Title: Smart factory equipment integration through standardised OPC UA communication with companion specifications and equipment specific information models

Authors: Fabian Stoop; Gerald Ely; Robert Menna; Greg Charache; Thomas Gittler; Konrad Wegener

Addresses: Institute of Machine Tools and Manufacturing (IWF), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland ' TRUMPF Photonics, Cranbury, NJ, USA ' TRUMPF Photonics, Cranbury, NJ, USA ' TRUMPF Photonics, Cranbury, NJ, USA ' Institute of Machine Tools and Manufacturing (IWF), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland ' Institute of Machine Tools and Manufacturing (IWF), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Abstract: Industry 4.0 promotes digitalisation of manufacturing organisations into smart factories. Communication and connectivity of an operational data collection are required principal. OPC Unified Architecture and standards like ISA95 are key resources to develop automated interfaces between equipment and manufacturing execution system (MES). The target is to integrate complex equipment in a convenient way through the use of a companion specification, a dynamic address space and a OPC UA client characterisation process. Challenges are the reconciliation of the right programming languages, the integration of generic, domain agnostic, domain specific and equipment specific information models. This study describes the generic approach and demonstrates its applicability in a complex manufacturing environment, serving as a blueprint for other environments. The outlined concept is based on C#/LabView source-code developed for semiconductor back-end equipment, which interacts with an MES. The proposed system is validated for a final-testing-unit in the production of kW-class high-power laser diodes.

Keywords: smart factory; Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture; OPC UA; companion specification; information model; ISA95; manufacturing execution system; MES; machine connectivity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2019.103499

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2019 Vol.12 No.3/4, pp.344 - 364

Received: 06 Apr 2019
Accepted: 24 Jul 2019
Published online: 06 Nov 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article