How the AI Boom Is Increasing Demand for Industrial Automation Parts
Aug 14, 2026
AI Growth Has a Physical Supply Chain
Ask a controls engineer where the AI boom is showing up, and the answer probably will not start with software. It may start with another chiller package, a new semiconductor line, an overloaded utility system or an urgent request for a discontinued PLC module.
AI computing depends on a large amount of physical infrastructure. Data centers need power, cooling and water systems. Chipmakers need more wafer capacity and advanced packaging lines. Server plants need CNC machines, robots, conveyors and test equipment. Power stations and material-processing plants must then support the additional load.
All of this equipment contains PLCs, DCS modules, drives, HMIs, sensors and protection hardware. That is the direct connection between today’s AI investment cycle and the work of an industrial automation parts supplier such as Moore Automation.
The AI Market Has Become an Industrial Construction Market
The scale of the build-out is visible in electricity figures. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers consumed about 485 TWh of electricity in 2025. Its current projection puts consumption close to 950 TWh by 2030, while electricity use from AI-focused data centers is expected to grow much faster than the rest of the sector. (IEA: Key Questions on Energy and AI)
A data center is not simply a room filled with servers. It is an industrial facility with several tightly connected utility systems:
Medium- and low-voltage power distribution
UPS and battery systems
Standby diesel or gas generators
Chillers, cooling towers and heat exchangers
Coolant Distribution Units
Chilled-water and condenser-water pumps
CRAH and air-handling units
Fire, ventilation and leak-detection systems
Building and electrical power management systems
Every system has a control layer. Pumps require starters or variable-frequency drives. Chillers need controller CPUs, temperature inputs, pressure transmitters and communication interfaces. Generator installations use synchronization, speed control and protection hardware. Water-treatment skids require conductivity measurement, dosing control and valve sequencing.
The semiconductor industry is moving in the same direction. SEMI expects worldwide 300 mm fab equipment spending to reach USD 133 billion in 2026 and USD 151 billion in 2027. AI accelerators, high-performance computing and advanced memory are among the stated reasons for this investment. (SEMI 300 mm Fab Outlook)
New construction adds more industrial automation components to the installed base. Existing plants are also running harder and adding capacity around equipment that may already be ten or fifteen years old. That combination increases demand for both current products and discontinued automation spare parts.
Data Centers: Where AI Demand Reaches the PLC Cabinet
The controls inside an AI data center are mostly found outside the server rack.
High-density GPU systems reject a large and concentrated heat load. Conventional room cooling remains part of many sites, but direct-to-chip and hybrid liquid-cooling arrangements are becoming more common. Schneider Electric now describes liquid cooling as infrastructure designed specifically for AI workloads and high-density computing. (Schneider Electric Liquid Cooling)
A typical cooling loop may include the following measured values:
Supply and return temperature
Differential pressure across a filter or heat exchanger
Primary and secondary loop flow
Pump discharge pressure
VFD frequency, current and operating status
Control-valve command and position feedback
Coolant conductivity
Leak-detection input
Chiller load and compressor status
These signals reach the controller through 4–20 mA inputs, RTDs, thermocouples, pulse inputs or industrial Ethernet networks. The PLC then manages pump staging, bypass-valve position, temperature setpoints and alarm logic. A supervisory BMS may collect the data, but the local controller still has to keep the process stable if communication with the upper-level system is lost.
Many sites use N+1 or 2N arrangements for critical equipment. Redundancy, however, does not eliminate the need for spares. Two identical pumps may still use the same drive model. Redundant PLCs may depend on a common communication module or power supply. Several cooling units may also share the same HMI panel.
This makes the following items important for maintenance stores:
Controller CPUs and redundant power supplies
Analog and digital I/O modules
Network and fieldbus interfaces
Remote I/O couplers
Operator panels and display units
Variable-frequency drives
Temperature, pressure and flow input modules
Generator and synchronization controllers
A failed GPU board affects computing capacity. A failed cooling controller can affect a complete data hall. For the facility engineer, the second failure may be more urgent.
The same problem appears during retrofit projects. A new monitoring platform may be connected to a packaged chiller that still uses an older PLC. Replacing the complete chiller control panel is expensive and requires testing. Finding the correct CPU, I/O card or HMI is often the faster option.
This is one reason why the AI data-center market is creating demand for PLC Systems spare parts, HMI displays spare parts, Inverter Drives and other automation and control components.
Chip Fabs and Server Plants Are Expanding the Installed Base
Semiconductor production involves far more automation hardware than the process chamber itself.
A wafer fab needs vacuum systems, gas cabinets, chemical delivery, exhaust treatment, ultra-pure water, wastewater treatment and cleanroom HVAC. Wafer handlers and load ports use servo motors and encoders. Pumps and scrubbers have their own control panels. Chillers maintain process temperatures within a narrow operating range.
Typical control signals include:
24 VDC interlock and permissive circuits
4–20 mA pressure, flow and level measurements
Pt100 or thermocouple temperature inputs
Servo position and following-error data
Vacuum status and valve feedback
Motor current and overload status
Gas detection and exhaust-flow alarms
Emergency-stop and door-interlock inputs
PROFINET, PROFIBUS, EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, SERCOS and Modbus TCP can all be found in the same facility. Older tools may use proprietary interfaces that cannot be replaced without changes to the machine software.
The part number therefore matters down to the last character. Two modules from the same family may differ in input type, channel isolation, conformal coating, connector arrangement, supported protocol or firmware. A controller that fits the rack is not necessarily compatible with the application.
