Search

This study presents a methodology for the development of modern Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems aimed at improving the operation and management of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, leveraging the tools provided by industrial digitization. This approach is exemplified by its application to the CESA-I central tower heliostat field at the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA), one of the oldest CSP facilities in the world. The goal was to upgrade the control and monitoring capabilities of the heliostat field by integrating modern technologies such as OPC (Open Platform Communications)) Unified Architecture (UA), a Wi-Fi mesh communication network, and a custom Python-based gateway for interfacing with legacy MODBUS systems. Performance tests demonstrated stable, scalable communication, efficient real-time control, and seamless integration of new developments (smart heliostat) into the existing infrastructure. The SCADA system also introduced a user-friendly Python-based interface developed with PySide6, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and reducing task complexity for system operators. The results show that this low-cost methodology based on open-source software provides a flexible and robust SCADA architecture, suitable for future CSP applications, with potential for further optimization through the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As information technology progresses, the need for digital transformation within the industrial sector has become increasingly apparent, and digital twin technology has emerged as a significant trend in manufacturing. Digital twins synchronize physical and digital environments, overcoming spatial and temporal limitations to create various added values that are unattainable in reality. This paper presents a model that integrates digital twin technology with production and operational technologies at manufacturing sites, enabling remote, centrally controlled manufacturing services that transcend physical constraints. Specifically, by utilizing Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) for real-time synchronization, this approach ensures efficient and timely data transfer between physical and digital environments. While traditional approaches often encounter challenges due to high investment costs and design complexities, this paper proposes a cost-effective and practical solution that reflects actual factory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifth-generation (5G) sensor networks are critical enablers of Industry 4.0, facilitating real-time monitoring and control of industrial processes. However, significant challenges to their deployment in industrial settings remain, such as a lack of support for interoperability and manageability with existing industrial applications and the specialized technical expertise required for the management of private 5G sensor networks. This research proposes a solution to achieve interoperability between private 5G sensor networks and industrial applications by mapping Yet Another Next Generation (YANG) models to Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) models. An OPC UA pyang plugin, developed to convert YANG models into OPC UA design model files, has been made available on GitHub for open access. The key finding of this research is that the proposed solution enables seamless interoperability without requiring modifications to the private 5G sensor network components, thus enhancing the efficiency and reliability of industrial automation systems. By leveraging existing industrial applications, the management and monitoring of private 5G networks are streamlined. Unlike prior studies that explored OPC UA's integration with other protocols, this work is the first to focus on the YANG–OPC UA integration, filling a critical gap in Industry 4.0 enablement research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer Measurement & Control is the property of Magazine Agency of Computer Measurement & Control and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the rapid development of intelligent manufacturing, Digital Twin technology, as an advanced tool for the intelligentization of weaving workshops, has endowed weaving services with real-time simulation and dynamic optimization capabilities while also placing higher demands on the digital capabilities of workshops. The diverse and multi-manufacturer equipment in weaving workshops exacerbates the complexity of multi-source heterogeneous data. Moreover, traditional data collection methods, which are mostly based on fixed frequencies, increase the network load during real-time high-frequency data reception, making stable, long-term operation difficult. Conversely, low-frequency collection might miss important state changes, thus affecting the quality of weaving big data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a service-oriented Digital Twin modeling method for weaving workshops. This method combines OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) with a state change-based data collection approach, utilizing a sliding time window (STW) to identify anomalous data and employing median interpolation to correct these anomalies. The goal is to enhance the representation capability of the Digital Twin in the weaving workshop by improving the data quality. For a specific service of predicting the warp-out time of 288 air-jet looms in a workshop, the average error of the predicted warp-out time using the dynamic data set proposed in this study was reduced from 0.85 h to 0.78 h compared to the static data set based on fixed frequency, an improvement of 8.2%, thereby validating the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Machine Tool & Hydraulics is the property of Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (GMERI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The digital twin is driving the machine manufacturing and processing workshop to change in the direction of digital intelligence and service. Aiming at the application requirements of virtual simulation monitoring of typical CNC machine tools for the unified interaction and integration of processing and production process data, this paper proposes a development architecture of virtual simulation monitoring and processing process optimization system for CNC machine tools that integrate data, model, communication, and optimization. The data semantic format and data communication are normalized by designing the OPC UA information model of CNC machine tools, modular construction of a three-dimensional