IO-Link – an integral part in the Industrial Automation

As more devices are interconnected at the factory level, the automation process greatly depends on seamless communications between devices from the shop floor such as sensors and actuators to the control systems like PLCs, and others. To ensure this, IO-Link is one of the first standardized input-output data communication protocol that connect devices bi-directionally. It means the devices are paired in a point-to-point communication that they can transmit information to and fro.

IO-Link enables point-to-point communication over short distances. Such an effective, seamless communication protocol is undoubtedly one of the crucial elements of the factory automation process that comes in as a part of Industry 4.0. Implementing the effective IO-Link strategies plays an important role in the overall network efficiency. Not only this, it facilitates ease of configuration as it reduces the number of wires and connections for OEMs and the end-users alike. IO-Link handles data types like process data, parameter data, and event data. All of these make it somewhat similar to a universal connector, which reduces downtime and improves visibility into the plant floor.

Why is an IO-Link required?
One of the most critical challenges in implementing an automated factory setup is setting up effective communication between devices at the ground level. For the manufacturing industry, IO-Link is required for more reasons than one.

First, it fills in the communication gap present even at the lowest automation hierarchy level. It also acts as a liaison in identifying error codes and help the service professionals troubleshoot the issue without shutting down the production or manufacturing process. It also makes remote access possible wherein the users are connected to a master/network to verify and configure the required sensor-level information.

Holistically put, we can say industries require IO-Link if they are looking for a cost-effective way to improve their efficiency and machine availability, which are crucial elements in implementing a successful automated factory. To understand this further, we have jotted down the top eight advantages of the IO-Link in this article’s next section.

Top 8 Advantages of IO-Link

Easy Connection of Field Level Devices

Embedding IO-Link in your field-level devices like sensors and actuators facilitates better data transfer between them and the controllers via an IO-Link master. It in turn, enables you to connect the sensors and controllers like PLC, HMI, SCADA, etc. without worrying about loss of data.

Enhanced Diagnostic Capability

One of the crucial issues that cause hindrance in implementing a seamless automation experience is that errors in data processing or handling go unnoticed or are discovered quite late. It may lead your manufacturing or production unit to go to a standstill. With the IO-Link, since the communication is bidirectional and more visible, errors can be detected and examined for severity at the right time. It helps in troubleshooting the issues without stalling the production processes.

Better Data Storage and Data Availability

IO-Link offers improved data storage options. IO-Link offers parameterization of data that can be stored within the IO-Link master. This makes the automatic configuration of the IO-Link possible. Also, the types of data available vary from process data, service data, and event data. Process data is the information that a machine sends or measures; the service data refers to the report that spells the technical and manufacturing details of the device. The event data is the information such as notifications or upgrades that are critical and time-specific.

Remote Access to Device Configuration and Monitoring

IO-Link enables users to connect via IO-Link master or a network for remote access to sensors, actuators, controllers from virtually any location. It allows users to examine and modify the device parameters when required from anywhere. It improves overall productivity and plant efficiency.

Auto Device Replacement

Not only does the IO-Link allow remote access to device settings, but the data storage capacity also facilitates automated parameter reassignment. It makes device replacement a lot easier and hassle-free. Users can easily import all the required data to the replaced device and continue their factory automation process.

Simplified Wiring

Since the IO-Link is free of any complicated wiring, it reduces the hassles related to the same. As it supports many communication protocols, the IO-Link devices can be configured with existing wiring, reducing the overall implementation costs to a minimum. It also does not require any analog sensors and actuators, which in turn negates the need for additional connection wires.

Device Validation

IO-Link offers users to carry out device validation before leveraging them for the production process. It also empowers users to make an informed decision like pairing the IO devices with the correct IO master link.

Saves Time and Money During Device Setup

As the IO-Link does not require an additional setup for configuration and is compatible with many communication devices, the device setup becomes easy and does not require much time. With automation, you can reduce the time required for device setup, all within your budget constraint.

Conclusion

To stride ahead in the digital world, you need to be clear about your goals and objectives regarding adopting new technologies. Utthunga’s IO-Link Master Stack and configurator are appreciated throughout the industrial space for the quality we serve. Our team of experts guide you through the implementation and maintenance process for your manufacturing or production, so you leverage the ultimate benefits of deploying an IO-Link system into your network.

