Valmet IQ, ABB 800xA QCS, Honeywell Experion MX
Profiles, scans, lab results
Integrations
It reads your mill. It does not replace it.
Pulpum is a supervisory layer. It reads from the QCS, the DCS, the web-inspection system, the historian and the MES you already have, and it writes back through the same interfaces — inside limits you configure.
Live example: Grade change PM4 · 135 gsm kraftliner → 110 gsm testliner, no break, ≤14 min off-spec
Integrations
It speaks mill, not cloud
Pulpum reads and writes through the systems already on the floor. No rip-and-replace, no parallel historian, no new HMI to learn.
ABB 800xA, Valmet DNA, Honeywell Experion, Siemens PCS 7
Setpoint reads and guarded writes
WIS/WMS line-scan, IR and transmission cameras
Frames, defect maps, break replays
SAP PP/QM, ABB cpmPlus, custom historians
Orders, grades, reel genealogy
OSIsoft PI, Aspen IP.21, InfluxDB
Time-series backfill and replay
NVIDIA Isaac, winder and wrapper PLCs
Reel, roll and clamp-truck motion
Azure AD, Okta, on-prem LDAP
SSO, RBAC, named approvers
NVIDIA Jetson Orin, IGX, on-prem GPU
Sub-100 ms inference at the machine
Compatibility
Systems and what we do with them
Connector status is stated honestly, including what is not built yet.
| System | Vendor / product | Direction | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| QCS | Valmet IQ | read + profile write | Supported |
| QCS | ABB 800xA QCS | read + profile write | Supported |
| QCS | Honeywell Experion MX | read + profile write | Supported |
| DCS | ABB 800xA | read + guarded write | Supported |
| DCS | Valmet DNA | read + guarded write | Supported |
| DCS | Honeywell Experion PKS | read + guarded write | Supported |
| DCS | Siemens PCS 7 | read + guarded write | In progress [ASPIRATIONAL] |
| Historian | OSIsoft PI | read + backfill | Supported |
| Historian | Aspen IP.21 | read + backfill | Supported |
| Web inspection | WIS / WMS line-scan | frames + events | Supported |
| MES | SAP PP / QM | orders + genealogy | Supported |
| Robotics | NVIDIA Isaac + winder PLC | motion planning | Supported |
| Identity | Azure AD / Okta / LDAP | SSO + SCIM | Supported |
Run timeline
Where the integrations appear in a run
Every step in this run is a call into a system the mill already owns.
run_8f21c4
PM4 · 6.8 m trim · 1,180 m/min
SUCCEEDED
-
01
ingest.grade_target
SUCCEEDED
0.8 s
Mill Orchestrator — Pulled the 110 gsm testliner spec, customer tolerances and the standing energy budget from mill MES; locked the target envelope for the run.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
34 s
Mill Orchestrator — Simulated 48 candidate transition recipes on the as-run paper-machine twin — forming, press, dryer and calender — and ranked them on off-spec tonnes, break risk and steam.
-
03
stock.refine
SUCCEEDED
2 m 10 s
Pulp-and-Stock — Stepped refiner specific edge load 1.9 → 1.4 Ws/m and pushed freeness toward 412 CSF while consistency held at 3.4%.
-
04
wetend.dose
SUCCEEDED
1 m 26 s
Wetend-and-Chemistry — Retention aid trimmed to 214 g/t and sizing to 1.1 kg/t against live charge and turbidity; first-pass retention recovered to 78% inside 90 seconds.
-
05
form.headbox
SUCCEEDED
1 m 05 s
Form-and-Press — Re-cut the slice profile across 78 actuators and set jet-to-wire to 0.994 to hold formation index through the basis-weight ramp.
-
06
press.nip
SUCCEEDED
48 s
Form-and-Press — Nip load reduced 620 → 540 kN/m to protect the lighter web; post-press dryness landed at 47.1%.
-
07
dry.steam
SUCCEEDED
3 m 18 s
Dry-and-Coat — Re-phased the steam schedule across 6 dryer groups and rebalanced the hood; reel moisture converged to 7.4% ±0.19 2σ at 6.1% less steam than the standing recipe.
-
08
inspect.web
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Defect-and-Inspect — 18 line-scan cameras streaming; two edge-crack precursors detected at the drive side and cleared by a 40 kN/m nip trim before either propagated.
-
09
approve.human
APPROVAL
52 s
Mill Orchestrator — Speed ramp 1,180 → 1,245 m/min exceeded the site autonomy threshold. Held for the machine tender; approved by J. Okonkwo at 04:57:12.
-
10
reel.qualify
SUCCEEDED
1 m 31 s
Quality-and-Conformance — Reel R-24188 released: full genealogy written (furnish, chemistry, CD profiles, defect map, operator actions) and checked against grade spec.
Tool calls
Integration calls, in the open
mes.read_orders, qcs.read_profile, dcs.write_setpoint — the log names the system every time.
