OPC UA FX Learn@Lunch during SPS 2024
The FLC Initiative of the OPC Foundation organized a 90-minutes event during SPS show in Nuremberg (Germany) to give an update about OPC UA FX and explain the impact it has on the future of industrial communication. The huge interest was reflected by a packed room and a very interested audience. Big thanks to the speakers and the panelists Matthias Gärtner (Siemens), Paul Brooks (Rockwell Automation), Andreas Pfaff (Mitsubishi Electric), Veli-Pekka Ketonen (B&R), Jochen Weiland (Schneider Electric) and René Hummen (Belden) sharing insights about the OPC UA FX value propositions and how the solution differs from conventional fieldbuses.
Link to download the slide decks
| Keynote – The Vision of the OPC Foundation (Stefan Hoppe) | Link to Recording |
| OPC UA FX: Extending OPC UA to the Field (Peter Lutz) | Link to Recording |
| Solving the IT/OT Convergence (Lukas Bechtel) | Link to Recording |
| Simplified Machine Integration (Alexander Allmendinger) | Link to Recording |
| Panel Discussion | Link to Recording |
Picture: Panel discussion about OPC UA FX during SPS 2024
Picture: OPC UA FX Learn@Lunch during SPS 2024
Launch of Certification Program for OPC UA FX
The OPC Foundation is proud to announce the addition of OPC UA FX (Field eXchange) capabilities to its certification program. This marks a significant milestone in supporting manufacturers, system integrators, and end-users in deploying fully interoperable and standardized automation systems for Controller-to-Controller (C2C) communication that enhance connectivity, streamline processes, and reduce the cost of integration.
With this, the OPC UA Certification Program provides a formal testing and certification process for controllers that implement the OPC UA FX specification series (OPC 10000-80, OPC 10000-81, OPC 10000-82, OPC 10000-83 and OPC 10000-84). The program is based on the OPC UA Compliance Test Tool (UACTT), which has been extended to include now more than 350 test scripts for testing the OPC UA FX functionality in addition to the existing test capabilities for OPC UA and for the Companion Specifications.
Through this validation program, participating vendors can certify their controllers as compliant with the OPC UA FX standards, providing confidence to end-users that their devices will operate seamlessly with other OPC UA FX-compliant systems. The validation process includes rigorous testing procedures to ensure that controllers meet the OPC Foundation’s strict requirements for performance, reliability, and interoperability.
FLC WG F2F Meeting at ABB in Mannheim (Germany)
The FLC Technical Working Group met for its last F2F meeting in 2024 at ABB in Mannheim (Germany). Good progress was made in further developing OPC UA FX for different Controller-to-Device use cases, including motion control, field instruments, and remote I/O. Working topics included networking with Ethernet/TSN, bootstrapping, constrained devices, information modelling, offline engineering and conformance testing.
Furthermore, the meeting schedule for the F2F meeting in 2025 were determined:
- March 25-28, 2025 in North America
- June 23-26, 2025 in Europe
- September 9-12, 2025 in North America or Asia
- November 17-20, 2025 in Europe
Picture: FLC WG F2F meeting at ABB in Mannheim, Germany