up to 860 I/
up to one cubic metre (nearly
40 inches by 40 inches by 40
inches). The printer is intended
for use in the aerospace, energy,
transportation, MedTech and
automotive industries, and uses
sustainable super polymers
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
and sub-microsecond exposures.
Part of the T-Series platform, the
Phantom T3610 achieves high
frame rates of 38,040 frames
per second (fps) at 1280 x 800
resolution and up to 875,000
frames per second at reduced
resolution. T-Series benefits
include a compact form factor
and low power requirements. The
TMX 5010 joins the TMX 6410
and 7510 cameras as the entry
point to the TMX family. Features
include a RAM capacity of up to
512 gigabytes, a partition offering
of 511 segments, standard 10
gigabytes ethernet with a rugged
RJ45 port and the ability to
upgrade to higher throughput
models at a later date. Both the
T3610 and TMX 5010 camera
models include a two-by-two
binned mode for high vertical
resolution at the camera’s top
frame rates.
phantomhighspeed.com
min. The company is also
offering replacement cups,
vacuum couplers and mounting
accessories. The products come
with a one-year warranty.
automationdirect.com
and composites such as PEEK,
Carbon PEEK and ULTEM
AM9085F. The company’s
industrial automation system
and proprietary gear-based
(beltless) technology allow the
production of parts that are six
times more precise than those
made with belt-driven printers.
The ARGO 1000 will be available
for commercial distribution in
2022.
roboze.com
 SENSORS
Contactless inductive
linear position sensors
Harold G. Schaevitz Industries’
ILPS-19 series of inductive
linear position sensors uses LVIT
technology. The contactless
devices are designed for factory
automation, as well as industrial
and commercial applications. The
ILPS-19 sensors are suitable for
both industrial testing laboratories
and OEM applications. Their
contactless operation prevents
wear out from dither or cycling.
The series is available in six
ranges, from one to eight inches
(25 to 200 millimetres). The series
features 0.75-inch (19-millimetre)
diameter anodized aluminum
housing sealed to IP-67. The
radial cable exit version comes
with swivel rod eye ends. Axial
termination versions are available
with either M-12 connector or
cable.
hgsind.com
HMI & OPERATOR INTERFACE
Monitor with a
stainless-steel
waterproof enclosure
TRU-Vu Monitors has introduced
a new 27-inch industrial-grade
LCD monitor – the VMW-
27R-SS. The monitor features
a NEMA 4X waterproof and
corrosion-resistant stainless-steel
enclosure. The monitor can
be used in environments with
high humidity, condensation,
splashing or sprayed liquids, dirt,
dust, airborne particulates and
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION · October 2021
DATA ACQUISITION
Certified for hazardous
environments
The new version of the
Chesterton Connect sensor is
certified for use in hazardous
environments dealing with high
pressures, high temperatures and
flammable liquids. The sensor
is rated for Class 1/Division 1
(gas and vapour environments)
and Class 2/Division 1 (dust
environments) and IP66 for
outdoor use.The Connect sensor
communicates with a mobile
application via Bluetooth. The
app supports multiple sensors
to provide a Condition monitoring All functions are available as
comprehensive without programming standard PLC function blocks.
view of requirements The condition monitoring
a plant’s Beckoff’s TwinCAT Analytics now functions integrate directly into
equipment includes condition monitoring the machine controller.
health. It alerts functions without programming All condition monitoring
the user when requirements. They use a simple algorithms are available in the
equipment configuration. This addition analytics toolbox. They can be
pre-set optimizes both the standard dragged to the Analytics editor
operating limits are exceeded. workflow and spontaneous and configured. After using
The collected data from multiple measurements, such as during the “Start Record” function,
sensors can be exported to the machine commissioning or the results are available at the
Chesterton Connect Cloud service. The TwinCAT Condition output of the algorithms. They
platform to spot trends and Monitoring library includes can be displayed clearly and
compare data. The new version numerous algorithms that graphically in the charting tool
also allows remote monitoring in support moment coefficients, based on the interaction between
hazardous areas. discrete classification and TwinCAT Analytics and TwinCAT
chesterton.com vibration assessment according Scope View. The TwinCAT HMI
to the ISO standard, in addition visualization solution rounds
to functions such as magnitude out the Analytics workflow by
spectrum, envelope spectrum, automatically creating analytics
zoom FFT, power Spectrum dashboards.
more. Designed for demanding and multiple RMS calculations. beckhoff.com
industrial environments and
applications, the monitor is
suitable for manufacturing ADVERTISER INDEX
facilities, metal-working plants
Advanced Design & Manufacturing Expo 23
and other dirty environments.
Features include 1920 x 1080 Automation Direct 2
full high definition resolution; Beckhoff Automation 5
waterproof, sealed cable entry
Encoder Products Company 6
port; VGA, HDMI and DisplayPort
video inputs; 300 Nits brightness; Festo Inc. 11
auto restart after power loss; and Murr Canada 3
TRU-Tuff Treatment for shock
Pilz Automation Safety Canada 9
and vibration resistance. The
operating temperature range is Pilz Automation Safety Canada 17
between 32 degrees Fahrenheit Wago 24
and 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wainbee Ltd 7
The monitor can be modified
or customized as per the user’s
specific needs. It comes with a TO ADVERTISE Contact Kathryn Swan, associate publisher,
full three-year warranty. at kswan@annexbusinessmedia.com or 647-339-4880.
tru-vumonitors.com
AutomationMag.com 21
 LEARNING 4.0
BY DES CARTER
Sensing future
innovations with
SICK Canada
A
dvanced manufacturing is con-
stantly changing the way we live
and work. It’s not only about install-
ing digital interfaces in traditional
