1. Installation
Various ways of installing the United Manufacturing Hub.
Get Started!
You want to get started right away? Go ahead and jump into the action!
5 minute read
We are glad you want to start with the setup right away! This guide is structured in 4 steps: Installation, data acquisition, data manipulation and data visualization.
1. Installation
Let’s start with the Installation of the United Manufacturing Hub!
Please only proceed to the data acquisition part if you have a functioning installation.
1.1 Full Installation on an external device (recommended)
This option is recommended for any setup that goes beyond simple tinkering. For this installation you need an edge device or a virtual machine in addition to a computer for the setup.
Follow the guide below for a quick and easy example installation of the United Manufacturing Hub.
1.2 Local installation
This option is only for community support and development, for any production deployment we strongly advise using Option A. However, this option does not require an edge PC and therefore might be more suitable for development and trying it out at home.
1.2.1 Installation using k3d (recommended)
k3d is a lightweight wrapper for Kubernetes in docker. You can find the guide for the installation below.
1.2.2 Installation using minikube
A modification of this is an installation with minikube. Minikube uses a container instead of a VM to boot k3OS. We recommend you only use this setup if you know exactly what you are doing, however we provide a guide for your setup below.
What’s next?
Now, no matter which guide you have followed, you should have acquired a functioning Installation. If you are still having issues, make sure to contact us.
2. Data Acquisition
There are two different ways to acquire data to continue working with the United Manufacturing Hub: Data simulation with an MQTT simulator or connection with actual sensors to generate data naturally. One limitation of the local deployment if you chose Option 2.2 is that you can only use simulated data.
2.1 Using shop floor data
For this option you need to connect your sensors to the same network as the edge device and our microservices then handle the connection to Node-RED and the message brokers. You can even retrofit older machines by connecting sensors to the network via an IO-Link gateway In this video you can see how to the wires need to be connected for a sensor to be able to send data to the edge device.
2.2 Simulating incoming data through an MQTT simulator
You can also simulate data to act as if a machine is connected and is constantly registers new input for new messages. Please be aware that this is how to put data into a deployment of the United Manufacturing Hub, when you installed it locally. Click below for more information.
What’s next?
Now that you hopefully have data flowing in, lets put it to good use in the next step, where we are using the data and are developing data processing
3. Data Manipulation
You can get your data into Node-RED now and process it for later display in Grafana.
3.1 Processing actual sensor sensor data
Look into this guide as an easy walk through for an example with a single light barrier sensor to count produced pieces. In the repository with a link at the bottom of section 3. you can see some template Node-RED flows to get you started with more complex setups.
3.2 Processing simulated data
You should proceed here if you want to use the simulated data to create flows and for later display in Grafana. The MQTT simulator is fairly straight forward, while working with OPC UA and PACKML simulator is somewhat more complex.
View Node-RED guide for MQTT simulator View Node-RED guide for PACKML simulator View Node-RED guide for OPC UA simulator
What’s next?
Now you hopefully have data running through Node-RED and new messages getting sent out. If you have finished your Node-RED flow, we can proceed with data visualization for Grafana.
4. Data Visualization
After setting up the data processing in Node-RED, we can now visualize them in Grafana. Follow the Guide to learn how to log in to Grafana and then set up a simple dashboard.
We hope you managed to install the United Manufacturing Hub, process and visualize your data and will be able to apply that knowledge to your specific setup in the future!
What’s next?
For more knowledge to make decisions on how to expand your deployment, make sure to look into our Knowledge and Guides sections. They will educate you on important topics, so you can make educated decisions for your specific shop floor.
If you are a developer, make sure to look into our documentation for technical information. You can also check out our GitHub Repository if you want to contribute to our stack or open issues and join the discussion.
Contact Us!
Do you still have questions on how to get started? Message us on our Discord Server or submit a support ticket through the question mark in the lower right corner of the website.
2. Data Acquisition
All you need to know to get data into your stack for your first installation.
3. Data Manipulation
All basic guides on processing your data with the United Manufacturing Hub.
4. Data Visualization
Basic instructions on how to visualize your processed data with the United Manufacturing Hub.
Last modified February 17, 2023: update (#208) (ea731fc)