Bridging the Shopfloor Data Gap for maxon
Summary
maxon motor, a leading Swiss manufacturer of precision electric drive systems, partnered with iosys to develop a custom software bridge connecting their production machines to their MES/ERP system. This solution enables bidirectional communication between maxon's manufacturing operations and ERP for decentralized data access for employees and improved data acquisition as a basis for process optimization. The software bridge, based on Dapr and leveraging the MQTT protocol with a unified namespace, allows for flexible further development and lays the foundation for maxon's digital transformation, resulting in cost savings and improved efficiency.
Introduction
Since 1961, maxon motor has been advancing medical technology, aerospace, robotics and other industries with Swiss quality. The leading provider of precision electric drive systems employs more than 3200 people in over 40 countries and generates sales of over CHF 700 million. To consolidate its market leadership in customer-specific drive technologies, maxon relies on quality and innovation – and on iosys to digitalize production.
"In order to meet our own standards in terms of innovation, we are pursuing a consistent digitalization strategy that will also include the shopfloor. As we were unable to find a suitable standard product to connect our machinery to our ERP, we needed a solution tailored to our operations in order to achieve our vision of OT-IT convergence."
Digitalization right onto the shopfloor
According to the Swiss Manufacturing Survey 2024, the majority of manufacturing companies use ERP systems extensively. However, in many cases, production operations are not connected to the ERP. Valuable data remains unused as a result. When implementing its digitalization strategy, maxon also faced the following challenges:
- How can machinery be connected with the ERP?
- What is the optimal technical solution for bidirectional communication between the systems?
- What process optimizations can be achieved by using the newly acquired data?
The ERP used by maxon only offered a REST API for basic operations. In addition, there was no suitable, commercially available standard solution for the desired networking of production and ERP. In the summer of 2023, maxon hired iosys to develop a "software bridge" specifically geared towards maxon operation workflows.
"Before the actual software development, the iosys team built up a thorough understanding of our production processes. This blend of process and technology expertise made it possible to develop a solution specifically tailored to our needs."
Simple and flexible integration of production and ERP
As a digitalization expert for the manufacturing industry, iosys combines industry and technology expertise. A joint project team was also formed for the maxon project. IT experts from maxon focused on the development of the web app. iosys focused on the software bridge to connect production and ERP, which also acts as a manufacturing execution system (MES):
Business systemsERP/ MESServicesSecurity APIoptionalRuns on DaprERP BridgeRuns on DaprOther apps/ servicesRuns on DaprClientsClient (PLC)Client (Tablet)On EdgeMQTT BrokerIn CloudoptionalMQTT BrokerEvent Hub, Databricks, etc.Microsoft AzureConnectionsERP/ MES Security API (Service invocation (REST))Security API ERP Bridge (Service invocation (REST))ERP Bridge MQTT Broker (Pub/ Sub)Client (PLC) MQTT BrokerClient (Tablet) MQTT Broker (Pub/ Sub)Other apps/ services MQTT BrokerMQTT Broker In Cloud Microsoft AzureoptionalMQTT Broker Event Hub, Databricks, etc.
The bridge or connection of the machinery via microcontrollers/ PLCs is based on the open source microservices framework Dapr (distributed application runtime), which can run on both a cloud and an on-premise infrastructure. Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication takes place using MQTT, an open network protocol that is particularly suitable for the Internet of Things (IoT).
The use of a microservices architecture not only enables simple interoperability of the systems, but also lays the foundation for flexible further development of the bridge or application – for example, the creation of a data lakehouse for comprehensive data analysis based on the data routed through the bridge. As the heart of the maxon-specific solution, the application developed by iosys enables bidirectional communication between machines in the production hall (via the microcontrollers/ PLCs installed there) and the ERP by acting as a buffer for data exchange.
"Bridging the systems, decentralized access and the creation of a unified data architecture accelerate our processes and innovations. All in all, the collaboration with iosys has saved costs and enabled flexible further development of the new solution."
New data, decentralized processes and future innovations
In the past, maxon production employees had to record their working time via a direct ERP interface that was only available centrally. Today, they do this with a tablet (web app), which has decentralized access via the software bridge that has been set up. The new solution has several advantages:
- Decentralized data access from a single point of truth when requesting part lists, drawings and other standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Data acquisition for process optimization thanks to the connection of previously separate systems
- Cost savings as a result of simpler, decentralized processes
In the new setup, the ERP still plays a central role at maxon as an information, filing and reporting tool. However, the newly created software bridge eliminates the bottleneck in access. At the same time, it paves the way for the extraction of previously unused data as well as for future process optimization and innovations. The solution developed by iosys can be expanded with further workflows, regardless of the ERP used. Update, 11 October 2026: MIND runs in production in maxon's own Azure environment. This project is also featured on our blog.
It is one example of our broader work on process automation and digital shopfloor management.