MT Connect

= interoperability protocol for digital or distributed manufacturing

URL = http://mtconnect.org/

"manufacturers spend $90 billion a year on interoperability issues. Many large users of machine tools already have proprietary solutions to their data-connectivity problems, but the MTConnect approach could open up new doors for small companies and university researchers" [1]

Description

“MTConnect serves as "middleware" between the machine controller and higher-level applications. It provides a means to describe, for instance, actual and command positions of a machine tool's axes of motion as well as pretty much any data a sensor can capture. And, it offers basic alarms and notification functionality. Using XML-based descriptions of various machine functions (e.g., spindle time, machine tool temperature, power status, etc.), you can access and manage the shop floor from anywhere. The new standard is lightweight (not much coding required) and extensible (see benefits below). And it's free — not like "free when you buy the condo" free, but actually free. It's open, so nobody owns it (no license fees), with all the software and specifications available online at no cost.

Among the claimed benefits of MTConnect:

• For High Level — Decreases cost and risk while increasing choices and flexibility; • For Manufacturers — Simplifies ability to obtain process parameters (e.g., cycle time, throughput and yield) while fostering the ability to obtain genealogy and traceability; and • For Machine Builders — Decreases risk because it's proven technology (like Java or HTML on the Internet) and enables a common solution for all customers — so you can concentrate on selling equipment and services rather than developing pre-competitive tech.

In the end, addressing data from multiple sources on a common platform should make processes more portable, which improves flexibility and reduces ad-hoc risk.” (http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2008/09/international_manufacturing_technology_show_imts_2008_highlights_robots_mtconnect.html?)

More Information

Essay: Tools to Enable a Flexible Factory.(The case for MTConnect!). By David Dornfeld. (Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability; Department of Mechanical Engineering; University of California at Berkeley).

Author contact: [email protected]