Collecting and Storing Data
from Industrial Devices

WHY COLLECT AND STANDARDISE DATA FROM INDUSTRIAL DEVICES?

Machine condition monitoring, business process management and production planning can never be optimised without the requisite production and technological data. With many communication protocols used in the industry, reading, storing and processing this data can become complicated. Every device uses its own way of communicating information, resulting in incompatibility issues.

What you need is to:

Collect data from various assets – PLCs, HMIs, cameras, computers, control cabinets, machines, shops, rooms, buildings, cars, outdoor areas, etc.
Store data in one place – in one database
Compare data
Process data and use various functions to combine variables
Transfer data to higher systems

To be able to perform the above, you need a data standardisation tool that translates disparate communication protocols into a single, universal one. If you want to collect and process your production and technological data successfully, it is essential that you choose the right data standardisation tool at the very beginning, as data collection is a never-ending project that keeps growing.

Unify Your Data Collection
through OPC Communications

Using a data standardisation platform that enables you to scale your projects and connect them to other systems is absolutely essential for successful condition monitoring and comprehensive data collection and processing.

One of the most universal protocols is the OPC protocol. It allows for a unified communication interface between PLC systems and higher software applications, such as MES, SCADA HMI, visualisation software, databases and IoT platforms.

How We Go About It

Standardised data collection

It is important to collect data from disparate systems in an open, standardised way.

Reliable third-party SW/HW products

Our key tools include the KEPServerEX communications platform from Kepware (PTC), OPC Router from inray, Ewon industrial routers and other systems.

Tailored communication drivers and data interfaces

We develop and program our own solutions for devices that do not come with (affordable) software.

Data collection via wired networks

The most reliable way. But if requested, we can offer our own solution for wireless data collection via the 868 MHz frequency.

Utilising well-known databases

We have extensive experience with popular on-premise/cloud databases.

FOXON offers

Consultancy services with regard to on-site / remote data collection, i.e. from several sites within one plant or from machines deployed worldwide
Training in OPC communications and data collection through KEPServerEX
Analysis of options for collecting data from control systems and devices, taking into account the customer's requirements and vision
The design and implementation of solutions for collecting data from PLCs, CNCs, robots, HMI panels and other systems
The development of customised OPC servers and communication drivers for reading and writing data from/to specific devices
The design and implementation of solutions for connecting control systems and devices to data collection systems
The design and implementation of solutions for preventing data loss in the case of a communication failure
Scalable, open data collection solutions offering data standardisation
The design and implementation of on-premise/cloud database data storage
The design, development and implementation of data collection solutions using the Microsoft Azure cloud technology
The design and implementation of PLC program modification for the purpose of data collection
The development of visualisations, trends, dashboards, KPI reports and Power BI visualisations
Setting alarm notifications for situations when values fall out of safe thresholds
Modification of wiring documentation
Training for the customer's staff and the creation of user guides

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We Will Show You How to Collect Data in an Open, Standardised Way

We have been in the data collection business since 2006 and some of our employees even longer. We have provided software and hardware data collection tools for hundreds of companies and have taught them how to use them.

In 2015, we created a new FOXON department, the FIOT (Factory Internet of Things), which develops comprehensive data collection solutions for our customers. We have come a long way to become a leading supplier of solutions for collecting, processing and storing data from PLCs, CNCs, robots and other systems.

How to Go About It

Unified OPC communication for hundreds of devices

FOXON OPC servers

Exchanging data with higher-level systems

Leveraging data through industrial routers

Unified OPC communication for hundreds of devices = KEPServerEX

The KEPServerEX OPC communications platform from the company Kepware connects disparate control systems to SCADA HMI applications, databases, the cloud and the IoT. Depending on what devices you want to collect data from, you purchase the necessary drivers. KEPServerEX can read data from hundreds of PLC types, robots and other devices from Siemens, Rockwell, Omron, Fanuc, ABB, Mitsubishi, Allen-Bradley and other manufacturers.

KEPServerEX converts this data to such protocols as OPC UA/DA, OPC HDA, SNMP, MQTT, REST and ThingWorx Native, and stores it to databases or mathematically processes it.

To see if KEPServerEX is compatible with your systems and to try its capabilities, feel free to download the free 30-day trial version.

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FOXON OPC servers

If KEPServerEX is not suitable for you and you cannot find another feasible solution, we can develop an OPC server for you. Today, you can take advantage of our OPC Server for SEW Devices and our OPC Server for Heidenhain Systems, both of which we have developed for our customers.

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Exchanging data with a range of higher-level systems

While KEPServerEX's main advantage is its capability to collect data from a large number of disparate shop floor devices, OPC Router boasts a variety of interfaces for communication with top floor systems.

OPC Router can communicate with MES/ERP systems, printers, various databases, web services, barcode readers, OPC servers, injection moulding machines and CNCs.

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Leveraging data through industrial routers

If you need to use an OPC UA server, one of the options available is the Ewon Flexy 205 industrial router. Although it is primarily designed for remote access to control systems, it also acts as OPC UA server and OPC UA client, enabling you to read as well as write data. It is compatible with the most popular control systems.

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