ABB was selected as the main automation contractor for the world’s first operation focused on converting gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas. With several new wells being introduced every day, ABB needed to be able to bring them on and off line in a highly streamlined and efficient manner; furthermore, the method of configuring them needed to be simple, fast, and very reliable.
OPC UA paves the way for the implementation of new concepts with increased vertical and horizontal data integration, and opens the door to industries requiring seamless data logging. Supporting use in both PCs and embedded systems, OPC UA technology allows the implementation of solutions that move intelligence from the supervisory control systems to the local components.
After evaluating further options and a proof-of-concept using a test implementation, SST and DB Netz AG made a joint decision to use OPC UA for implementing the client-server communication, because OPC UA met all requirements. An OPC UA information model was developed, which was able to reproduce the complex data structures of diverse diagnostic information.
Kromberg & Schubert supplies a wide range of complex wiring systems, mechatronic and plastic parts for the automotive industry. For the implementation of vertical data exchange, Kromberg & Schubert needed a standardized interface for all machines – without having to add further PCs, e.g. as a platform for using OPC servers. The aim was to find a standardized solution that is maintenance free and suitable for long-term use.
Weber Maschinenbau GmbH is the world market leader in the field of food slicer technology. In search for a standard which is able to connect machine building and IT, Weber discovered OPC UA. It contains all components which are required for software engineering within machine and plant engineering. Thanks to OPC UA it has been possible to fulfill all requirements and create a future-proof backbone for the machine software.
The need to share process data between production sites, refinery, petrochemical, gas and utility plants has been increasing for the past decade. These plants and… Read More »Exchanging Control System Data Securely
by Kepware Technologies
Having recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, Cascades was involved with recycling well before recycling was in style. Cascades Tissue Group, a division of Cascades, employs over 2,200 people within 17 manufacturing and converting facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Cascades owns and operates 17 paper machines, nearly 90 converting lines and eight integrated de-inking units. Using Kepware’s KEPServerEX, Cascades now supports communications across all of its 17 plants, 17 paper machines, and nearly 90 converting lines with just one piece of software. Engineered to support the OPC standard and over 150 different protocols, KEPServerEX allows Cascades to communicate with virtually any machine on its plant floor and access data without restrictions…
by Silvio Merz
Decentralized, independently acting embedded controllers can form an intelligent network for the control of potable water and wastewater plants. OPC-UA is a powerful technology to establish secure and standardized M2M interaction at these plants…
by Philippe Maurin, Gustavo Ferraz, Eduardo Freitas, RD&I, ORTENG Equipamentos e Sistemas.
ORTENG is supplying the electrical and automation systems of 29 substations with 1,431 IEDs for oil refinery Abreu e Lima of Petrobras, which is being built at Ipojuca, Brazil. Each substation has at least one SISORT DA system working in a redundant configuration with a total of 44 systems and a total of 80,000 OPC items. Each system has an OPC Server (SISORT-OPC Server) connected to at least two (and up to six) OPC Clients, including DCS OPC Clients and Event Recorder OPC Clients.
by Georg Suess, Operational Marketing, and Vaclav Bouse, Product Manager, Softing Industrial Automation GmbH
With the industry-wide trend towards horizontal and vertical integration, intelligence is moving from supervisory control systems to local components. This development is leading to a growing need for communication for which the open OPC UA standard provides an ideal solution because it can also be used for embedded devices.