Process and line control
The controllers, drives, supervisory servers and computer-controlled machines that run a line. A wrong action here is a line stop or a spoiled batch, and the controller is what the network reaches first.
Classes in this family
12; 0 adaptive by default, 6 whose wrong action reaches a person- CNC machine cell SL-T 2 fixed
Cuts metal or plastic to a programmed part, with the spindle and axes under its own controller, often loaded by a robot. - Distributed control system supervisory SL-T 3 fixed
Controls a continuous or batch process across many loops from one engineering environment, with recipes, alarms and interlocks. - HMI and operator panel line SL-T 2 fixed
The screen an operator runs a machine or a line from: starts, stops, set points and alarms. - IT/OT gateway and data connector business SL-T 2 fixed
Reads data out of controllers and pushes it to the business system or a cloud dashboard; the conduit between the plant and the office made into a box. - Injection moulding machine cell SL-T 2 fixed
Melts and forms plastic under high pressure and temperature, with a mould that closes at a force a person cannot survive. - Motion controller and servo drive cell SL-T 2 fixed
Positions the axes of a machine to a commanded profile, at the force the drive can deliver. - Packaging machine cell SL-T 2 fixed
Forms, fills, seals, labels or wraps product at line speed, with a PLC, drives and guards of its own. - Press cell SL-T 2 fixed
Closes a die on a workpiece with a force that no guard can be optional around. - Programmable logic controller line SL-T 2 fixed
Runs the logic that opens valves, starts motors and sequences a line; every actuator on the line does what the PLC tells it. - SCADA server supervisory SL-T 3 fixed
Collects data from every controller on site and lets an operator see and command them from one screen. - Safety controller safety SL-T 3 fixed
Executes the safety functions: stops the machine when a guard opens, a scanner is broken, a stop is pressed or a process limit is crossed. - Variable-speed drive cell SL-T 1 fixed
Sets the speed of a motor: a conveyor, a pump, a fan, a mixer.
Zones this family sits in
| cell | Cell zone: one machine or one closely coupled group with its own controller, the lowest level a conduit can be drawn at. Conduit: cell to line: the controller talks up to the line supervisor over one documented conduit, nothing else in. |
|---|---|
| supervisory | Plant supervisory zone: SCADA, historians, HMIs and engineering workstations that see and command many lines. Conduit: plant supervisory to site business: through the industrial DMZ only, no direct session from the office to a controller. |
| line | Line zone: the controllers, drives and stations of one production line, sharing a network and a supervisor. Conduit: line to plant supervisory: the line reports up and takes recipes down through a boundary device with a deny-by-default rule set. |
| business | Site business zone: the IT side of the boundary, reached from the plant only through a controlled conduit. Conduit: site business to plant: brokered through the DMZ, jump host and recorded session for anything that reaches down. |
| safety | Safety zone: safety controllers, safety scanners and instrumented systems, kept on their own conduit so nothing on the process side can command them. Conduit: safety to line: a safety conduit that carries status out and accepts no command in from the process network. |
What reaches this family
| IEC 62443 | Attaches to every automated asset the owner runs, in every zone class; the rows differ by zone, by connectivity and by behaviour. Binds Part 2-1 binds the asset owner; Part 3-2 is the owner's zoning and risk assessment; Part 3-3 is what the owner specifies for the system. Part 2-4 binds the service provider and Parts 4-1 and 4-2 the product supplier, so those rows are rendered as what to ask. |
|---|---|
| SP 800-82 | Attaches to every asset as the OT-specific overlay: architecture, remote access, patching in OT and incident response. Binds guidance addressed to the operator of the OT environment: it binds nobody in law and is what most OT security programmes are assessed against. |
| AI Act | Attaches only to an adaptive controller or a safety component that is an AI system; a fixed-program machine gets no row, and the page says why. Binds Articles 26 and 4 bind the deployer, which is the asset owner using the system; Articles 12 to 15 bind the provider; a deployer that substantially modifies the system becomes its provider. |
| Machinery Regulation | Attaches to every physical machine and safety component; a controller, a server or a read-only sensor carries no row of its own. Binds the manufacturer of the machine, and whoever substantially modifies it; the owner's row is what to demand at purchase and hold, and what it becomes liable for on a substantial modification. |
| ISO 27001 | Attaches the supplier and change controls to every asset and the network controls to every connected one. Binds the organisation that holds the certificate, through the Annex A controls it declared applicable. |
Register the assets in this family
Paste the list; every asset in this family is placed in its class, given its zone and SL-T, its behaviour and connectivity, and carries the rows above. Eight assets free, no account.
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