Upgrade motion control systems without breaking the bank
There are certain dilemmas that controls engineers face when bringing legacy drives and motion control systems into an Industry 4.0 environment: integration complexity, security risk and unclear ROI.
Automation World, a Control Design partner publication, recently delved into how many older assets are not suitable for full digital retrofits, while others can be modernized if engineers carefully balance cost, downtime, performance gains and cybersecurity.
Research cited from ABB shows that upfront investment and installation downtime dominate decision-making, with most modernization projects driven by needs for better reliability and condition monitoring. The upgrade versus replacement decision hinges on engineering-centric factors such as asset age or maintenance history.