Advanced packaging and server production add another group of machines:
Die-bonding and packaging equipment
SMT placement and reflow lines
Automated optical inspection
CNC machining centers
Robotic assembly cells
Conveyor and pallet-handling systems
Automated screwdriving stations
Burn-in and functional-test equipment
This equipment creates regular demand for Servo Drives parts, CNC Systems parts, Robotics parts, Motors and Encoders and industrial displays.
The age of the machine is often more important than the age of the factory. A recently expanded server plant may still use a proven CNC machining center purchased several years earlier. The mechanics may remain accurate, while the servo amplifier, encoder interface or HMI has already reached the end of its commercial lifecycle.
In this situation, migration is not always the first choice. A controller upgrade can require electrical changes, software conversion, motion tuning, safety validation and a new set of spare parts. If the existing process remains stable, replacing the failed module with the same catalog number is usually less disruptive.
That is why demand for Fanuc spare parts, Siemens automation parts and Allen Bradley automation parts can grow alongside the newest AI production capacity.
The Demand Continues into Power, Metals and Process Industries
AI infrastructure consumes electricity before it produces a single useful result.
The IEA expects electricity generation serving data centers to rise from roughly 460 TWh in 2024 to more than 1,000 TWh in 2030. The supply will come from a mixture of renewable generation, natural gas, coal and nuclear power, depending on the region. (IEA: Energy Supply for AI)
At a thermal power plant, the relevant automation hardware may include:
Turbine control and governor modules
Generator excitation equipment
DCS controllers and remote I/O
Flame and combustion-control hardware
Synchronization modules
Overspeed and emergency-trip systems
Proximity probes and vibration monitors
Bearing-temperature inputs
Redundant communication and power-supply modules
Turbines, compressors and large pumps also require dedicated Machinery Protection. Shaft radial vibration, axial position, speed and Keyphasor phase reference cannot be treated as ordinary process values. These signals belong to a protection system with defined alarm, danger and relay behavior.
This keeps Bently Nevada Protection and Sensing Hardware and Bently Nevada 3500 Machinery Protection Systems relevant to the AI infrastructure cycle. The server may be the visible asset, but reliable generation still depends on probes, Proximitor sensors, monitor modules, power supplies and rack interfaces.
The demand chain continues upstream. AI facilities require copper cable, aluminum busbars, structural steel, cement, specialty gases and cooling equipment. Mines, smelters, steel mills, cement plants and chemical facilities must increase or maintain production to support that construction.
A cement plant, for example, may have large kiln drives, induced-draft fans, conveyors, crushers and mills. A copper plant relies on pumps, furnaces, blowers and material-handling systems. Industrial gas plants use compressors, process control and safety instrumentation.
Common maintenance requirements include:
PLC and DCS processor modules
Distributed I/O
High-power drive control boards
Motor and encoder feedback hardware
Vibration probes and accelerometers
Safety-system I/O
Online Condition Monitoring
Distributed Protection Systems
Portable Vibration Analyzers & Diagnostic Systems
These plants tend to run continuously. A failed legacy module is not a minor electronics issue when it stops a kiln fan, compressor train or conveyor section.
What Engineers Should Keep on the Spare-Parts List
AI-related facilities are rarely single-brand sites. Packaged equipment is purchased from different OEMs, often over many years. The result may be an ABB DCS, Siemens utility PLCs, Schneider drives, Allen-Bradley conveyor controls, FANUC robots and Bently Nevada vibration monitoring in the same plant.
The advantage of established brands is their installed base and defined system architecture.
ABB automation spare parts are used across AC 800M controllers, S800 I/O, ACS drives, excitation systems and ABB robots. They are relevant to power generation, water systems, process plants and automated production cells.
Siemens automation parts cover SIMATIC PLCs, ET 200 distributed I/O, SINAMICS drives, SIMATIC HMIs and CNC hardware. Siemens systems appear in data-center utilities, semiconductor support systems and machine tools.
Fanuc spare parts are mainly associated with CNC controls, spindle systems, servo amplifiers, motors, encoders and robot controllers. These parts are frequently required by machining and electronics-production plants.
Allen Bradley automation parts include ControlLogix, CompactLogix, SLC, MicroLogix, PanelView and PowerFlex components. They are common in North American cooling systems, conveyors, packaging lines and material-handling equipment.
Schneider PLC parts cover Modicon Quantum, Premium, M340 and M580 controllers, together with Altivar drives and industrial HMI products. The older Quantum platform remains installed in many utility and process applications.
Emerson automation parts support DeltaV, Ovation and rotating-equipment applications in power plants, water treatment, chemical facilities and industrial utilities.
The main product groups used across these sites include PLC Systems spare parts, Servo Drives parts, HMI displays spare parts, CNC Systems parts, Robotics parts, Motors and Encoders, Inverter Drives and Process Control hardware.
Before ordering, engineers should check the complete part number, hardware series, revision, firmware, voltage, I/O type, terminal configuration and communication protocol. For vibration systems, the probe, extension cable and Proximitor sensor must also be treated as a matched system.
Moore Automation supplies current and hard-to-find automation parts from multiple control-system brands. The range includes PLC, DCS, HMI, drive, CNC, turbine-control and vibration-monitoring components, including products used in discontinued systems.
Contact Sales
If you are sourcing parts for a data center, semiconductor plant, power station, CNC machine or robotic production line, send the following information for a quotation and availability check:
Product and label photos can be provided before shipment. Supplied products are covered by a one-year warranty.
AI may be creating the investment cycle, but the equipment behind it still depends on familiar industrial hardware. When a cooling pump, production robot, turbine monitor or process controller stops, the immediate requirement is usually not another algorithm. It is the correct replacement part.
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