Rockwell Automation Launches FactoryTalk Design Hub 

Rockwell Automation, Inc. has launched FactoryTalk Design Hub. Industrial organizations can now transform automation design capabilities with a more simplified, productive way to work powered by the cloud, according to the company. Teams of all sizes, skillsets and locations can work smarter through enhanced collaboration, improved lifecycle management and on-demand access to cloud-based software. The result is increased design productivity, faster time to market, and systems that cost less to build and maintain. 

“In this new age of ‘work from anywhere,’ having centralized, on-demand design tools is critical for businesses to scale production and easily adapt to evolving customer needs,” says Brian Shepherd, senior vice president, Software & Control at Rockwell. “FactoryTalk Design Hub gives manufacturing engineers access to the full breadth of Rockwell Automation tools and capabilities in a centralized nexus for successful design and collaboration across their team and the greater enterprise.”

FactoryTalk Design Hub is built to improve development and deployment of automation projects for industrial organizations, while adhering to the latest security standards and information technology (IT) best practices, the company reports. It enables teams to access designs on demand from any web browser with software that is always up to date and flexibly scales users and compute capacity to meet project workload demands.

FactoryTalk Design Hub includes five core solutions:

FactoryTalk Design Studio 

FactoryTalk Design Studio is a new cloud-native software product built from the ground up to improve system design efficiency. Available anytime, anywhere using only a web browser, there are no downloads or installs required and no software maintenance responsibility.

Beginning with controller design, FactoryTalk Design Studio reduces development time by leveraging modern software development practices and an integrated version control system. Teams can collaborate more easily than ever with automated tools to share and merge changes, and project sizes can scale dynamically with support for multiple controllers in a single project. 

FactoryTalk Optix Software 

Known as “visualization for visionaries,” FactoryTalk Optix is a cloud-enabled human-machine interface product launched within FactoryTalk Design Hub. With FactoryTalk Optix Studio, users can design, test and deploy applications directly from a web browser. Optional cloud-based connectivity enables new collaborative workflows that allow modifications to be made from anywhere, anytime. FactoryTalk Optix is designed to improve processes, efficiency, and deliverables using a scalable, modern platform, according to the company.

FactoryTalk Twin Studio 

FactoryTalk Twin Studio is an end-to-end automation design solution where users can design, program, simulate, emulate, and virtually commission in one cloud environment. The cloud-hosted ecosystem employs Rockwell’s software products and is accessible from anywhere using a web browser. 

FactoryTalk Vault 

FactoryTalk Vault provides secure, cloud-native centralized storage for manufacturing design teams. With its modern version and access control, FactoryTalk Vault with advanced Design Tools allows for greater insights into designs through in-depth analysis of controller projects. 

FactoryTalk Remote Access Solution 

FactoryTalk Remote Access enables secure connections to equipment, allowing teams to respond to needs faster and resolve production issues from anywhere. FactoryTalk Remote Access quickly connects domain experts to critical issues, no matter the physical location of either, increasing support response time and reducing the costs associated with travel and asset downtime. 

FactoryTalk Design Hub and its core components will all be generally available by the beginning of 2023. Click here to learn more about Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk Design Hub. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.