If reduced operational costs and improved plant efficiency are what you need, then contact us, and we will make sure our IO-Link products do the magic for you.

Automated software testing is an integral part of the entire DevOps process and helps achieve speed and agility. This reduces human intervention in the testing process as automation frameworks and tools are used to write test scripts.

Agile Environment

It has additionally been seen that under agile conditions, the quantity of tests keeps on expanding dramatically across every iteration, and an automation software would proficiently deal with it and guarantee early admittance to the market.

Besides, under Agile, automated functional testing guarantee the product performs rapidly and precisely according to the prerequisites.

DevOps environment

Automation tools play a significant part in accomplishing the execution of CI/CD/CT. DevOps accepts a culture shift; it breaks data silos to build, test, and deploy applications to achieve quality product with decreased deployment times. Accordingly, test automation is without a doubt the key to the achievement of DevOps.

How does Test Automation fit in DevOps?

Under DevOps system, the manual testing occurring in corresponding with the code development does the trick the Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD) and Continuous Testing (CT) measure. The organizations face a ton of difficulties, for example, time limitations for development and test cycles, testing on different devices, applications and programs, equal testing, and much more. Hence, the most productive approach to parallel testing of software in DevOps systems is to embrace a well-integrated and strong test automation arrangement.

Use automated test cases to detect bugs, save time and reduce the time-to-market of the product. Here are the benefits of including test automation in DevOps:

• Minimize the chance of human error as a software program does the test
• Handle the repetitive process where you need to execute test cases several times.
• Automatically increase reliability.

Backdrop of Communication Protocols in Industries

The IT and OT layers of the automation pyramid execute two different types of real-time operations, i.e., soft real-time communications and hard real-time communications, respectively. The soft real-time communications mostly take place across the IT applications horizontally and vertically across MES, ERP, cloud, and control systems. On the other hand, hard real-time communications take place horizontally across machines, and vertically among controllers, and SCADA/HMIs.

While soft real-time operations can bear the latency of 10 to 50 milliseconds, most hard real-time operations can get severely impacted if the latency is more than 1 millisecond. Motion control applications are usually hard real-time bound and usual network errors like indeterminism, jitter, high latency, and bandwidth can severely impact the throughput.

Imagine a robotic arm that is moving items on a conveyer belt and passing to the next station for further processing, must be highly precise and accurate in terms of its timings. A delay of a fraction of seconds can damage the items or break the operation continuity.

This clearly underlines the demands of cutting-edge machines, i.e., speed, precision, and determinism. At present, Fieldbus and Ethernet are the two majorly used networking technologies on plant floors. With continuous updates in Ethernet standards, it is also becoming gradually popular for OT layer operations.

Challenges in Existing Networking

There have been several communication technologies that have emerged for field level, but Ethernet and Fieldbus protocols are most widely adopted across industries. However, despite several periodic upgrades, the industrial plant floor experiences the following challenges:

• Latency: The Generation 1 industrial networking technologies like RS 232 & RS 485, SERCOS, DeviceNet, etc., were able to support data transfer over long distances. However, the rate of data transfer was very low, i.e., approximately 1 Mbit/sec. To overcome this, Ethernet with an established physical layer became the primary choice for industries. Gradually the Generation 2 networking technologies started emerging with Ethernet PHYs such as Profibus with PROFINET, Modbus with Modbus TCP, CC-Link with CC-Link IE, etc. However, even with many standards, Ethernet is still unable to address the latency and determinism needs of the industrial networks. Although, PROFINET IRT offers the same deterministic capabilities that is expected for hard real-time operations. However, a precise timing model is necessary to plan the traffic slices. Unfortunately, the latency in standard Ethernet can be assured up to a certain extent due to its store and forward strategy.
• Jitter: One of the biggest challenges that industrial motion control applications face is certainly not the slow speed of the connectivity. It is rather the jitter. Jitter can be understood as the variance in latency. Sadly, the data transmission over TCP, IP, or UDP necessarily exhibits jitter. Due to the lack of traffic prioritizing and slicing ability, the varying latency interferes with the plant floor operations to a great extent, especially when the operations are time-critical.
• Implementation Complexities: The Generation 1 industrial networking technologies had different physical layers, which did not allow them to share common wiring across heterogeneous networks. Subsequently, the Generation 2 network solutions used common Ethernet PHY, but proprietary layer 2 implementations still cannot allow them to be transmitted over the same cable. This is a serious installation complexity for a plant floor with variants of machines and devices supporting multiple vendors. This is an ideal case of manufacturer lock-in as it forces the industrial plants to be confined with selected vendor(s).

