With TwinCAT and EtherCAT at its core, Bright Machines’ Bright Factory combines intelligent automation, real-time control, and data-driven operations to scale manufacturing for the AI era.
AI and data center infrastructure development continues to be constrained by rigid, manual production processes that are difficult and costly to scale. But one technology-first manufacturing company is transforming how complex infrastructure systems are designed, built, and scaled, bringing it closer to the point of deployment.
Founded in 2018, San Francisco-based Bright Machines was created to rethink manufacturing through a modular, software-driven approach. Building on its early success in electronics assembly, Bright Machines now focuses on manufacturing for the AI era, helping companies build AI and data center hardware with greater speed, quality, and flexibility.
At the core of this vision is Bright Factory, the company’s intelligent manufacturing platform that combines virtual product development, AI-enabled robotics, and factory intelligence to orchestrate high-precision production of advanced data center infrastructure.
Designing modular control for the AI era
Powered by proprietary Smart Skills technology, including 3D navigation, machine learning-based inspection, and force control, Bright Factory coordinates every stage of production, from design and assembly to real-time process optimization. “We’re basically building where AI lives,” explains Oscar De la Rosa Roque, Senior Automation and Controls Engineer at Bright Machines. Designed for quality, flexibility, and complete traceability, the platform helps meet surging demand for AI hardware while supporting broader efforts to reshore advanced manufacturing in the United States.
At its San Francisco office, Bright Machines first developed a prototype manufacturing environment that served as both a pilot line and a reference architecture for future deployments before later being deployed at a customer site. A core element of this system is automation technology from Beckhoff, which has been the central part of the company’s control architecture from the very beginning.
From the outset, Bright Machines required a control system capable of handling the demands of high-mix, high-precision automated assembly with deterministic performance, modular scalability, and software-level adaptability. The key challenge was developing a control architecture that could easily accommodate changing product configurations while maintaining tight integration with robotics, vision, and connected software systems.
Traditional PLC platforms often limit this kind of flexibility, relying on closed, vendor-specific environments that can be difficult for software engineers to use. Bright Machines needed a control solution that combined the rigor of industrial automation with the openness and agility of modern software development, allowing both controls engineers and developers to work within a shared, programmable environment without sacrificing real-time precision or reliability.
TwinCAT 3 and EtherCAT power unified control architecture
Beckhoff’s PC-based control architecture met these requirements precisely, offering an open environment that unifies PLC programming, IT standards, and safety configuration within TwinCAT 3. Integrated directly into Microsoft Visual Studio, the system gives Bright Machines engineers a single workspace for development and testing.
“Because the controllers run Windows as the operating system, they can also host custom applications that enable communication with non-real-time systems,” explains De la Rosa Roque. This open, flexible setup allows automation and software teams to code, debug, and manage version control using familiar tools like Git while maintaining the precision and reliability required for manufacturing.
In the production line, each automation cell is managed by a CX5340 Embedded PC that controls local logic, motion control, I/O devices, and robot interfaces. The system communicates through EtherCAT, ensuring deterministic, sub-millisecond cycle times for motion control and I/O. A separate line-level Beckhoff controller coordinates all manual stations and chassis-handling equipment, including conveyors, valves, RFID readers, and associated safety systems. ELxxxx series EtherCAT Terminals and EPxxxx series EtherCAT Box I/O modules handle distributed signals, with the IP67-rated EP modules placed directly on equipment in the field to simplify wiring and reduce cabinet complexity.
“High-speed EtherCAT communication is essential for precise real-time control,” says Tori Colthurst, Robotics Perception Engineer at Bright Machines. “It gives us fast, low latency access to our suite of peripherals and data exchange for accurate navigation and assembly processes.”
Safety functions are implemented through Beckhoff’s integrated TwinSAFE Logic and I/O, allowing Bright Machines to modify machine safety through software instead of rewiring hardware. Networking is still on the main EtherCAT network via Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE).
The same control platform also supports IO-Link devices, such as pneumatic manifolds and smart sensors, and vertical transmission of all process data via a Beckhoff OPC UA Server, which connects the control layer to Bright Machines’ proprietary orchestration software and cloud-based monitoring systems with built-in encryption.
Modular automation built for growth
Built on a modular architecture, the Bright Factory scales from a single automation cell to a fully integrated manufacturing line, enabling manufacturers to expand capacity as production demands evolve. Each cell operates independently but can communicate through standardized interfaces. The current configuration controls approximately 10 motion axes and 2,000 EtherCAT I/O points, supporting synchronized operation across the entire setup.
By standardizing on TwinCAT software and EtherCAT, Bright Machines reduces development time and enables reuse of both code and hardware configurations across future assembly lines. The unified environment also simplifies maintenance and troubleshooting, since all logic, motion, and safety parameters are defined within the same project. Additional devices or stations can be integrated simply by extending EtherCAT nodes or adding IO-Link modules without major rework.
“The diagnostic capabilities of TwinCAT and EtherCAT have enabled my team to debug issues live and in production,” says Colthurst. “When we're deploying systems to customer sites, these capabilities are essential for efficient and fast production ramp.” Since its deployment, the modular architecture has provided Bright Machines with a flexible, scalable foundation that accelerates line expansion, streamlines support, and ensures reliable performance.
From architecture concept to reality
The first deployed manufacturing line validates Bright Machines’ selection of Beckhoff and EtherCAT as the backbone of its control architecture, delivering deterministic, real-time performance while remaining highly modular and open to software-driven iteration. This approach supports the company’s broader vision of software-defined manufacturing, where production cells can be configured, updated, and monitored through software rather than hardware redesign.
By combining Beckhoff’s PC-based control with Bright Machines’ data-driven automation platform, Bright Machines is creating a manufacturing architecture that is flexible, connected, and ready for large-scale deployment across next-generation production lines.
As demand for AI infrastructure continues to accelerate, manufacturers need production systems that can grow with demand while maintaining precision, adaptability, and end-to-end visibility. Beckhoff’s PC-based control technology, TwinCAT, and EtherCAT real-time communication enable this software-defined manufacturing, allowing Bright Machines to deploy modular automation architectures that can evolve alongside the industry’s rapidly changing requirements.
