Machine integration via MTCONNECT

Different measures are taken for specific projects: The WAGO PFC controller transmits machine data according to the MTConnect protocol.

Germany's machine integration mainly uses the OPC UA protocol, while North America prefers the MTConnect protocol in the context of Industry 4.0 . The protocol supports one-way communication between the device and the superior command layer, for example, within a manufacturing execution system. Therefore, data transmission follows the principle of “adapter-agent”: the adapter reads analog or digital data from the machine or system through the corresponding I/O module, and transmits it to the agent in a special way, and then the agent transmits it to the control through MTConnect. center.

Regardless of the technical implementation of WAGo for specific projects, the CoDeSYS development environment (CODESYS 2 running WAGO I/O-PRO or CODESYS 3 running e!COCKPIT) and the real-time Linux operating system of the PFC controller play a decisive role. . The MTConnect source code is free to Linux, so proxy functionality can be implemented directly within the operating system. The communication between the agent and the adapter is implemented by the function block in the so-called "vertical line separator text" format in CoDeSYS. The WAGo controller's web-based management capabilities make it easy to configure.

The upgraded version 06 firmware makes security configuration simpler: all PFC devices that use this firmware provide a separate configuration interface for configuring OpenVPN, IPsec, and firewall. MTConnect queries against the agent can also be transmitted in encrypted form over HTTPS.

Different measures are taken for specific projects. WAGo not only implements the MTConnect proxy function directly in the Linux operating system of the PFC controller, but also implements the MTConnect adapter function in CoDeSYS.

In order to meet individual needs and solve a series of problems caused by small batch production, enterprises urgently need production systems based on modular machines and systems to cope with future developments. WAGo offers the best solution with the DIMA concept.

Launched at the end of 2014, it helps to quickly adjust production modules to match the higher-end production computers. With the DIMA concept, companies can easily and quickly convert production equipment without reprogramming the main processing computer, thus solving the core challenges of Industry 4.0.

Bring successful investment

Nowadays, whether it is buying a car, a laptop or a one-time fragrance, people will no longer wait patiently for long orders like the Trabant in the 1960s and 1970s. This has forced industrial companies to increase their investment in order to shorten the product delivery cycle. According to a survey conducted by Strategy & PwC, German companies will invest about 40 billion euros a year in the transformation of new structured production equipment by 2020. In the next five years, about 80% of the horizontal and vertical value-added chains will be digitized, which will lead to transparency of communication. Today, the effectiveness of corporate investment has emerged: thanks to the impact of various aspects of Industry 4.0, production and resource efficiency have been significantly improved.