Controls Engineering for OEM Machine Builders
Extra controls capacity when your backlog outruns your engineering team, or a complete controls package for a new machine design. We write code that looks like your code.
Where we help machine builders
- Backlog overflow: more machines sold than your controls team can program and commission on schedule.
- New machine platforms: a clean-sheet design that deserves a clean, modular code base.
- Standardizing across product lines: every machine written a little differently, making field service slow and expensive.
- Supporting machines already in the field: older generations with obsolete controllers, HMIs, or undocumented logic.
- End-customer specifications: plants that require specific PLC platforms, tag and alarm standards, or production data for their MES.
Machine code standards that scale
We build machine programs from reusable Add-On Instructions and modular equipment and control modules aligned to ISA-88. States, alarms, parameters, and recipes are handled the same way on every machine, so the tenth machine costs less to build than the first and any engineer on your team can open any program and find their way around.
If you already have a standard, we follow it. If you do not, we can help you write one and then build to it.
What every machine should expose in the PLC spec
If you want machines that integrate cleanly and support continuous improvement at your customer's plant, these shouldn't be optional:
- Machine state and operating mode. PackML or S88 preferred. At minimum, Running and Stopped for the unit, easy to reach from the HMI, SCADA, and MES.
- Upstream and downstream interlocks. Explicit and diagnosable. They can be combined with machine state.
- Stop cause and fault root. What took the machine out of Running, Started, or Execute.
- Fault list and active faults. Clear, readable, and usable by downstream systems.
- Parts in, parts out, and waste. Calculated in the PLC. Not inferred in SCADA.
Bonus items we build in when we can: cycle times, device lifetime stats (counters and timers), runtime hours per mode, and PLC-level metadata such as part number, recipe ID, serial number, and replacement history. This is about making machines interconnectable without it costing the customer. Read the full breakdown.
Why modular code wins for OEMs
Copy-paste works until scale exposes it. Bugs get fixed in one project and lost in the next, and quality drifts as different engineers pull from different last programs. Modular code changes that: fix a bug once, version it, and every machine shipped after that is better by default.
You can't scale engineers, so you scale systems. Senior engineers build and version proven AOIs, and the rest of the team assembles machines from them safely and consistently. The first machine takes longer. Every one after it is faster to program, test, and commission. Why OEMs write code the way they do.
What machine builders say
Using modular programming techniques has significantly improved our workflow by reducing the time to market significantly. What would normally take days to complete can now be done in a matter of hours.
The framework we have created using modular programming takes care of most of the machine operation and HMI integration. This allows us to concentrate on core run logic of our specific application and not waste time on implementing common details associated with every project.
Bryce played a foundational role in helping us build our modular design. He has a deep understanding of modular programming principles and was an incredible asset to our development process.
Ike Parry, Sr. Controls Engineer, Friesen's Inc.
HMIs your customers can run and your techs can support
We develop operator interfaces in FactoryTalk View ME and FactoryTalk Optix: clear production screens, parameter and recipe screens, and diagnostics that let a field technician find a fault over the phone. Good HMI design cuts service calls as much as good logic does.
FAT, SAT and commissioning
We test programs before the machine ships, support factory acceptance testing with your customer, and travel for installation and site acceptance. Every project ships with documentation: I/O lists, network drawings, parameter records, and commented logic.
Connected machines sell better
More end users now expect machines to publish production, downtime, and quality data. We can build OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug B interfaces into your standard so your machines plug straight into a customer's MES or Unified Namespace instead of becoming another integration project.
How we work with OEMs
We work under NDA, to your standards, and as an extension of your team. Engagements range from a single machine to ongoing overflow capacity with a named engineer who learns your product line.
Related services
- PLC programming and controls engineering
- HMI and SCADA systems
- Robotic and cobot cell integration
- MES integration, OEE and data collection
Frequently asked questions
Can you program to our existing code standard?
Yes. We follow your templates, AOIs, naming, and alarm conventions. If you do not have a written standard, we can help you create one from your best existing machine.
Which platforms do you support?
Allen-Bradley ControlLogix and CompactLogix in Studio 5000, Beckhoff TwinCAT, FactoryTalk View ME and FactoryTalk Optix HMIs, and FANUC and Universal Robots robots.
Do you travel for commissioning?
Yes. We support factory acceptance testing at your facility and on-site installation and commissioning at your customer's plant, plus remote support afterward.
Can you support older machines we already shipped?
Yes. We troubleshoot older machines, migrate obsolete controllers and HMIs to current platforms, and document logic that was never documented.
Talk to an engineer
Plantwide Integration is an independent systems integrator based in Big Lake, Minnesota, serving OEM machine builders across the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Central Minnesota, and the Upper Midwest. Tell us about the machine or line and we will tell you honestly whether it is a good fit.