AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS
WAREHOUSING, HANDLING & STORAGE
SOFTWARE IS ESSENTIAL IN HELPING THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY EMBRACE MODULAR PRODUCTION
Applications of single use bioreactors are increasing driven by the biotech industry. At the same time, factors like market volatility and cost pressures are creating a need for faster process design. Here, Giuseppe Menin, Life Sciences & Process Industry Manager at COPA-DATA, explains why the zenon MTP studio software platform is essential for helping manufacturers in life sciences integrate modular technologies, like bioreactors.
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anufacturers are turning to modular production to speed-up processing. In a survey of 200 manufacturers in Germany conducted by PwC, 29 per cent said they were already using assets for modular production and a further 36 per cent said they would use the systems within the next five years. Going forward, modular production assets — like robots, storage vehicles and more — will increasingly replace large, fixed and inflexible production systems. This trend also applies to pharmaceuticals. As written in Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, Volume 159: “Increasing economic challenges like market volatility, product diversification and cost pressure lead to the need for faster process design.” In this instance, Faster process design means modules must be integrated into process lines quickly. That includes innovations for pharmaceutical manufacturing, like single use bioreactors. The American Pharmaceutical Review describes single-use systems (SUS) as bioprocessing equipment that’s designed to be used for a single manufacturing campaign, then discarded. SUS equipment is essentially plug-and-play, which makes it quicker to set-up new processing lines. Using SUS equipment also avoids weeks of cleaning, sterilization and validation that would otherwise be necessary when reusing conventional stainless steel equipment.
A single use bioreactor follows a similar principle and has a disposable bag, instead of a culture vessel, in which microorganisms, like human tissue, are grown. Forbes predicts our food could one day be grown in a bioreactor rather than on a farm. But, for now, their use is mainly for medical and bioprocessing applications. The challenge for systems integrators is to connect and automate these modular bioreactor units seamlessly into pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Crucially, this must be achieved while keeping-up with new and evolving integration standards in the heavily-regulated pharmaceutical industry. One answer to this challenge is plug-and-produce.
QUICK CONNECTIONS
Plug-and-produce refers to the ability of a production system to automatically identify new or modified components, then integrate them correctly into production processes. Ideally, this would be achieved without any significant changes to the system. Modular assets — sometimes referred to as Process Equipment Assemblies (PEAs) — are integral to plug-and-produce because each has its own local programmable logic controller (PLC), and an optional human machine interface (HMI). PEAs are pre- designed, so can be chosen and installed quickly rather than opting for inefficient tailor-made process designs. What’s more, this process is improved considerably by the Module Type Package (MTP) approach. Each PEA in the plant is given its own digital identity, stored as an MTP file also known as a manifest. The file contains vital information on the PEA’s communication protocols, services, a HMI description and maintenance information. The MTP file allows quick and reliable connections between PEAs, so they can be controlled easily by the plant’s central Process Orchestration Layer (POL). Let’s imagine an automation engineer wishes to
DANFOSS POWER SOLUTIONS AND RISE™ROBOTICS COLLABORATE ON A NEW INNOVATION THAT WILL ACCELERATE THE ELECTRIFICATION OF HEAVY MACHINERY
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anfoss Power Solutions and RISE™Robotics today announce they’ve signed a collaboration agreement to jointly validate and test a key innovation that has the potential to transform the heavy machinery market through electrification. Danfoss Power Solutions, a leading global supplier of mobile and industrial hydraulics as well as electric powertrain systems, and RISE™Robotics, a leading zero- emission heavy machinery company, have formalized their collaborative relationship. The two businesses have signed an agreement to work together to validate the latest electromechanical actuator technology from RISE™. This new partnership is an example of how both companies prioritize innovation and find new ways to
meet the increasing demand for electrification solutions coming from current and prospective customers. “It’s an exciting opportunity to work with RISE™Robotics to accelerate the development of solutions that have the potential to create near-term, low-carbon options for our customers,” said Danfoss Power Solutions President Eric Alström. “We’re taking bold steps to battle climate change and help customers around the world decarbonize. Electrification is a critical enabler to the Green Transition, and we’re thrilled to be on this journey with RISE™.”
“We are delighted to collaborate with Danfoss,” said RISE™Robotics CEO Arron Acosta. “Innovation isn’t for everyone, but at Danfoss, innovation is at the
34 APRIL 2023 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
design a bioreactor as a PEA. How would they go about achieving this? First, the engineer must create a MTP file that describes the bioreactor’s important parameters — relating to dosing, mixing and heating, the HMI and more. Second, the engineer must match the MTP file to PLC logic commands. Third, they must generate OPC Unified Architecture (UA) variables, which is the cross-platform IEC62541-standard for data exchange from sensors to cloud applications.
A READY-TO-USE MTP TOOLBOX The engineer can implement these unfamiliar steps manually, but this would be unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming. Instead, industrial automation software offers a far better solution. The zenon MTP studio software platform includes a suite of tools designed to support equipment vendors that supply PEAs, and help pharmaceutical companies integrate PEAs into production lines. Engineers can benefit from zenon MTP editor and zenon MTP validation, which make it possible to easily-configure MTP services, define input and output (I/O) parameters and design the PEA HMI. Once the configuration is ready, the user can validate and create their MTP file.
The file is then ready to be delivered to the process orchestration layer (POL), where they can refer to it as an “ID card” for the bioreactor.
So, automation software allows the three steps towards integrating a bioreactor to be automated. Through this process, pharmaceutical manufacturers can integrate bioreactors and other innovative PEAs into their bioprocessing lines securely and quickly. In doing so, they can achieve faster process designs that are necessary to overcoming the cost pressures, and other market challenges, they face.
COPA-DATA
www.copadata.com
core of their DNA. Their speed of decision-making is electric. Their engineering and global manufacturing capabilities lead the way.”
The RISE™Cylinder (US Patent 11255416, patent pending: WO2019/014259) is a fluid-free, electromechanical alternative to hydraulic cylinders for heavy equipment and machinery. It helps address the battery-electrification challenges inherent in hydraulic systems by delivering hydraulic-like forces at unprecedented efficiency, precision, speed, and weight. “RISE™’s unwavering dedication to commercializing scalable solutions enabled by advanced technology is the same pioneering spirit that has fueled Danfoss’ journey from startup to industry leader,” added Alström. “We look forward to working toward these goals together.”
Danfoss
www.danfoss.com 39
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