A Major Leap Forward for Digital Transformation in Metalworking

Introducing the Next-Generation Edge Connector: Event-Driven, Workflow-Enabled, and Built for the Future of Manufacturing

A Major Leap Forward for Digital Transformation in Metalworking Introducing the Next-Generation Edge Connector: Event-Driven, Workflow-Enabled, and Built for the Future of Manufacturing The metalworking industry is standing at a crossroads. For years, we’ve talked about event-driven manufacturing, real-time orchestration, unified namespaces, and truly integrated digital operations. Everyone agrees these ideas matter. Everyone nods when you talk about cloud-to-shopfloor automation. But when it comes to actually doing it? Integrations remain stitched together, fragile, and often years behind what modern manufacturing demands.

Today, that changes.

At Quotation Factory, we’ve spent the last years powering over 60 factories with our Edge Connector—helping them synchronize ERP, automate CAM workflows, and reliably bridge on-premise environments with the cloud. But what we’re announcing now isn’t an improvement.

It’s a step-change. A foundational shift. A new infrastructure layer for the digital factory.

🚀 Introducing: The New Edge Connector with Workflow Engine and Unified Namespace Infrastructure

During my live stream, I shared a preview of what I believe is one of the most important digital transformation announcements the metalworking industry has seen in years:

The Quotation Factory Edge Connector has evolved into a full event-driven, workflow-oriented automation platform—running directly inside your factory. And it brings with it: ✅ A built-in workflow engine ✅ A graphical workflow designer ✅ An integrated MQTT client ✅ A fully functional MQTT server with Unified Namespace (UNS) capabilities ✅ A built-in historian ✅ File watchers, machine connectors, database connectors ✅ ERP and CAM integrations rebuilt as modular workflow building blocks This turns every Quotation Factory customer environment into a flexible, modern, event-driven automation hub.

Why This Matters: Digital Infrastructure Is the New Productivity Driver

For years, factories have automated individual islands—machines, ERP syncs, nesting workflows, or quality stations. But the next frontier isn’t isolated automation.

It’s automated flow.

Flow between systems. Flow between processes. Flow across the entire value chain—from inquiry to delivery.

The new Edge Connector creates exactly that possibility.

It enables:

• Cloud-to-factory and factory-to-cloud orchestration
• Cross-domain workflows across ERP, MES, CAM, machines, and operators
• A real-time data backbone through UNS and MQTT
• Single-factory and multi-factory digital transformation strategies
• Faster automation development with graphical workflows and reusable blocks

This isn’t theoretical. It’s not a pilot. It’s not a whiteboard sketch.

It’s real. It’s live. And over 60 metalworking companies will receive it.

A Unified Namespace & Workflow Platform—Out of the Box

Most manufacturers know they should move toward a UNS architecture, but building one yourself is difficult and expensive. We fix that.

The Edge Connector now ships with a UNS-capable MQTT broker, pre-configured for manufacturing use cases. Together with the workflow engine, this gives every factory:

• A real-time event layer
• A single source of truth for data
• A historian for tracking events and performance changes
• A foundation for Industry 4.0 and 5.0 architectures

White papers and configuration guides will follow, making it achievable even for factories without dedicated integration teams.

Modular Building Blocks for ERP, CAM, and Machines

Integrations should not be custom coding adventures. They should be pluggable, reusable, and composable.

That’s exactly what this release delivers.

We’ve rebuilt all ERP and CAM integrations into workflow building blocks—ready to drag and drop into automated processes.

Already available or in rollout:

• Bystronic / BISOFT API
• CADMAN-B
• CADMAN-SDI
• Additional CAM modules
• Additional ERP & MES modules

The first customers begin testing these next week, and early next year the rollout reaches the entire customer base.

What This Means for the Metalworking Industry

This upgrade changes what is possible:

🔹 Every Quotation Factory customer instantly gains an event-driven architecture 🔹 Every factory gets a modern automation platform—without massive IT projects 🔹 Integrations become workflows, not projects 🔹 Factories gain full visibility, orchestration, and digital performance insights 🔹 Cross-department, cross-system automation becomes accessible to all This is the automation infrastructure layer metalworking companies have been waiting for.

Not hype. Not theory. Not future talk. Available. Real. Deploying now.

A New Brand, Same Support

The new Edge Connector will launch under a dedicated brand (announcement soon), but with full support from:

• Our technical engineering team
• Our Customer Success team
• The Quotation Factory platform behind it

This is the next chapter of what it means to digitally operate a metalworking business.

We’re Just Getting Started

This upgrade lays the foundation for the coming years of innovation in manufacturing automation. A foundation built on:

• Real-time data
• Event-driven processes
• Open connectivity
• Flexible integration
• Multi-factory orchestration
• And workflows that replace manual steps everywhere

If you want to be part of the early wave—reach out. If you want to test, learn, or prepare your organization—let us know. If you want to transform how your factory runs—now is the moment.

This is the leap forward the metalworking industry has been waiting for.

—and we’re excited to build it with you.