- 04:51:04mes.read_orders({ machine: "PM4", next_grade: "TL-110" })
- 04:51:04ok spec locked · basis 110 g/m² · moisture 7.4% ±0.5
- 04:51:05twin.simulate({ candidates: 48, horizon: "18 min" })
- 04:51:39ok best recipe #31 · est. off-spec 6.4 t · break risk 0.07
- 04:51:40policy.evaluate({ recipe: 31, autonomy: "L3" })
- 04:51:40ok 9 writes permitted · 1 write requires human approval
- 04:51:41dcs.write_setpoint({ tag: "REF4.SEL", from: 1.9, to: 1.4 })
- 04:53:51ok freeness 388 → 412 CSF · consistency 3.4%
- 04:53:52chem.dose({ retention_aid: "214 g/t", sizing: "1.1 kg/t" })
- 04:55:18ok first-pass retention 71% → 78%
- 04:55:19dcs.slice_profile({ actuators: 78, jet_to_wire: 0.994 })
- 04:56:24ok formation index 84 · CD basis 2σ 1.7 g/m²
- 04:56:25vision.stream({ cameras: 18, model: "webdefect-v7" })
- 04:56:41precursor: edge crack risk 0.62 · drive side · 1,412 mm
- 04:56:42dcs.nip_load({ delta: "-40 kN/m", zone: "press-2" })
- 04:56:58ok edge crack risk 0.62 → 0.09 · web stable
- 04:56:59approval.request({ action: "speed_ramp", to: "1245 m/min" })
- 04:57:12ok approved by J. Okonkwo (machine tender) · logged
- 04:58:44mes.log_reel({ reel: "R-24188", genealogy: "full" })
- 05:02:46ok run complete · 11m42s · off-spec 6.2 t · breaks 0
Reasoning trace
Plan → thought → action → observation, exactly as the orchestrator recorded it.
GoalMove PM4 from 135 gsm kraftliner to 110 gsm testliner with zer…
Move PM4 from 135 gsm kraftliner to 110 gsm testliner with zero breaks and under 14 minutes of off-spec production.
PlanSimulate the transition on the twin first. Lead with stock and…
Simulate the transition on the twin first. Lead with stock and chemistry so the furnish is right before the basis weight ramps, then trim forming and press, then re-phase drying. Watch the web continuously; hold the speed ramp for a human.
ThoughtThe standing recipe drops basis weight and speed together. On …
The standing recipe drops basis weight and speed together. On the twin that produces a 3-minute moisture excursion because the dryer section unloads faster than the steam schedule can follow. Sequencing the steam re-phase ahead of the basis-weight ramp removes it.
Actiontwin.simulate(candidates=48) → recipe #31 re-phases steam 40 s…
twin.simulate(candidates=48) → recipe #31 re-phases steam 40 s before the basis-weight ramp and holds nip load until post-press dryness confirms.
ObservationRecipe #31 estimates 6.4 t off-spec against 9.8 t for the stan…
Recipe #31 estimates 6.4 t off-spec against 9.8 t for the standing recipe, with break risk 0.07. Two candidates scored lower on steam but raised break risk above the 0.15 site limit and were discarded.
ActionExecute recipe #31 under autonomy level L3: nine setpoint writ…
Execute recipe #31 under autonomy level L3: nine setpoint writes permitted, speed ramp routed to the machine tender.
ObservationEdge-crack precursor at 1,412 mm drive side at 04:56:41. Nip t…
Edge-crack precursor at 1,412 mm drive side at 04:56:41. Nip trim of −40 kN/m in press-2 cleared it in 16 s without a break.
OutcomeRun complete in 11 m 42 s. 6.2 t off-spec, zero breaks, 6.1% l…
Run complete in 11 m 42 s. 6.2 t off-spec, zero breaks, 6.1% less dryer steam than the standing recipe. Reel R-24188 released with full genealogy.
Connection
How a mill gets connected
Three to four weeks from rack to shadow mode, assuming network access is available.
Network segmentation
The edge node sits in the OT network with a defined, minimal path to the control plane. Firewall rules are documented before installation.
Tag mapping
Tags are mapped and validated against the machine tag database. Every tag Pulpum may write is explicitly listed and reviewed with the automation engineer.
Scan alignment
QCS scans, DCS samples and camera frames are aligned to reel position, so a defect at 1,412 mm is traceable to the chemistry that caused it.
Historian backfill
Twelve or more weeks of history are backfilled so models can be trained and baselines established from your data.
Camera integration
Line-scan cameras are synchronised and calibrated; existing web-inspection systems can be used as a source instead of new hardware where suitable.
Validation
Shadow mode runs until the mill agrees the readings and recommendations match what the crew sees on the machine.
Boundaries
What Pulpum deliberately does not do
A clear boundary is what makes a supervisory layer safe to install on a machine that is already running.
Out of scope by design
- Replacing base-layer regulatory control
- Replacing the QCS scanner or its profile control hardware
- Acting as the mill's system of record for orders or inventory
- Providing the primary operator HMI
- Safety-instrumented functions and interlocks
- Anything that cannot be reverted by a human in one action
Accelerated computing
Physical AI, at the machine
Paper moves at 1,200 metres a minute. Perception has to be local, deterministic and fast, so Pulpum runs GPU inference at the mill edge and keeps training, simulation and optimisation in the cloud or on-prem.
