OPC Data Wrangler Blog

Modern data engineering for manufacturing. Visual ETL, AI-powered pipelines, Python transforms, and real-world industrial automation insights.

PythonJythonAI Code GenerationIgnition SCADAIndustrial Automation

Why Industrial Engineers Are Learning Python (And Why Jython Isn't Enough)

Chris Laponsie15 min read

Industrial engineers are rushing to learn Python. But 57-65% of Fortune 100 companies use Ignition SCADA—which runs Jython 2.7, a deprecated version that can't use NumPy, Pandas, or modern ML libraries. And in the AI era, that limitation just got 10x worse.

Read Full Article
OPC UA ETLData TransformationVisual DAGUnit Conversion

The OPC UA ETL Problem Nobody Talks About: Data Transformation

Chris Laponsie12 min read

NASA lost $327M to a unit conversion error. Your plant's Bar-to-PSI conversion costs $200/hour in consulting fees. Learn why OPC UA ETL is about transformations, not just data movement—and how visual DAGs with built-in unit conversions change everything.

Read Full Article

Coming Soon

Weekly insights on modern data engineering for manufacturing.

Week 2

Why Industrial Engineers Are Learning Python (And Why Jython Isn't Enough)

Real Python for industrial transforms. Plus: how AI assistants make Python 10x more productive than DSLs.

Week 3

I Asked AI to Build My OPC Pipeline (And It Worked)

From natural language to production DAG in 30 seconds. See AI copilot in action.

Week 4

The True Cost of “Free” OPC Tools

5-year TCO analysis: Why that $0 tool actually costs $47K.

Week 5

Visual DAGs vs. Configuration Files

Why modern data engineers refuse to go back to XML configs.