Connect Your Machines to IT Systems Yourself

Traditional and New Ways to Link OT and IT Systems with Concrete Examples

Connecting PLC and SCADA systems has been solved for years thanks to OPC servers (e.g., Kepware KEPServerEX). We can’t use OPC Router directly to connect PLC systems because it doesn’t have native drivers for Siemens, Omron, Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi, Modbus, etc. However, it communicates via OPC DA / OPC UA, which means OPC Router, together with any OPC server, can communicate with all PLCs on the market.

The basic task of an OPC server is to connect to various systems via their native communication protocols and convert them to the unified OPC protocol for higher-level systems such as SCADA applications, MES systems, etc. Another system connected above the OPC server can be OPC Router, which can link OPC data with a wide range of useful systems, devices, and software applications.
 

Let’s look at real examples where OPC Router is used to improve control, traceability, and process data automation.

Connect Printers to SCADA/HMI Applications

You need: OPC Client plug-in + Domino/Zebra/Videojet/Generic plug-in + OPC Router basic module

Printers in production are an important part of many factories’ processes, and it’s not always easy to connect these industrial printers to SCADA systems. You could use an API to integrate with MES or ERP systems, but everything else requires custom integration. Using printer plug-ins, OPC Router will be able to send and receive information from printers and forward it to a database or, for example, to an OPC server. As a result, you’ll send commands to printers from SCADA systems in a simple way that you can adjust and adapt to new conditions at any time.

Connect Barcode Readers with PLCs

You need: OPC Client plug-in + Barcode Readers plug-in + OPC Router basic module

Barcodes are everywhere in manufacturing and are increasingly used to identify practically anything. Very often a PLC reads the batch type entering its production line. Thanks to the barcode, it checks material correctness, quantity, and other data. Today, communication between a PLC and a barcode reader is usually not direct but requires certain integration tools that can be complex and lack configuration options for many users. Use OPC Router to connect your barcode readers directly to the OPC server to which your PLCs are connected.

Connect Barcode Readers with SCADA, MES, or ERP Systems

You need: SQL/OPC/SAP/Webservices plug-in + Barcode Readers plug-in + Database plug-in + OPC Router basic module

If you need to place a barcode reader at the end of the line to ensure synchronization between a labeler and a traceability system, the solution often requires custom development. Use OPC Router and you’ll be able to read barcodes from readers and send them easily and transparently to a database, SCADA systems, or SAP—or another ERP system.

Connect RFID Readers with SCADA Systems

You need: OPC Client plug-in + RFID plug-in + Database plug-in + OPC Router basic module

Modern SCADA applications often don’t have native drivers to connect to RFID readers, yet their use in equipment is growing—whether for labeling, warehousing, or other control tasks. As in the previous cases, using OPC Router enables very simple integration of these systems. You’ll be able to adjust or extend the connections yourself at any time—quickly and easily.

Store PLC Data in a Database

You need: OPC Client plug-in + Database plug-in + OPC Router basic module

Control systems provide production and process data that often ends up in higher-level SCADA systems or in manufacturing and other software environments. Today’s world increasingly demands documentation, analyses, and BI (Business Intelligence) views, which we must somehow create, operate, and manage. OPC Router has a large set of database drivers, including a dedicated plug-in for the InfluxDB time-series database. Getting any data from PLCs into a database and then visualizing it, e.g., in Power BI, is a breeze with OPC Router.

Connect Your SCADA Application with Other Systems

You need: OPC Client/Server plug-ins + Webservices/SAP plug-in + MQTT plug-in + Database plug-in + OPC Router basic module

There are more and more projects where it’s necessary to connect PLCs or SCADA with additional systems such as maintenance systems, warehouse management, cloud systems, ERP, MES, and many others. Again, we can run into situations where systems lack native drivers for mutual communication and would require custom development by an integrator. Or use OPC Router and connect the systems yourself in a scalable and transparent way.

Try OPC Router 

There will undoubtedly be more use cases; in this article we’ve listed the most common ones. OPC Router is a tool that lets you connect OT and IT systems yourself without the need for custom development.

If you’d like to learn more about OPC Router, don’t hesitate to contact us—we’ll be happy to help you connect your systems using OPC Router.

Download the OPC Router trial for free. It’s the full version of the software, which you can run for a maximum of 2 hours at a time. A license for a longer time interval is also available. After you download the free trial, we will contact you—so ask for the longer trial and show OPC Router’s possibilities to your colleagues as well.