SofStack is a manufacturing AI MVP development company building AI products for manufacturers, industrial companies and their technology partners.
Factories already collect large amounts of machine, quality and production data, but most of it is never used for decisions. We build manufacturing AI MVPs that turn that data into fewer breakdowns, fewer defects and faster answers on the shop floor.
Who We Work With
Discrete manufacturers in automotive, electronics, machinery and components
Process manufacturers in chemicals, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and materials
Plant and operations leaders focused on uptime, yield and cost
Quality and engineering teams reducing defects and investigation time
Industrial technology companies adding AI to their equipment or software
Manufacturing AI MVP Use Cases
Predictive Maintenance
Predict equipment failures from sensor and maintenance data, so repairs happen before breakdowns stop production.
Visual Quality Inspection
Computer vision that detects surface defects, assembly errors and missing parts on the production line.
Production Analytics Copilot
An assistant that answers questions about output, downtime and yield from your MES and production data.
Root Cause Analysis
AI that correlates process parameters with quality issues to speed up investigations.
Technical Knowledge Assistant
Instant answers from manuals, SOPs, work instructions and past maintenance reports for operators and technicians.
Demand and Production Planning
Forecasts that help plan production schedules, materials and staffing.
Connecting to Factory Data
Data source | Examples |
Machine and sensor data | PLCs, SCADA, IoT sensors, OPC UA and MQTT |
Historians | AVEVA PI, Aspen IP.21, Canary and similar |
Manufacturing systems | MES, quality management and maintenance (CMMS) systems |
ERP | SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Infor |
Images and video | Line cameras and inspection stations |
Documents | Manuals, SOPs, work orders and inspection reports |
Cloud, Edge or On-Premise
Edge deployment for real-time inspection and low-latency decisions on the line
On-premise deployment when production data cannot leave the plant
Cloud deployment for analytics across multiple plants
Hybrid setups that combine edge inference with central model training
OT Security and Reliability
Read-only data access to operational systems during the MVP
Network segmentation that respects your IT and OT boundaries
No control actions on equipment without explicit approval and testing
Fallbacks: production continues normally if the AI is unavailable
NDA and full IP transfer of models, code and documentation
How We Deliver Manufacturing AI MVPs
1. Plant discovery with operations, maintenance, quality and IT teams.
2. Data readiness check on sensor history, failure records and quality data.
3. Proof of concept on one line, machine type or defect category.
4. MVP build with integrations, dashboards and alerts for operators.
5. Pilot on one line or plant with measured results before scaling.
Manufacturing AI MVP Pricing
Engagement | Starting price | Timeline |
Discovery | From $2,500 | 2 weeks |
Proof of Concept | From $5,000 | 3–4 weeks |
Manufacturing AI MVP | From $18,000 | 10–12 weeks |
Dedicated AI Team | From $6,000/month | Monthly |
Pricing depends on data sources, deployment type (cloud, edge or on-premise) and the number of lines or machines included.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data do we need for predictive maintenance?
Sensor or machine data plus maintenance and failure history. During discovery, we check whether you have enough history to train reliable models.
Can AI inspection run on the production line?
Yes. We deploy vision models on edge devices near the line for real-time results.
Will the AI control our machines?
Not in the MVP. The AI provides predictions, alerts and recommendations. Any control actions require explicit approval and separate testing.
Can the system run without the cloud?
Yes. We can deploy fully on-premise or at the edge when data must stay in the plant.
How much does a manufacturing AI MVP cost?
SofStack manufacturing AI MVPs start from $18,000, with a proof of concept from $5,000.
Build Your Manufacturing AI MVP
Tell us about the downtime, quality or efficiency problem you want to solve. We will assess your data and propose a starting engagement.