infrastructure or streamlining operations, it
also uses technology and data purposefully to
make better decisions and improve everyone’s
quality of life. Using sustainable methods and
materials means building a great career and a
better future for all.
Achieving a leading position in the future
requires ongoing investment in research and
development. SICK Canada (SICK) partnered
with Humber College not only to invest in
research and development but to co-create a
SICK Sensor Lab in Humber’s Barrett Centre
for Technology Innovation (Barrett CTI). This
investment reaffirmed SICK’s commitment to
research and development while supporting
leaders of the future. In 2018, SICK made a
commitment to Humber College’s Barrett
CTI to develop a state-of-the-art technology
lab that incorporates sensor intelligence for
connecting systems and technology.
A key purpose of the
SICK Sensor Lab is
to showcase how
digital transformation
is gaining traction
among Canadian
companies.
Through SICK’s close cooperation with
post-secondary institutions in its headquar-
ters in Germany, SICK leveraged opportun-
ities to advance the skills of our students here
in Canada. Leveraging Humber’s technical
expertise, we have invested as a key partner
to create proof of concepts (POC) and enable
innovation with Humber’s third-year Electro-
mechanical Engineering Technology students
to design and implement new applications for
future projects. Two student-driven projects,
the Humber “Hawk Automated Guided
Vehicle” and the “Brick Sleeve” use SICK’s
vision and detection sensors, as well as LiDAR
Have company news, case studies, events or story ideas to share? Send to srayghosh@annexbusinessmedia.com and you could be
featured in Manufacturing AUTOMATION!
22 @AutomationMag
Des Carter leads marketing and communications for SICK Sensor
Intelligence. SICK is an industrial automation company that provides
sensor applications and solutions that efficiently process, secure
and protect individuals from accidents and prevent damage to the
environment.
technology in a (POC) Humber drone. SICK
is also working with Humber staff and stu-
dents to enhance the robotic labs throughout
the Barrett CTI facility.
A key purpose of the SICK Sensor Lab is to
showcase how digital transformation is gain-
ing traction among Canadian companies. Typ-
ically, companies invest for a few reasons: to
improve business processes, create additional
value for customers and foster innovation.
Prior to the lockdown, SICK technology ex-
perts hosted solutions training at the Barrett
CTI to introduce “SICK AppSpace: Intelligent
solutions” for identification, positioning,
detection, inspection and quality assurance.
SICK technology experts have created a wide
range of scalable portfolios of 2D and 3D
vision sensors and have equipped the Barrett
CTI with AppSpace and vision technology
to create automation architecture that will
adapt in the wake of Industry 4.0. With the
advances in research and technology over the
past year, the AppSpace software can now be
used on sensors in addition to computers.
The software is able to communicate with
the cloud – either directly or via a Sensor
Integration Machine (SIM).
With computing capacity for individual pro-
grammable remotely, cross-technology sensor
integration and sensor data fusion, it uses these
components to make technology ready for the
future. AppSpace provides a complete digital
object transformation for data detection and
archiving, quality assurance, process analysis
and predictive maintenance within the digital
transformation environment. Feedback from
their built-in sensors allows them to navigate
intelligently, establish boundaries of sensory
technology and lay the foundations for future
solutions.
SICK AppSpace offers users, system inte-
grators and original equipment manufacturers
the “freedom and flexibility” to independently
develop application solutions that are tailored
to the specific needs and requirements of any
task. Whether it’s designing the ideal online
user interface, selecting the most suitable
programming technology, or distributing the
sensor app on various SICK sensors, SICK
AppSpace gives users the power to develop
their own customized solutions. Users experi-
ence a simple graphical user interface on the
front end while the software does all the heavy
lifting behind the scenes.
SICK is extremely proud to work together
with students, staff and businesses at the Barrett
CTI. This is a tremendous opportunity to dem-
onstrate that sensor intelligence is a promise to
the present and the future. Digital transform-
ation offers endless career choices. With the
continued advancement of sensor technology as
the data supplier for intelligent manufacturing,
those career opportunities are infinite.
From October 6 to 7, SICK is doing a
physical tradeshow in Germany, as well as
an international online conference. Titled
SICK Solution World, the event will discuss
and showcase practical digital transformation
solutions for all industries.
PHOTO: SICK CANADA
Now that’s intelligent. | MA
October 2021 · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
 November 9-11, 2021
Toronto, Canada
Toronto Congress Centre

Canada’s most comprehensive

Advanced Manufacturing Event
is BACK!

4,000 20+ Hours 250

Attendees of Education Exhibitors

1 Floor. 5 Shows. Countless Opportunities.

Explore the latest trends and technologies shaping the future in advanced
design and manufacturing across automation, robotics, energy efficiency,
packaging, plastics, processing, and more.

Presented by Presented by Presented by

" ADM Expo is an excellent networking and

Official Canadian Media Partner and technology forum across a diverse range of
Exclusive Show Guide Publishers. industries "
2019 D & M Attendee

FOR EXHIBITING INQUIRIES TO REGISTER FOR SPEAKER INQUIRIES

Lonnie.Gonzales1@informa.com admtoronto.com Kayle.Kvinge@informa.com
 S THE
THING
PREROSUP2PLY
POW
N N OT DO:
CA

DOESN’T SING
KARAOKE –
BUT SPEAKS
MODBUS, IO-LINK
OR EtherNet/IP!
Discover how an intelligent and communicative power supply can
maximize factory up-time.

www.wago.com/ca-en/communication-pro2