Containerday manufacturing!

Introduction of a Kubernetes solution in the production environment. What can you learn and what should you pay attention to?

Some say: ‘Engineers love containers in production…’, but have you ever spoken to a mechanical engineer from the gearbox production department about it? - They will probably tell you that storage and dispatch come afterwards so no need for containers in production! The drives, gearboxes and system solutions of SEW Eurodrive are established in production lines of many manufactures worldwide. Many of our customers, and in some cases ourselves, still rely on PLCs that relate to exactly one application in the system. The reliability, maintainability and cyber security of these systems is a constant concern for us and our customers, so we have set ourselves the goal of taking factory automation to the next level. In this presentation, I will explain how we at SEW use containers for our own applications. Where we can successfully replace PLCs. How existing systems can be integrated into a digital process twin thanks to Kubernetes. How mechanical engineering and IT ultimately become friends. And finally, why computer games are important. Yes, you got that right, ‘computer games’!

This talk explores the transition from manual service deployments to a manually created k8s clusters to an automated k8s hosting platform within Heidelberg Materials. We’ll discuss the challenges, a set of automation tools and templates we use, and the high-level architecture patterns, which we support in a current setup. Key lessons learned, and mistakes made over the past five years will be shared. Special focus will be paid to the challenges related with microservices hosting. We will touch not only technical aspects but also cross-team collaboration topics and communication between product and platform teams. The session concludes with future directions for enhancing our K8s hosting strategies.

In today’s rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, staying ahead requires embracing cutting-edge digital technologies that drive innovation and reduce time to market. Kubernetes, the leading container orchestration platform, offers manufacturing companies the agility and scalability needed to thrive in this competitive environment. This talk will begin by exploring why Kubernetes has become essential for modern enterprises, particularly within the manufacturing sector. We will cover the basics of Kubernetes for those unfamiliar, followed by a deep dive into its strategic advantages, including support for IoT, edge computing, and data processing — critical components of smart manufacturing. Moving from theory to practice, the talk will provide actionable insights on how to build a Kubernetes platform and transform it into a powerful app development platform. This will accelerate innovation and ensure your organization is well-positioned for future success in the smart manufacturing era.

This panel will explore the evolving intersection of IT and OT in the manufacturing industry, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in scaling, security, and infrastructure. Experts will discuss how new technologies, like containers and AI at the edge, are reshaping the landscape, and what this means for the future of industrial operations. We’ll also delve into the organizational and technical barriers that must be overcome to fully realize the benefits of these advancements over the next 3 to 5 years.

We are still in the 10th anniversary year of Kubernetes. From a manufacturing perspective, it is still relatively new. However, the Kubernetes process of the biggest bicycle manufacturers in Europe started already 5 years ago. As one of the first adopters, new and unusual challenges have been faced right from the beginning. Join Helmut and Mario to dive into the history of how Kubernetes became an essential part of the manufacturing and warehouse process. Let’s also look into some challenges of what you might not necessarily think of, which are affecting not only your deployments or Kubernetes clusters but your very infrastructure. Of course, we will also answer the question, was it worth it?

Learn how to provide storage, protection and database services with a data platform that abstracts away the complexities and simplifies your k8s environment for use with mission critical data - regardless if you’re deploying in a datacenter, public cloud or manufacturing edge locations.