# Industrial Automation & Controls

> PLC programming, equipment retrofits, HMIs and Modbus or OPC UA data bridges for manufacturers who need older machines online and their data on a screen.

Source page: https://mnpsystems.ca/services/industrial-automation/

MNP Systems is an engineering consultancy based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that takes work from anywhere: remotely, or on site where a job needs hands on the equipment.
Contact: https://mnpsystems.ca/contact/ or contact@mnpsystems.ca.

We bring aging equipment online and build the controls layer for new lines: PLC and motion control, HMIs, and the data bridges that turn raw machine signals into operating data.

## Common challenges we solve

### A machine that works, and nobody can change

The line runs on a controller programmed years ago by someone who has since left. There is no current copy of the program, the manuals are in a drawer, and every small change is a risk nobody wants to take.

### Production data you can't see

Counts, faults and cycle times live inside the PLC. Getting them to a screen, a spreadsheet or an MES means someone walking the floor with a clipboard, so problems show up in the weekly report instead of when they happen.

### Obsolete parts holding the line hostage

A controller, drive or operator panel is out of production, and the spare on the shelf is the last one. A failure would stop the line for as long as it takes to find a replacement or rewrite the logic from scratch.

### New equipment that will not talk to the old

A new machine arrives speaking OPC UA or Ethernet/IP, and the rest of the floor speaks Modbus or nothing at all. Integration falls between the equipment vendor and the IT team, and neither owns it.

## From Sensor to Operator Screen

We work on the controls you have, document what they do, and modernize them in steps that keep the line running, so each change is planned, tested and reversible.

- PLC and motion controller programming, including recovery of undocumented programs
- Equipment retrofits and legacy controls modernization, staged around production
- Sensor and actuator integration
- HMI and operator-screen development
- Modbus, OPC UA and Ethernet/IP data bridges to SCADA, MES or your own dashboards
- Field commissioning and on-site bring-up

## Technologies and tools

- PLCs
- Modbus
- Ethernet/IP
- OPC UA
- Qt6
- Python
- C/C++
- Industrial PCs

## Systems we build

- Industrial controls & retrofits
- Field diagnostics & telemetry
- Embedded Linux platforms
- Robotics & autonomous stacks

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you work on a machine with no documentation?

Yes. We start by reading the program off the controller where it can be read, tracing the wiring and writing down what the machine actually does, so you have a record before anything changes.

### Do we have to stop production for a retrofit?

We plan each change to fit your production schedule: work prepared and tested off the line, then cut over in a planned window with a way back to the old setup if something does not behave.

### Can you get data off our machines without replacing them?

Usually. Many controllers already speak Modbus, OPC UA or Ethernet/IP, and those that do not can often be read through an added gateway. We bridge that data to the screen, database or MES you want it in.

### Do you work on site?

Yes, for commissioning and bring-up, where the work needs hands on the machine. Reading programs, writing logic and building screens can happen remotely.

## Related resources

- **Legacy Controls Modernization Playbook** — Sequencing an aging line from undocumented controls to connected, maintainable equipment, without stopping production. (free, sent by email on request from the resources page)
- **Machine Retrofit & Connectivity Checklist** — What to verify before you change a running machine's controls, or connect it to anything. (free PDF, no email required: https://mnpsystems.ca/downloads/machine-retrofit-checklist.pdf; read it online: https://mnpsystems.ca/resources/machine-retrofit-checklist/)
- **Production Line Digitization Checklist** — What to settle before a line's machines and paper records feed one data backbone, and AI after it. (free PDF, no email required: https://mnpsystems.ca/downloads/production-line-digitization-checklist.pdf; read it online: https://mnpsystems.ca/resources/production-line-digitization-checklist/)

## Further reading

- [Digitizing a Production Line: One Data Backbone, Then AI](https://mnpsystems.ca/blog/production-line-digitization/): How to digitize a running line without ripping it out: read the machines, move paper checks to tablets, publish both to one topic tree, then add OEE and AI.