digital model, and interactive mapping technology of OPC UA server address space. Virtual simulation visualization and monitoring of CNC machine tools are realized by integrating synchronous simulation modeling, collision detection, and viewpoint control technologies. Building upon this foundation, the control process of the CNC machine tool machining cell is optimized using ECRS and lean production methods. The application focuses on a typical flexible manufacturing cell (FMC) in a machine tool processing and manufacturing workshop. The development of the virtual simulation visualization monitoring system for FMC addresses challenges such as heterogeneous data interaction, sharing, and integration difficulties across multiple heterogeneous equipment. The system successfully fulfills all required functions, and the optimization of the CNC machine tool machining unit's control process has enhanced equipment utilization and productivity. This solution effectively supports the realization of intelligent manufacturing services, including standardized data-driven digital twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the hardware and software architectures used to implement the Modbus Extension (ModbusE) IIoT gateway, the performance of the acquisition cycle at the PRU real-time programmable core level, the acquisition cycle communication flow—dispatcher—OPC UA server (Linux)—OPC UA client (Windows) as well as the performance analysis of data communications between the IIoT ModbusE gateway and the OPC UA client (Windows). In order to be able to implement both the ModbusE acquisition cycle and the OPC UA server, the BeagleBone Black Board was chosen as the hardware platform. This board uses the Sitara AM335x processor (Texas Instruments (TI), Dallas, TX, USA) from Texas Instruments. Thus, the acquisition cycle was implemented on the PRU0 real-time core, and the OPC UA server, running under the Linux operating system, was implemented on the ARM Cortex A8 processor. From the analysis of the communication speed of the messages between the OPC UA client and the ModbusE servers, it was found that the ModbusE acquisition cycle speed was higher than the acquisition speed of the OPC UA client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation has a great effect on industries but also in the perception of their products with high consequences on society as a whole, as driver for innovation. However, there are still many barriers to the adoption of digital technologies, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the present study we propose a new software component that facilitates the adoption of industrial reference architectures (RAs) based on the semantic interoperability concept. Among these RAs, FIWARE has become a key enabler for flexible and resource effective digitalisation of shop floor processes. The proposed software component aims to enable full interoperability between these more widely used technologies and industrial standards and protocols such as OPC UA. As a result, a flexible, open, and adaptable implementation assists the automatic translation of messages from different standards enabling semantic interoperability of shop floor processes. The component aims to enable industrial SMEs to bring current barriers to digitalisation towards a more human-centred, resilient, and sustainable industry and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Automatisierungstechnik is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Industrial standards provide guidelines for data modeling to ensure interoperability between stakeholders of an industry branch (e.g., robotics). Most frequently, such guidelines are provided in an unstructured format (e.g., pdf documents) which hampers the automated validations of information objects (e.g., data models) that rely on such standards in terms of their compliance with the modeling constraints prescribed by the guidelines. This raises the risk of costly interoperability errors induced by the incorrect use of the standards. There is, therefore, an increased interest in automatic semantic validation of information objects based on industrial standards. In this paper we focus on an approach to semantic validation by formally representing the modeling constraints from unstructured documents as explicit, machine-actionable rules (to be then used for semantic validation) and (semi-)automatically extracting such rules from pdf documents. While our approach aims to be generically applicable, we exemplify an adaptation of the approach in the concrete context of the OPC UA industrial standard, given its large-scale adoption among important industrial stakeholders and the OPC UA internal efforts towards semantic validation. We conclude that (i) it is feasible to represent modeling constraints from the standard specifications as rules, which can be organized in a taxonomy and represented using Semantic Web technologies such as OWL and SPARQL; (ii) we could automatically identify modeling constraints in the specification documents by inspecting the tables (P = 87 %) and text of these documents (F1 up to 94%); (iii) the translation of the modeling constraints into formal rules could be fully automated when constraints were extracted from tables and required a Human-in-the-loop approach for constraints extracted from text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Machine Tool & Hydraulics is the property of Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (GMERI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aiming at the problems of strong data redundancy and inconsistent transmission protocol in digital manufacturing shop, an edge computing oriented real-time data fusion method is proposed. Firstly, around the idea of edge computing, the Internet of things based real-time workshop data acquisition architecture is established. Secondly, drawing on evidence theory and based on consistency detection and normalized data, the mutual support degree is proposed for evidence transformation, and the improved evidence combination rule is introduced to obtain fusion data, so as to reduce the amount of data uploaded by the device and reduce the transmission pressure of the transmission network. Then, based on the OPC UA information model, the information hierarchy model of the configuration required for protocol transformation is constructed, and the protocol transformation is completed in the form of visual configuration, providing a unified transmission interface for workshop data. Finally, the bus control console in a certain aerospace manufacturing workshop