OPC and EUROMAP agree to advance digital interfaces for moulding

The European organisation for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, EUROMAP, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the OPC Foundation, the organisation behind the industry standards for the secure and reliable exchange of data.

The move comes as EUROMAP looks to further develop the networking of different machinery as the plastics and rubber industry increasingly looks to Industry 4.0 and the idea of a connected factory, people and processes.

The latest interface, EUROMAP 77, was published as a Release Candidate at the K 2016 trade show and focuses on the interface between injection moulding machines and central computers/MES).

That was the first of the interfaces developed jointly between Euromap and OPC, based on the OPC’s ‘UA’ standard, which looks at security and data modelling and provides a platform for future technology.

Further specifications for the networking of different machines are being developed and working groups are already being assisted by the OPC Foundation.

To cement this commitment to further developing these standards, OPC Foundation Vice-President, Stefan Hoppe, and EUROMAP Secretary General, Thorsten Kühmann signed a Memorandum of Understanding on February 1 dedicating the organisations to future teamwork.

Both parties say they wish to publish interface descriptions for plastics and rubber machinery as “Companion Specifications”. These uniform information models eliminate the cost associated with the adjustments that the networking of machinery previously required.

Components from different manufacturers can be combined into installations more easily if each manufacturer provides its data in the same form, which EUROMAP says is essential if Industry 4.0 is to be made a reality. 

An overview of the specifications currently under development can be found at www.euromap.org/i40.