Elly Yates-Roberts |
Manufacturers may understand the maxim of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” better than those in other industries. It is as true for the products they create as for the tools they use in their processes. Successful manufacturers have learned to blend their IT solutions with their operational technology (OT) to gain a big-picture view of their enterprise, allowing them to boost productivity and efficiency while lowering operating costs.
ICONICS, a group company of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, provides a wide range of software solutions to help organisations visualise, historise, mobilise, analyse and cloud-enable their data and use it to its fullest potential.
Manufacturers can achieve holistic automation through universal connectivity. ICONICS’ flagship GENESIS64 HMI/SCADA suite is compatible with multiple IT and OT communications technologies including OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), Modbus, BACnet and simple network management protocol (SNMP). It works with database connections such as generic Object Linking and Embedding Database, Microsoft Open Database Connectivity, and SQL, as well as with web services using both Simple Object Access Protocol and representational state transfer (REST). Meanwhile, ICONICS IoTWorX software provides compatibility with Advanced Message Queuing Protocol for bidirectional communication with cloud services like Microsoft Azure, Message Queuing Telemetry Transport for outbound communication with third-party apps, REST communication with web services, and JavaScript Object Notation messaging.
Version 10.96.2 of the ICONICS software suite will be compatible with EtherNet/IP and support communications with, and automatic network discovery of, Ethernet-enabled Mitsubishi Electric PLCs. This eliminates the need for third-party OPC servers.
Manufacturers can reap great benefits from a well-rounded automation strategy, using OPC UA, Modbus and now EtherNet/IP and Mitsubishi Electric device connectivity to monitor and control traditional manufacturing and automation equipment. They can also use BACnet to tie in facilities’ building systems for energy management and predictive maintenance, as well as SNMP for monitoring IT and network devices. Plus, they can implement multiple secure protocols for better cloud connectivity.
Using ICONICS’ universal connectivity to achieve holistic manufacturing automation will reinforce another maxim: “in business, it’s all about connections.”
Melissa Topp is senior director of global marketing at ICONICS
This article was originally published in the Winter 2020 issue of The Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.