As opposed to top layer application requirements, plant floor requires the network connectivity to have ultra-low latency, fixed jitter, and deterministic capabilities. These necessities call for a networking standard that not only allows the connectivity to be time-sensitive, but also spans across all the layers of the automation pyramid.

What is Time-Sensitive Network (TSN)?

Ethernet is one of the most preferred networking technologies for top layers of the network. However, it is gradually becoming the right choice for the factory settings also. The way to resolve the common issues present in standard and industrial Ethernet is to introduce new networking standards in the Layer II of the OSI model. These brand-new standards are combinedly termed as Time Sensitive Network, abbreviated as TSN.

TSN is an extension of Audio Video Bridging technology (a set of standards that allows high-quality streaming of audio and video signals over standard Ethernet). The IEEE 802.1 TSN Task Group developed the TSN standard, which can solve all the challenges that were present in standard and industrial Ethernet. A few of many standards in the TSN specification that can connect the automation pyramid in a single thread are:

• IEEE 802.1AS: A mechanism that synchronizes the messages and delays of all the nodes in the network by keeping them identical to the clock of the Grandmaster node, called Grandmaster Clock. The Grandmaster is selected using an algorithm called Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA). The BMCA is responsible for broadcasting the time and measuring the delays to maintain the schedule.
• IEEE 802.1 Qbv: A standard that schedules the traffic based on the time shared by the grandmaster node. 802.1Qbv defines a mechanism to control the flow of queued messages through the TSN switches. This ensures that only the scheduled messages are released in those time windows. The non-scheduled traffic is blocked, which thereby enables the delays from each switch to be deterministic.
• IEEE 802.1Qbu: This standard interrupts the large low-priority Ethernet frames in order to transmit high-priority traffic. Post this it resumes sending the remaining part of the large frame without impacting or losing previously transmitted data.
• Other Standards: Some of the other standards that define various features of TSN are:

Migrating to a TSN-based Ethernet network will require special hardware features like PTP protocol (Precision Time Protocol) to synchronize the network clock and PHY/MAC to modulate/demodulate and send/receive the signals. Determinism in motion control applications can be brought through specific protocols like EtherCAT, Profinet IRT, and EtherNet/IP among others.

Why TSN for Motion Control Applications?

TSN comes with the strength to revamp motion control applications. It does so by enabling the factories to cope with the long-standing issues of incompatibility among the machines, absolute real-time deterministic communication, and much more. Take a look.

• Scalability: TSN will proliferate the use of Standard Ethernet across the automation pyramid. This will allow factories to utilize the existing top layer network settings for the field layer as well. This also implies that adding new machines/devices will be easier without having to worry about the vendors and make. Therefore, one network the from field layer to the top layer.
• Interoperability: TSN eliminates the persistent issue of incompatibility among the motion control devices and applications by allowing the Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) networking technologies to be implemented on top of the Data Link Layer of the OSI model. Not only this, with Ethernet’s backward compatibility, device engineers will be able to incorporate TSN in their networks without having to worry about obsolescence encouraging improved interoperability among old and new machines/devices.
• Greater Scope for IIoT: With the ability to classify the bandwidth for time-critical and non-critical message queues, TSN allows the same network to be used for various motion control and other applications. This also simplifies networking across OT and IT layers allowing a smoother communication model between the machines on the plant and the client applications at the IT layer. Therefore, improved scope for IIoT.
• Lower Maintenance Cost: With one standard technology across the communication hierarchy, the complexity of maintaining two separate technologies in IT and OT layers is eliminated. This further leads to lesser cables and hardware, thereby incurring lesser maintenance cost.

Footnote

The growing importance of real-time data accessibility for time-critical motion control applications has pushed the protocol associations to create their adaptation of TSN. TSN will definitely enable multiple protocols to be implemented on top to deliver cutting-edge solutions. Utthunga is renowned for having a tremendous success rate in delivering best in-class solutions. Our product engineering capabilities span across all the layers of the automation hierarchy. Our motion control services extend over hardware and firmware development, application development, obsolescence management, Value Analysis and Value Engineering, lifecycle management, validation and verification, pre-compliance and certification support, and a lot more.

