1. The Problem

Plastics Blown Film manufacturer relied on older, custom-built dashboards that were difficult to maintain, limited in scalability, and disconnected from ERP and historian systems. Operators lacked a standardized, unified way to view production KPIs across multiple plants. The system also could not easily adapt to new production lines or evolving manufacturing requirements.

2. The Solution

Tatsoft FrameworX replaced the legacy dashboards with a modern, scalable platform that integrates directly with machines, ERP, and historians. A custom machine driver was developed using the Tatsoft Driver Toolkit to interface with proprietary equipment, ensuring reliable real-time data flow. The project delivered reusable symbols, dynamic screen templates, and standardized company/plant/line-level dashboards enriched with ERP and manual inputs.

The new architecture enabled efficient rollout to 40 production lines across five facilities, with DVR-style functionality for playback and detailed historian-based trend analysis.

Simple Architecture Diagram:


Technical Specifications:

  • Production Lines: 40 across five facilities
  • PLC Connectivity: Custom driver developed with Tatsoft Driver Toolkit
  • Historian: Prediktor APIS Historian Connector
  • Database: ODBC_DSN and SQLServer
  • Clients: ~80 concurrent web/desktop dashboards
  • Load Balancer: Clients could connect to a single URL and the Load Balancer would either redirect them to one or the other based on the number of connections.

3. Key Enablers

  • Custom PLC Driver: Built with Tatsoft Driver Toolkit to connect proprietary machines
  • Dynamic Templates: One line template self-adjusts based on number of film layers
  • Reusable Symbols & Screens: Rapid deployment of company, plant, and line-level dashboards
  • SQL MES Integration: Centralized data model streamlined multi-plant rollout
  • Historian Connectivity: FrameworX to APIS Historian for detailed trending and DVR playback
  • Real-Time Operations: Integration of ERP, historian, and manual input directly into FrameworX dashboards

4. The Results

  • Replaced difficult-to-maintain legacy dashboards with a scalable enterprise platform
  • Standardized KPI dashboards across 40 lines and five plants
  • Reduced engineering and deployment effort through reusable symbols and templates
  • Enabled ERP, historian, and machine data to be viewed together in real-time
  • Improved troubleshooting and analysis with historian-backed DVR playback
  • Delivered a future-ready platform capable of expanding with new lines and requirements