is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A production line is the basic unit of smart factories and smart manufacturing. However, owing to the development of the industrial Internet of Things, sensors, and other technologies, more data are being collected, leading to a data explosion, and the heterogeneous nature of multiple sources makes it difficult to manage data in a unified manner. Methods A production line data collection, storage, and management system based on cloud-fog-edge computing collaboration and a digital twin was designed. Multi-source heterogeneous data were collected and transmitted based on the OPC UA, and an information model of the production line was established. Modules for data mapping, publishing, and receiving were developed to achieve unified data collection and transmission. The data storage and management platform was constructed by front-end and back-end separation technologies. Results The developed data collection and management system was verified for functionality and performance on a digital twin production line. Functional tests show that the system has the functions of data acquisition and transmission, device addition and viewing, device data querying and downloading, data and model visualization, and user rights setting. The average time for edge data collection and transmission is 183.6ms. The average response time of the cloud for fog requests is less than 1s. This shows that the system can satisfy the real-time requirements of a digital twin production line. Conclusions The proposed system is real-time and stable, providing support for big data and virtual-reality interaction in digital twins.

As information technology progresses, the need for digital transformation within the industrial sector has become increasingly apparent, and digital twin technology has emerged as a significant trend in manufacturing. Digital twins synchronize physical and digital environments, overcoming spatial and temporal limitations to create various added values that are unattainable in reality. This paper presents a model that integrates digital twin technology with production and operational technologies at manufacturing sites, enabling remote, centrally controlled manufacturing services that transcend physical constraints. Specifically, by utilizing Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) for real-time synchronization, this approach ensures efficient and timely data transfer between physical and digital environments. While traditional approaches often encounter challenges due to high investment costs and design complexities, this paper proposes a cost-effective and practical solution that reflects actual factory conditions.

With the rapid development of intelligent manufacturing, Digital Twin technology, as an advanced tool for the intelligentization of weaving workshops, has endowed weaving services with real-time simulation and dynamic optimization capabilities while also placing higher demands on the digital capabilities of workshops. The diverse and multi-manufacturer equipment in weaving workshops exacerbates the complexity of multi-source heterogeneous data. Moreover, traditional data collection methods, which are mostly based on fixed frequencies, increase the network load during real-time high-frequency data reception, making stable, long-term operation difficult. Conversely, low-frequency collection might miss important state changes, thus affecting the quality of weaving big data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a service-oriented Digital Twin modeling method for weaving workshops. This method combines OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) with a state change-based data collection approach, utilizing a sliding time window (STW) to identify anomalous data and employing median interpolation to correct these anomalies. The goal is to enhance the representation capability of the Digital Twin in the weaving workshop by improving the data quality. For a specific service of predicting the warp-out time of 288 air-jet looms in a workshop, the average error of the predicted warp-out time using the dynamic data set proposed in this study was reduced from 0.85 h to 0.78 h compared to the static data set based on fixed frequency, an improvement of 8.2%, thereby validating the effectiveness of the proposed method.

INTRODUCTION： With the continuous development of oil and gas pipeline network monitoring and control technology, the need for data transmission and communication is becoming more and more prominent. In this context, OPC UA has attracted wide attention. This study aims to explore the application of OPC UA in data forwarding for oil and gas pipeline network monitoring in order to improve the efficiency, reliability and security of data transmission. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of OPC UA in oil and gas pipeline network monitoring and to verify its performance in data forwarding through empirical studies. By gaining an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of OPC UA, it aims to provide a more advanced and efficient monitoring data transfer solution for the oil and gas industry. METHOD: The study adopts a combination of field monitoring and laboratory simulation. First, the essential characteristics and requirements of monitoring data in oil and gas pipeline networks were collected. Subsequently, a monitoring system with OPC UA as the communication protocol was established and field tested. In the laboratory environment, data transmission scenarios under different working conditions were simulated, and the performance of OPC UA under different conditions was analyzed. RESULT: The field monitoring results show that the data transmission efficiency is significantly improved by using OPC UA as the communication protocol for data forwarding in oil and gas pipeline network monitoring. Meanwhile, the system performs well in different environments with high reliability and security. The laboratory simulation results further verify the stability and adaptability of OPC UA under complex working conditions. CONCLUSION: OPC UA is an effective communication protocol that can meet the data transmission requirements for oil and gas pipeline network monitoring. Its efficient, reliable, and secure characteristics make it an ideal choice for improving the communication performance of monitoring systems in the oil and gas industry. The empirical results of this study provide reliable technical support for the oil and gas industry in the field of data transmission and a vital reference for the optimization and upgrading of monitoring systems in the future.

