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.
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 58 production lines across five facilities, with DVR-style functionality for playback and detailed historian-based trend analysis.
Simple Architecture Diagram:
58 Production Lines → Custom PLC Driver (Tatsoft Driver Toolkit) → FrameworX Projects
↓
SQL MES (Quality & PM Data)
↓
ERP (Progress DB Integration)
↓
APIS Process Historian (Trends, DVR)
↓
Company / Plant / Line Dashboards (80+ Clients)
Technical Specifications:
Production Lines: 58 across five facilities
PLC Connectivity: Custom driver developed with Tatsoft Driver Toolkit
Historian: APIS Historian (dual-instance) with DVR functionality
Database: Microsoft SQL MES (Quality & PM), Progress ERP database
Architecture: Multi-plant FrameworX deployment with load balancing and templated dashboards
Clients: ~80 concurrent web/desktop dashboards
Integration: Custom PLC driver → SQL MES → ERP → Historian → FrameworX Dashboards
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
Replaced difficult-to-maintain legacy dashboards with a scalable enterprise platform
Standardized KPI dashboards across 58 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