Two ebooks from the Shopfloor maintainer, sold on Gumroad. The site stays free; the books go deeper.
Ebook · 224 pages · Gumroad
A practical book about the scarce human, economic, and strategic advantages that remain valuable even when AI/AGI can perform most cognitive work. Written for people who build and run real systems.
Ebook · 76 pages · Gumroad
Explains how factories actually work: production flow, machines, PLCs, SCADA, industrial protocols, MES and ERP, OEE and downtime, maintenance, quality, lean, safety, IT/OT, and Industry 4.0. Twenty chapters grounded in real standards, with vocabulary boxes and 31 references.
For the plant-floor systems behind Understanding the Shop Floor:
Three systems that all "collect plant data" but answer different questions. Boundaries, handoffs, and how to stop buying two of them for one job.
What levels 0–4 actually mean for MES integration, B2MML exchanges, and conversations between IT and operations.
PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and TSN serve different masters. What each was designed for and how to tell them apart.
On AI and engineering work, behind How to Remain Valuable:
A practical sequence for robot-cell risk assessment, safeguarding, operating modes, safety functions, and commissioning without confusing speed with safety.
Sampling, timestamps, operating context, labels, and work-order feedback matter more than choosing a sophisticated model too early.
A factory-floor guide to field of view, working distance, contrast, light geometry, exposure, and the validation discipline behind reliable vision.