Standardization and collaborative integration are fundamental for the implementation of Industry 4.0. The Open Communication Platform Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standard plays a crucial role in communication by enabling the development of heterogeneous systems and facilitating the seamless exchange of data between devices. To take full advantage of OPC UA's capabilities, it is necessary to unlock other application services, such as cloud computing. By having more tools at their disposal, industries can increase their efficiency and optimize data-driven decision making. In this study, it was proposed to use OPC UA standard in a Client/Server model to leverage OPC UA paradigms along with Software Development Kits (SDKs). The development was carried out using Python as the programming language, both to host the server on a Raspberry Pi 4B and to set up the client on a Personal Computer (PC). This client will centralize the data for sending to the Clever Cloud logging platforms and for web visualization on Tago.IO. The interoperability problem of communicating between two platforms with different Operating Systems (OS) was addressed by integrating the OPC UA standard. The configured interval of 10 s recorded an average of 11.11 s, with a maximum timeout of 59 s for data-logging temperature, pressure, humidity, and altitude. The client proved to be Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) compliant, allowing connection to Web platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity for using mobile devices for monitoring and controlling local processes has seen rapid growth in industry for maintenance operations before and after deployment. This is especially important in the case of geographically widely-dispersed locations, such as in the case of the water sector, where processes, technologies, and local automation solutions are widely spread. Usually, the available mobile solutions are dependent on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software installed in the control rooms of water and wastewater facilities, usually without configuration possibilities. Considering the various SCADA control rooms, each focusing on a specific system, and hundreds of smaller locations accessible only with PLC and eventually a small touch screen, the dependence on local SCADA software is proving increasingly impractical. This paper presents the implementation of an easy-to-use SCADA system for the Android operating system, conceived following Industry 4.0 concepts. An OPC UA client-based architecture is proposed to cope with current interoperability standards, mobility and security across industrial processes in various domains. The design relies on a foreground service for uninterrupted communication between the application and the OPC UA client. The system is envisaged to provide notifications to alert the user when alarms are triggered, including both an independent application level alarming module and a new Alarms and Conditions based protocol level module, increasing visibility and response time for technical issues or faults, and being adaptable to both legacy and modern OPC UA specifications. The solution was tested first in the laboratory to validate the communication system with as many OPC UA structures as possible, and then in real scenarios with drinking water and wastewater systems interfacing PLC, HMI and SCADA level OPC UA servers. The tests in the real scenarios included a second-level test for water operators and engineers which accessed and monitored various processes with the developed solution, and all results proved to be satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer Measurement & Control is the property of Magazine Agency of Computer Measurement & Control and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Automatisierungstechnik is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Machine Tool & Hydraulics is the property of Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (GMERI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the processing of simulation models, covering their creation methods and exploring the possibilities of collaboration. The author utilized the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation program developed by Siemens to design a visual representation of a production line and provided a detailed description of the steps involved in its creation. To achieve the objectives of the thesis, the author employed KEPServerEX, a software solution enabling the connection and communication between the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation program and the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). This integration allowed for the successful connection of a CNC device, establishing communication and collaboration with the Plant Simulation program. In summary, the thesis project employed the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation program to create a comprehensive visualization of a production line. The integration of KEPServerEX facilitated seamless communication between the simulation software and the PLC, enabling effective cooperation with a CNC device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to bring intralogistics systems to the same level of interoperability as today’s modern production systems, logistics must take the essential steps towards Industry 4.0. This requires an increasing abstraction level of control logic as an enabler for horizontal and vertical integration. The abstraction will lead to the interconnection ofmanufacturing and logistics control with the production planning and warehouse management systems (WMS). A main enabler for these communication paths are service-oriented architectures (SoA). OPC UA has established itself as a widely used and already adopted SoA-based communication standard in industry. The paper describes the realization of an OPC UAbased approach for the communication between a WMS and a PLC of an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). The conceptual basis of communication design are skills of the ASRS. The work is supported by an architectural design with a subsequent prototypical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]