Edge perception
8–24 synchronised line-scan cameras per machine. Sub-100 ms defect classification, sub-250 ms break-risk updates. [ASPIRATIONAL design targets]
Model serving
Vision, time-series prognostics, grade embeddings and process reasoning behind one orchestrator, with deterministic rollback by model version.
Training
Defect vision, break precursors, wet-end response and drying models trained on reel genealogy, QCS histories and operator corrections.
Digital twin
GPU-accelerated CFD, drying and web-dynamics simulation of the as-run machine — 10–100 candidate recipes evaluated per grade change.
Synthetic data
Rare break, contamination, wrinkle and formation-upset variants generated and always validated against real mill events before promotion.
Optimisation
Grade-change sequencing, dryer energy allocation, machine-speed balancing and maintenance windows under production and energy constraints.
Autonomy
Four levels, set per agent and per tag
A mill does not go from manual to unattended in one step. Pulpum makes the level explicit, auditable and reversible at any time.
| Level | What the agent does | What the human does | Typical time to reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Advisory | Recommends setpoints and explains why | Enters every change manually | Week 1 |
| L2 · Supervised | Proposes a write; it executes on approval | Approves each write in the HMI | Week 3–6 |
| L3 · Bounded | Writes inside tag, rate and magnitude limits | Approves ramps and grade releases | Month 2–4 |
| L4 · Unattended | Runs the envelope without prompting | Sets the envelope; reviews the shift record | Month 6+ [ASPIRATIONAL] |
Guardrails
An agent that can move a nip needs a leash
Pulpum writes to production equipment. Every capability is scoped, every write is policy-checked, and every action is written to an append-only audit log the mill owns.
- Bounded action space. Each agent can only write to an explicit tag allow-list, inside per-tag rate and magnitude limits.
- Policy engine before every write. Autonomy level, shift, grade, interlock state and operator presence are all evaluated before a setpoint moves.
- Human-in-the-loop gates. Anything above the site threshold — speed ramps, grade releases, safety-adjacent moves — waits for a named approver.
- Immutable audit log. Append-only, hash-chained, exportable, and retained on the mill's own storage.
- Hard fallback. Loss of the edge node, the network or the model returns control to the DCS's last known-good state within one scan cycle.
- Tenant and IP isolation. Furnish recipes, grade models and defect libraries never cross a customer boundary. On-prem deployment available.
Compliance posture
| Standard | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | Cloud control plane | RUNNING In progress [ASPIRATIONAL] |
| ISO 27001 | Company-wide ISMS | QUEUED Planned [ASPIRATIONAL] |
| IEC 62443 | Mill-edge OT security | RUNNING Design-aligned |
| GDPR | Operator data | SUCCEEDED Compliant |
| ISO 9001 / FSC | Quality + chain of custody records | SUCCEEDED Supported |
From the control room
What machine tenders say
Autonomy earns trust one shift at a time. These are design-partner quotes from pilot deployments [ASPIRATIONAL].
"The first thing that convinced the crew wasn't the control — it was the log. You can scroll back and see exactly why it dropped the nip. Nobody argues with a timestamp."
Machine tender · PM4 · Nordkraft Mills
"We had two people who could do a clean 135-to-110 transition. One retired in March. The twin now does the sequencing and the second one supervises it."
Production manager · Aurora Board
"Break prediction was the wedge. Ninety seconds of warning is the difference between a nip trim and four hours of threading."
Process engineer · Ternvik Paper
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions mill managers and process engineers actually ask in the first meeting.
Yes, but only within an explicit tag allow-list with per-tag rate and magnitude limits, and only at the autonomy level your site has set. Level 1 is advisory-only: Pulpum recommends and a human enters everything. Most mills spend their first weeks there before enabling supervised writes.
Control returns to the DCS last known-good state within one scan cycle. Pulpum is designed as a supervisory layer on top of your existing control system, never as a replacement for it, so a Pulpum outage degrades the mill to its current way of running — not to a stop.
Break prediction and defect classification typically need 8 to 12 weeks of QCS, DCS and inspection history per grade family, plus labelled break events. Advisory recommendations start in week one from the physics-based twin, and improve as mill-specific history accumulates.
Only if you choose cloud training. Recipes, grade models and defect libraries are tenant-isolated and never used to train another customer's models. A fully on-prem deployment with an air-gapped mill edge is available for sensitive producers.
You are, the same as with any control strategy — which is why every write is policy-checked, bounded, logged and reversible, and why anything above your risk threshold waits for a named approver. The audit log records the request, the reasoning, the limits applied and the human decision.
A 90 to 120 day mill-edge deployment on one paper machine, scoped to a single workflow with a pre-agreed baseline [ASPIRATIONAL]. Weeks 1–3 are connection and shadow-mode observation; weeks 4–8 advisory; weeks 9+ supervised or bounded writes if the mill is satisfied with the recommendations.
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