Check out our motion control services here!

Improving customer service. Safeguarding customer satisfaction. Winning customer loyalty. Increasing service revenue. Augmenting aftersales turnover.

These are some of the primary goals that machine builders have been pursuing. But, how many have been able to meet these goals? Unfortunately, not many, owing to the machine visibility challenges arising out of lack of meaningful data flow from the commissioned device/equipment.

Nevertheless, this will not be the case going forward. Yes, you heard it right! IIoT is the magic wand that has provided a 180-degree spin to the situation.

Wondering how? Let’s comprehend by considering the present reactive customer service model as a case in point.

Whenever there is a machine breakdown or performance issue, the client logs in a compliant with the corresponding machine builder. The OEM’s service representative responds to the service request by collecting data about the issue — via email, telephone, or chat — and scheduling an engineer visit. The engineer will visit the client’s location, provide a resolution, and close the service ticket. All in all, a lengthy process with avenues for delays and disruptions, which can hamper customer satisfaction across many fronts.

IIoT turns this situation upside down.

By enabling machine builders to seamlessly connect their equipment/machine with intelligent sensors that can transfer real-time data, IIoT provides end-to-end connectivity and visibility, which was unheard of in the industry. This means that machine builders no longer have to wait for an issue to appear. They can proactively monitor the performance of the machines spread across geographies in real-time and spot any discrepancies. This gives them an edge to identify potential equipment issues before they occur and proactively reach out to the customer to provide service.

The end result: Better customer service, which will lead to greater customer satisfaction, increased loyalty, and improved service revenue.

The benefits don’t end here. IIoT-based proactive customer service also helps strengthen the relationship between the machine builder and their customers by creating an ongoing relationship; one that allows machine builders to proactively perform maintenance, while keeping device uptime high (for the customer) and minimizing service costs (for the machine builder). Thus creating a win-win situation that will augment aftersales revenue.

The Tip of the Ice-berg

Apart from supporting proactive customer service, IIoT also helps machine builders to:

What Reports and Studies Say?

• IIoT-based predictive maintenance solutions are expected to reduce factory equipment maintenance costs by 40% – Deloitte
• Using IIoT insights for manufacturing process optimization can lead to 20% higher product count from the same production line – IBM
• There is potential to increase asset availability by 5-15%, and reduce maintenance costs by 18-25% using predictive maintenance tied to IIoT – McKinsey

Accelerate R&D

By creating an information value loop from the end machines (commissioned machines at the client’s location) to the engineers, IIoT can significantly shorten the time between an issue surfacing in the field and fixing the issue in production (even before either the client or the competitor realizes it). In the process, it can accelerate the product design cycle and reduce time-to-market, which will give an edge to the machine builder with regard to the competition.

Efficient Inventory Management

IIoT empowers machine builders to effectively track the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of the commissioned machine along with its components. Based on these insights, they can proactively procure spare parts and efficiently manage the inventory.

Improve Operational Efficiency

Using advanced analytical and machine learning capabilities, IIoT supports faster identification of issues in operations & functions, and facilitates quicker resolutions (even before there is downtime). The result: A multifold increase in operational efficiency.

Making Multiple Revenue Streams a Reality!

What was once a dream, is now a reality! You no longer have to rely on one source of revenue —machine sales — for survival. Unlock untapped revenue streams across maintenance and support space using IIoT.

Start your IIoT journey now using Utthunga assistance. We are an industry leader with extensive experience in facilitating the creation of a truly connected IIoT ecosystem with real-time data transfer and analytics capabilities.

is OPC UA Important in Industry 4.0?

The secure, standardized flow of data and information across devices, equipment, and services, are some of the problems for Industry 4.0 and the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IEC 62541 standard OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) [I.1] was the only recommended option for creating the communication layer in the Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) in April 2015. The most fundamental prerequisite for adopting OPC UA for industrial 4.0 communication is an Internet Protocol-based network (IP). Anyone who wishes to promote themselves as “Industry 4.0-capable” must also be OPC-UA-capable (integrated or via a gateway).

