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OPC Portal: Products, News, Articles, Events & Resources

OPC Products, News, Articles, Application Stories, Training, Events & Resources

Welcome to Automation.com's portal for OPC. Find the latest products, news, articles, application stories, events, training and resources relating to OPC. Learn more about our Automation Portals.

Contribute to Portals

Send your articles, white papers, application stories, resources, training and events for publication consideration to content@automation.com.

Articles

OPC Interview: OPC Test Lab Certifications
By Bill Lydon, Automation.com
The OPC Foundation is launching certification labs to ensure a high level of quality and reliability of OPC products.
Automation.com’s Contributing Editor Bill Lydon interviewed Tom Burke, OPC Foundation President & Executive Director and Paul Hunkar, Director of Compliance for the OPC Foundation and Consultant engineer for ABB, to learn more about the certification.
OPC shows signs of fragmentation
Control, May 2009
By Andrew Bond, Industrial Automation Insider
The possibility that that the user community could now be faced with not one, but as many as four flavors of OPC — original plain vanilla OPC DA, OPC.NET, full blown OPC UA and, of course, HOPC — should give everyone pause. Those with long enough memories should recall what happened to UNIX.
Open Systems—Controllers to HMIs
Control Design, March 2009
By Dan Hebert
Virtually any controller can be connected to just about any Windows-based HMI via Ethernet. If the controller has an Ethernet protocol that requires special hardware, it is relatively cheap and easy to buy an adapter card that plugs into the HMI platform. The OPC communication standard also eases communication between controllers and HMIs.

White Papers

Enterprise Mobility for Manufacturing Whitepaper
By Motorola
Enterprise mobility has emerged as a top strategic initiative among leading global organizations. This white paper provides insight into the advantages gained by deploying mobile solutions in manufacturing. The paper reveals how manufacturing firms have empowered their workers with mobile solutions and significantly increased their effectiveness. Based on feedback from over 6,000 decision-makers and more than 2,500 mobile workers, the white paper addresses key questions.
Introduction to OPC for Building Automation
By Darek Kominek, Matrikon
HMIs, historians, and analysis and reporting packages that originate in the process control industry may not have drivers that support such protocols as BACnet or other building automation protocols. OPC can solve the problem.
Implementing Successful OPC Projects
By Eric Murphy, MatrikonOPC
The issues associated with OPC projects include multiple data paths, data throughput, guaranteed data delivery and redundancy, network interoperability, communication disruption and recovery, maintainability and geographically disperse systems.

Application Stories

SCHOTT Tubing uses Softing OPC software in measurement application  - 05/27/09
SCHOTT is employing Softing’s OPC Easy Connect Suite and OPC ActiveX control as a reliable link to automatically transmit measured values from Excel to the process control system.
OPC Feeds Data from PLC to DCS
The Georgia Pacific paper mill in Yalova, Turkey, uses Kepware Technologies’ LinkMaster and KEPServerEX OPC Server to transfer data from a Siemens programmable controller to an ABB distributed control system.
Manufacturer Uses OPC to Power Excel Spreadsheets
Mirror Controls international (MCi) designs, develops, and manufactures electric mirror adjusting actuators and electric power-folding mirror actuators. It upgraded its automation system with OPC DataHub from Cogent Real-Time Systems, simplifying data flow to an Excel workbook and improving reliability.

Resources & Literature

Hard Real-Time Standards-Based Platform for Manufacturing
Exceed expectations for reliability, performance, and hard real-time while reducing production costs and time-to-solution by standardizing on one technology platform, from sensors to servers. Windows Embedded brings the ease and familiarity of Windows to the development and use of industrial devices and systems.
OPC Product Certification
By OPC
The OPC Certification Program provides a process where OPC vendors can verify the correct operation of their products with a series of tests developed by OPC Foundation. There are two Levels of Certification; “Self Tested” and “Compliance Certified.”
MatrikonOPC offers DCOM issue Analyzer for OPC  - 03/30/09
Analyzer is a free utility used to find common OPC problem areas and backup important OPC-related files.

Training & Seminars

OPC Training Institute develops training course for Honeywell users  - 06/30/09
OPC training for Honeywell's Experion PKS will be delivered at Honeywell’s Automation College locations globally.
OPC Level 4 - OPC Application Programming
October 31, 2008 Houston, TX
The MatrikonOPC course focuses on the detailed description of the OPC DA specifications, and hands on development of OPC clients and servers, and standard software interface requirements. $995.

Multimedia

Product Announcements

Softing enhances Modbus/TCP OPC Server Softing enhances Modbus/TCP OPC Server  - 06/28/09
Enhancements provide maximum data throughput, data security, and save time and effort during commissioning.
 
AXIOMTEK introduces VTA-7120T HMI with SCADA software AXIOMTEK introduces VTA-7120T HMI with SCADA software  - 06/24/09
Equipped with WinPC32 Pro run-time SCADA software, the VTA-7120T can be easily connected to different types of PLCs and PC-based I/O modules.
 
MatrikonOPC offers SNMP Agent for OPC  - 06/17/09
SNMP Agent bridges the IT and process control worlds using the SNMP and OPC standards.
 

Company & Organization News

Kepware to supply device communications to AFCON  - 06/22/09
Kepware Technologies has been selected as the device communications provider to AFCON Software and Electronics Ltd.
MatrikonOPC opens office in United Kingdom  - 06/08/09
The local office provides access to connectivity software, OPC training, and services for both current and prospective clients.
Kepware awarded Maine Technology Company of the Year  - 06/08/09
This award is presented to a company that contributes significantly to Maine’s reputation as a cutting-edge technology state.

Project News

MatrikonOPC supplies Siemens Building Technologies with OPC Data Manager  - 04/14/09
Siemens Building Technologies is standardizing on MatrikonOPC’s SNMP Agent for OPC and OPC Data Manager.
Gil Automations chooses MatrikonOPC technology  - 02/04/09
Gil Automations chose MatrikonOPC as its preferred supplier of OPC data connectivity solutions.
Kepware supplies software to ARC Informatique  - 02/03/09
Kepware has been selected by ARC Informatique, the makers of PcVue and PlantVue HMI/SCADA systems, as its primary provider of connectivity to field devices.

Events

OPC at ACHEMA
May 11-15, 2009 Frankfurt Germany
OPC Foundation will participate in an exhibition booth at ACHEMA. In the booth OPC will demonstrate for the first time applications that conform to the OPC UA
Analyzer Devices Specification (ADI). This new specification based on the OPC Unified Architecture allows the complex world of process analyzers and PAT applications from multiple vendors to plug-and-play for the first time. Visit OPC in the Werum booth in Hall 10.1 Stand B46-D47.
Grid-Interop 2008
November 11-13, 2008 Atlanta, GA
The Grid-Interop Forum enlists industry involvement in defining actionable steps needed to facilitate the interoperation of the growing number of automation systems that manage the nation’s electric system. OPC Foundation will participate.

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