Drives & Controls October 2022

32 n MACHINE BUILDING AND OPERATION October 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com Are you ready for a Machine- as-a-Service model? T he rise of the IIoT has resulted in the emergence of a new business model – Machine-as-a-Service (or MaaS). Not only does this represent new revenue streams for machine-builders, it also allows them to verify the feasibility of new technology in specific applications before charging customers. It can also increase the size of their potential market by allowing customers to rent instead of buying machines outright, which may have been cost-prohibitive for them before. There are parallels in other sectors of industry. Rolls-Royce, for example, no longer sells its engines to customers. Instead, it charges them for hourly power generation and for maintenance services. MaaS requires machine-builders to focus more on the “service” aspect of their businesses. Fortunately, by adding IIoT- connected sensors to machines, operational data can be sent to the cloud for analysis. This enhances their services – especially predictive and remote maintenance. Predictive maintenance ensures smooth, uninterrupted operations by performing maintenance before a breakdown occurs, thus reducing unexpected downtime. Remote maintenance not only slashes costs by reducing site visits. It also streamlines the resolution of any problems that may arise. However, to perform these services, secure remote access to machines is vital. While remote access is not a new concept, most software-based systems have shortcomings that can dissuade machine-builders from adopting them. One common approach is to use remote desktop software. This requires a machine to be connected to a local terminal running the software, so that the machine-builder can quickly establish a dedicated link to the machine. However, these remote connections run a high risk of data theft due to a lack of strong encryption. If implemented poorly, remote desktop software allows malicious actors to gain unauthorised access, leading to a potentially serious problems. A second approach is to establish virtual private network (VPN) tunnels. This may sound simple, but isn't. IT staff must set up IP addresses, domain names, key IDs and encryption algorithms, and then maintain the entire network. VPNs require considerable IT support to ensure that they will not interfere with a company’s intranet. For many larger or remote projects, this level of IT support is not readily available or cost-effective. Furthermore, each maintenance project needs a dedicated VPN connection to the remote site. Each VPN connection must be configured and managed separately. A single VPN tunnel already involves a significant investment in support manpower. Multiply that by hundreds, or even thousands, and the amount of overhead required becomes untenable. With a large number of devices scattered across different customers and locations, the cost of establishing, organising and maintaining connections and IT equipment can be overwhelming. Fortunately, with recent developments in the IIoT and cloud technologies, the issues that have plagued these traditional approaches can be solved. Instead of managing individual VPN tunnels, you can now use the IIoT to build a centralised platform that monitors and manages all of your connections. Machine-builders can manage remote machines with Web-based software running on a cloud platform. Using cloud-based software, they can easily access remote machines anywhere at any time. They can also choose which sites need to be connected, and the connections can be set up to link machine-builders automatically to their client’s machines. This simplifies the tedious task of configuring and organizing VPN settings for each remote connection – cutting maintenance and IT personnel costs dramatically. On limitation is that there are currently few manufacturers with the industrial-grade hardware and software integration capabilities needed to implement such systems. Selecting the right partner is crucial for machine-builders needing to manage thousands of connected devices. An experienced partner will provide them with the scalable systems needed to create secure connections between personnel and machines, making remote maintenance and Machine-as-a-Service a reality. n A new business model is emerging in which machine-builders “rent”machines to their customers. This has many potential attractions but requires the right technologies if it is to be implemented correctly, as this article from the networking specialist Moxa explains. One way of implementing Machine-as-a-Service operations is to use a secure networking system that connects field devices, application servers and engineers via the Internet. One example of this, the Moxa Remote Connect (MRC) system shown above, combines servers, gateways and clients. The server determines how the gateways and clients are related. It gives administrators control over the remote connections, including selecting the periods of time when they can be accessed and the functions that are available. The secure gateways connect Ethernet-ready devices at remote sites to the MRC client – a software tool that allows engineers to choose which remote device to connect to from a laptop. Users can choose either a “build your own server”model to have full control of the MRC, or a remote connection service hosted by Moxa that minimises maintenance and allows them to focus on their business.