Implementation of Industry 4.0 to Overcome Interoperability

OPC UA is a powerful solution for overcoming interoperability issues in Industry 4.0. Interoperability is one of the most significant problems that I4.0 presents to companies. Through its semantic communication standard, OPC UA demonstrates that it is a solution. OPC UA is a crucial contributor to Industry4.0 because it facilitates information transfer between devices and machines, which cannot understand confusing instructions. The more specific the instructions are, the better the outcome. The selection of tools is crucial for installing the finest OPC UA for any automation system. Because the devices in industrial automation systems are administered by software, a well-functioning software development kit (SDK) is required. It guarantees that end-users and software engineers have a good user experience.

Important factors to consider while implementing OPC UA :

The appropriate software development kit is essential for establishing an efficient OPC UA. We’ve compiled a list of ten considerations for an automation maker, OEM, discrete, and process manufacturer when selecting an SDK. The Ideal SDK Vendor Most businesses lack adequate resources, both technological and human. Such gaps force organizations to outsource their requirements. As a result, the chosen SDK must fulfill its application requirements while improving the time to market. An ideal SDK must be advantageous in terms of both money and performance. A majority of SDK consultants provide the core functionalities that offer fundamental OPC UA advantages such as security and API. Scalability A scalable SDK empowers OPC UA to support both new and existing systems. It allows the platform-independent toolkits to function efficiently for both lightweight and enterprise-level applications. As a result, manufacturers must consider a scalable SDK that is platform or OS agnostic and supports vendor-independent hardware. Utilization Ease It is one of the most preferred yet neglected features. An SDK should be simple to use so that OEMs or small-scale manufacturers can save time and resources learning the OPC UA specification. It must support a basic application and provide API connectivity. CPU Helper An OPC UA SDK developed using architectural principles for embedded devices uses considerably less CPU. It also means that the software program may do a lot of work on a single thread. It is useful when multi-threads aren’t accessible. It is also economical because it offers a low-cost CPU that can perform majority of the work in multi-thread scenarios. Excellent Memory A decent OPC UA implementation should be light on RAM and have a small footprint. Generally, memory leaks can build up over time and put the entire system to a halt. There must be no memory leaks in the OP UA SDK (under any use case situations). Security and Compatibility The OPC UA SDK toolkit must be interoperable with diverse applications and meet stringent security requirements. The OPC UA standards provide various security options, and an ideal SDK should support them all. Language Assistance Even though C++ is the most common language for writing SDK programming, other languages like Java, C, .NET, and others are also utilized based on the needs. Developing an OPC UA SDK in multiple languages facilitates incremental enhancements to their products based on specifications such as AMQP, Pub/Sub, and UDP. Third-party Libraries Because most businesses have preferred libraries, SDK suppliers usually include wrappers such as standard crypto libraries, use-case examples, manuals, and API references to utilize wrappers such as NanoSSL, mBed TLS, TinyXML2, and Lib2XML. Scope for Future Improvements An SDK must be capable of evolving to support emerging technologies and processes. Because of the continuing advances in SDKs and OPC Foundation-based technologies such as AMQP Pub/Sub, UDP, and TSN, manufacturers must guarantee that SDK suppliers are equipped with the required capabilities while implementing industry-relevant protocols. Vendor Assistance SDK suppliers must provide knowledge and support to manufacturers at every stage of their OPC UA deployment. An efficient OPC UA deployment requires a partnership built on trust, mutual benefits, and understanding. OEMs, discrete and process manufacturers must collaborate to understand and execute OPC UA requirements for everybody’s benefit.

How OPC UA contributes to Industry 4.0 and overcomes interoperability challenges?

OPC UA provides a mechanism for safe and reliable data sharing. As the world’s most popular open connectivity standard, it plays a crucial role in achieving Industry 4.0 goals. OPC UA fulfills the Industry4.0 requirements of platform independence and time-durability. Additionally, OPC UA is designed to enable future factories to include ‘invisible’ components into their permanent data exchange, thereby significantly enhancing OPC UA’s position in the realm of Internet of Things. Embedded OPC UA technology allows open connection to devices, sensors, and controllers, providing many benefits to businesses. End-users gain from speedier decision-making due to the data it delivers, and the integrated corporate architecture becomes a reality. The notion of an interconnected industry is central to Industry 4.0. As the precursor to OPC UA, OPC Classic pioneered an ‘open data connection’ revolution, removing proprietary connectivity barriers between the management, control systems, and the rest of the organization. OPC UA takes the notion of a unified solution a step further with its platform & operating system agnostic approach and data modelling features. These enable UA to natively represent data from practically any data source on one side while retaining data context and delivering it to consumers in the best possible way. Correctly expressing data structures using consistent UA data models successfully abstracts the physical layer devices.

