IIoT-based smart factory achieved by Lockheed Martin

“There are so many opportunities for the enhancement of manufacturing through the smart use of data, which FactoryLogix MES provides for us,” stated Jarrod Webb, Manufacturing Robotics Engineer, Lockheed Martin, who continued, “We require stringent security for our manufacturing and product data. The unique nature of the IPC CFX standard, with qualified plug-and-play capability, means that we now have just one, single manufacturing data protocol, with a built-in common language, generated natively by machines, greatly simplifying our manufacturing IT requirements, avoiding the risk and costs associated with third-party middleware, that other machine connection methods represent.

"Only in this way could we achieve our data-driven, smart manufacturing goals, differentiating us by contributing significantly to the success and sustainability of our manufacturing business unit, reflected by additional value for our customers.”

The adoption of IPC-CFX by Lockheed Martin’s key machine vendors, with qualification of their support for CFX by IPC, as well as the utilisation of IPC-2581 design data for reference during setup, eliminates the need for data in other formats, including paper, thus eliminating needless exposure of critical data.

“Lockheed Martin’s Lufkin facility sets the bar for smart, data-driven manufacturing in security-conscious sectors of the industry, demonstrating the value of interoperability of data from all vendors securely connected to our IIoT-based FactoryLogix MES platform. Lockheed Martins’ enduring commitment to establish collaborative smart, Industry 4.0 data exchange with CFX, and utilisation of advanced MES solutions, is an inspiration to manufacturers and machine vendors throughout the industry. CFX usage has meant zero custom machine adapter development in this deployment, it just works,” stated Jason Spera, CEO, and Co-Founder, Aegis Software.

FactoryLogix is a holistic and modular IIoT-based manufacturing operations management platform that delivers technology with easily configurable modules to support and execute a discrete manufacturer’s strategy towards Industry 4.0. FactoryLogix manages the entire manufacturing lifecycle: from product launch to material logistics, through manufacturing execution and quality management, to powerful analytics and real-time dashboards. This end-to-end platform is helping companies accelerate product introductions, streamline processes, improve quality and traceability, reduce costs, and gain greater visibility for competitive advantage and profitability.