Mr. Krainz, what was the motivation for the OPC UA server?

Krainz: While standards have now become established at higher IT and production levels, our production halls are still riddled with isolated solutions and individual developments. Compliance with communication standards would further advance the digitalization of production processes and greatly simplify interaction between the systems. This is why we have been relying on the OPC UA standard for some time now.

One of our aims with the OPC UA server is to eliminate one-way machine communication and create further possibilities for a digital factory with a bidirectional solution.

What specific changes does this entail?

Krainz: The OPC-UA server opens up completely new possibilities for users - and not just in machine communication. All information and data from our MES solution Cronetwork can now be forwarded to a wide variety of recipients along the entire value chain based on events and context. Using proven basic technologies in Cronetwork, this data provision is freely configurable and requires no programming effort. With just a few clicks, users can make their information available on the OPC UA server for further use and processing. All this is done in compliance with the OPC communication standard.

What are typical application scenarios for the server?

Krainz: Possible use cases arise from the broad database and the bidirectional communication option. For example, process data from one work step is recorded, combined with other information, reprocessed and made available to the machine for the next work step using the OPC UA server. The machine settings required there are based on the previously recorded data. This means that any slight deviations can be corrected. Production quality is raised to a new level.

How have you used OPC technology so far?

Krainz: OPC technology is nothing new for Industrie Informatik. The well-known OPC DA specification was already part of the cronetwork MDE server more than ten years ago. We later expanded our range to include an OPC UA client, which continues to provide reliable services in the acquisition of production and machine data, although its limits lie in precisely this area. Previously, only one-way data transfer from the machine to IT was possible. We also wanted to create a new solution that could process the entire broad spectrum of data and information in addition to production data.

Why OPC UA of all things for MES systems?

Krainz: In times of digitalization and Industry 4.0, we need homogeneous system landscapes that are not closed to integration with third-party systems. Standards are the key here. From our point of view, there are only a few communication protocols that are technologically capable of winning the race here. OPC technology is the number 1 in Europe and machine builders are also recognizing the added value. More and more systems are being equipped with OPC servers.

What else is new in Release 19?

Krainz: Our annual releases are the result of our in-house development work on the one hand and solutions that we have recently implemented for individual customers for the first time on the other. The number of annual innovations is correspondingly high. In the current version 19, we are able to provide our customers with around 200 new functions and features. Particularly noteworthy is the newly developed 'cronetwork monitoring', which provides users with an overview of the current functional status of Cronetwork MES. In the areas of detailed planning, business intelligence, machine data, personnel time and interfaces, we were also able to set special accents for an even more efficient use of our MES system Cronetwork.