Future Scope:

All components in the ‘factory of the future’ will operate independently, relying on interconnections. Whether such elements are people, machines, equipment, or systems, they must be designed to gather and exchange meaningful information. As a result, future components will communicate and operate intelligently. While the industry is on the verge of the latest industrial revolution, interconnection is the essential enabler. OPC UA, a standard that facilitates interoperability at all levels – device to device, a device to business, and beyond – is a critical component of this process.

Conclusion

While a fully functional Industry 4.0 may seem like a pipe dream at this point, the industrial transformation at the grass-root level is already in full swing. Controlling the flow of resources, commodities, and information, enabling speedier decision-making, and simplifying reporting are advantages those businesses may anticipate as they transition to Industry 4.0. Intelligent materials will instruct machines on how to process them; maintenance and repair will evolve to transform inflexible production lines into modular and efficient systems. Eventually, a product’s complete lifespan can be road-mapped with its practical performance. OPC UA, which enables intelligent data exchanges across all levels of an organization, will play a significant role in evangelizing Industry 4.0

A new genre of industrial data exchange between industrial machines and communication PCs is on the rise – the Open Platform Communications United Architecture (OPC UA). Interestingly, application manufacturers, system providers, programming languages, and operating systems have no bearing on this open interface standard.

The most significant distinction between OPC UA and the previous versions of industrial communication protocol is how the machine data can be transferred – in bundles of information that machines and devices can understand. OPC UA allows devices communicate with each other (horizontally) and also with the upward components like PLCs, SCADA/HMI (Human Machine Interface), MES (Manufacturing Execution System), and up to the Enterprise Cloud (vertically). The horizontal and vertical spectrum comprises OPC UA components, including devices, machines, systems, gateways, and servers that are integrated with machines and devices.

is OPC UA Important in Industry 4.0?

The secure, standardized flow of data and information across devices, equipment, and services, are some of the problems for Industry 4.0 and the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IEC 62541 standard OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) [I.1] was the only recommended option for creating the communication layer in the Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) in April 2015.

The most fundamental prerequisite for adopting OPC UA for industrial 4.0 communication is an Internet Protocol-based network (IP). Anyone who wishes to promote themselves as “Industry 4.0-capable” must also be OPC-UA-capable (integrated or via a gateway).

Implementation of Industry 4.0 to Overcome Interoperability

OPC UA is a powerful solution for overcoming interoperability issues in Industry 4.0.

Interoperability is one of the most significant problems that I4.0 presents to companies. Through its semantic communication standard, OPC UA demonstrates that it is a solution. OPC UA is a crucial contributor to Industry4.0 because it facilitates information transfer between devices and machines, which cannot understand confusing instructions. The more specific the instructions are, the better the outcome.

The selection of tools is crucial for installing the finest OPC UA for any automation system. Because the devices in industrial automation systems are administered by software, a well-functioning software development kit (SDK) is required. It guarantees that end-users and software engineers have a good user experience.

Important factors to consider while implementing OPC UA :

The appropriate software development kit is essential for establishing an efficient OPC UA. We’ve compiled a list of ten considerations for an automation maker, OEM, discrete, and process manufacturer when selecting an SDK.

The Ideal SDK Vendor

Most businesses lack adequate resources, both technological and human. Such gaps force organizations to outsource their requirements. As a result, the chosen SDK must fulfill its application requirements while improving the time to market. An ideal SDK must be advantageous in terms of both money and performance. A majority of SDK consultants provide the core functionalities that offer fundamental OPC UA advantages such as security and API.

Scalability

A scalable SDK empowers OPC UA to support both new and existing systems. It allows the platform-independent toolkits to function efficiently for both lightweight and enterprise-level applications. As a result, manufacturers must consider a scalable SDK that is platform or OS agnostic and supports vendor-independent hardware.

Utilization Ease

It is one of the most preferred yet neglected features. An SDK should be simple to use so that OEMs or small-scale manufacturers can save time and resources learning the OPC UA specification. It must support a basic application and provide API connectivity.

CPU Helper

An OPC UA SDK developed using architectural principles for embedded devices uses considerably less CPU. It also means that the software program may do a lot of work on a single thread. It is useful when multi-threads aren’t accessible. It is also economical because it offers a low-cost CPU that can perform majority of the work in multi-thread scenarios.

Excellent Memory

A decent OPC UA implementation should be light on RAM and have a small footprint. Generally, memory leaks can build up over time and put the entire system to a halt. There must be no memory leaks in the OP UA SDK (under any use case situations).

Security and Compatibility

The OPC UA SDK toolkit must be interoperable with diverse applications and meet stringent security requirements. The OPC UA standards provide various security options, and an ideal SDK should support them all.

Language Assistance

Even though C++ is the most common language for writing SDK programming, other languages like Java, C, .NET, and others are also utilized based on the needs. Developing an OPC UA SDK in multiple languages facilitates incremental enhancements to their products based on specifications such as AMQP, Pub/Sub, and UDP.

Third-party Libraries

Because most businesses have preferred libraries, SDK suppliers usually include wrappers such as standard crypto libraries, use-case examples, manuals, and API references to utilize wrappers such as NanoSSL, mBed TLS, TinyXML2, and Lib2XML. Scope for Future Improvements

An SDK must be capable of evolving to support emerging technologies and processes. Because of the continuing advances in SDKs and OPC Foundation-based technologies such as AMQP Pub/Sub, UDP, and TSN, manufacturers must guarantee that SDK suppliers are equipped with the required capabilities while implementing industry-relevant protocols.

Vendor Assistance

SDK suppliers must provide knowledge and support to manufacturers at every stage of their OPC UA deployment. An efficient OPC UA deployment requires a partnership built on trust, mutual benefits, and understanding.

OEMs, discrete and process manufacturers must collaborate to understand and execute OPC UA requirements for everybody’s benefit.

How OPC UA contributes to Industry 4.0 and overcomes interoperability challenges?

OPC UA provides a mechanism for safe and reliable data sharing. As the world’s most popular open connectivity standard, it plays a crucial role in achieving Industry 4.0 goals.

OPC UA fulfills the Industry4.0 requirements of platform independence and time-durability. Additionally, OPC UA is designed to enable future factories to include ‘invisible’ components into their permanent data exchange, thereby significantly enhancing OPC UA’s position in the realm of Internet of Things.

Embedded OPC UA technology allows open connection to devices, sensors, and controllers, providing many benefits to businesses. End-users gain from speedier decision-making due to the data it delivers, and the integrated corporate architecture becomes a reality.

The notion of an interconnected industry is central to Industry 4.0. As the precursor to OPC UA, OPC Classic pioneered an ‘open data connection’ revolution, removing proprietary connectivity barriers between the management, control systems, and the rest of the organization.

OPC UA takes the notion of a unified solution a step further with its platform & operating system agnostic approach and data modelling features. These enable UA to natively represent data from practically any data source on one side while retaining data context and delivering it to consumers in the best possible way. Correctly expressing data structures using consistent UA data models successfully abstracts the physical layer devices.

Future Scope:

All components in the ‘factory of the future’ will operate independently, relying on interconnections. Whether such elements are people, machines, equipment, or systems, they must be designed to gather and exchange meaningful information. As a result, future components will communicate and operate intelligently.

While the industry is on the verge of the latest industrial revolution, interconnection is the essential enabler. OPC UA, a standard that facilitates interoperability at all levels – device to device, a device to business, and beyond – is a critical component of this process.

Conclusion

While a fully functional Industry 4.0 may seem like a pipe dream at this point, the industrial transformation at the grass-root level is already in full swing. Controlling the flow of resources, commodities, and information, enabling speedier decision-making, and simplifying reporting are advantages those businesses may anticipate as they transition to Industry 4.0.

Intelligent materials will instruct machines on how to process them; maintenance and repair will evolve to transform inflexible production lines into modular and efficient systems. Eventually, a product’s complete lifespan can be road-mapped with its practical performance. OPC UA, which enables intelligent data exchanges across all levels of an organization, will play a significant role in evangelizing Industry 4.0