Happy’s Essential Skills: Computer-Aided-Manufacturing, Part 1—Automation Protocols

Estimated reading time: 19 minutes

Figure 7: The 7-Layer OSI communication standard. (Source: HP Journal, Aug. 1990)

Open Manufacturing Language (OML)

OML provides an Internet of manufacturing intelligent connectivity platform for all PCB assembly production machines and processes, be they automated or manual, while enabling the support such as planning, supply-chain, quality management, and corporate systems such as MES, ERP, and PLM. The standard is the proprietary development of Mentor Graphics/Valor and has hardware that can be purchased from them. The OML carries on the long standing tradition of ODB++, the PCB design communication standard from Valor. No information has been presented if OML conforms to either MAP or SECS II standards.

IPC-2541

IPC has a subcommittee (2-13 Shop Floor Communications Subcommittee) that brought together leading software developers, machine vendors, assembly equipment manufacturers and their customers to work on development of a new IPC standard to meet the current and future needs of industry that will fill a gap identified by the group. This new standard will provide uniformity of data protocols that will allow ease of machine to machine communication.    

As reported by David Bergman of IPC at the 2016 IPC APEX EXPO, IPC Committee Works Report^[8]:  

The subcommittee is firmly committed to developing the standard and is also working to provide an easy-to-understand definition of Industry 4.0 and its significance. Machine vendors want to engage quickly and all parties agree that a replacement for the current IPC-2541, Generic Requirements for Electronics Manufacturing Shop-Floor Equipment Communication Messages (CAMX) is needed and demanded by industry and speed of execution is critical.  

I think the fastest way to implement an electronics shop-floor data protocol is to throw in with our semiconductor brothers and adopt the SECSII/GEM standard from SEMI. They are usually pleased to see us follow their lead and they have a 35-year head start with many factories, established software and vendors already in place. There still is a need for the IPC Committee because CAD data/definitions, components, processes and tests all have to be set up for the SECSII/GEM standards.

LAN (Ethernet, IEEE-802.3 & TCP/IP)

802.3 is a technology that supports the IEEE 802.1 network architecture and also defines LAN method using CSMA/CD. It is the physical layer and data link layers for media access control (MAC) of wired Ethernet. Ethernet is increasingly popular for factory automation due to the availability of numerous sources for the communication hub. It is also available as a wireless standard in IEEE 802.11.

TCP/IP 

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is the most common communication language or protocol for the Internet. TCP/IP provides the connectivity detailing how data should be transmitted, organized, addressed, routed and received at the destination.

This protocol is organized into four virtual layers which are used to sort all related protocols according to the needs of the network. From lowest to highest, as seen in Figure 7, the layers are: the link layer, containing communication methods for data that remains within a single network segment (link); the internet layer, connecting independent networks, thus establishing internetworking; the transport layer handling host-to-host communication; and the application layer, which provides process-to-process data exchange for applications.   

Wireless and IoT

The Internet-of-Things is a growing popular trend. We will see if it applies to factory automation? Right now it is headed for consumer use and for control and monitoring applications that are highly dispersed, like energy monitoring. The role of security is a big question and the specifics of individual factory automation challenging. If IoT can create Group Controllers or cluster controllers that are compatible with factory networking, then it may play a role. Wireless on the other hand is a different situation.

As explained by the Advantech SMARTWORX^TM web post^[9]:

Unfortunately, many machines need to do their jobs in locations that make wired data communications and AC power installations impractical. What’s needed is a low power wireless solution that can extend the network edge to include those locations while providing “five nines” uptime. Based on the wireless IEEE 802.15.4e standard, a SmartMesh IP mesh network is an excellent choice, even in harsh, dynamically changing RF environments.

SmartMesh IP mesh networks provide redundant routing to the network gateway, as every sensor node in a mesh network serves as a router. Each node can receive data from any other network node that is within range, and transmit data to any other network node that is within range. If one path to the network gateway fails, the network nodes will reroute through another. Devices can transmit data over long distances by passing data through intermediate devices to reach more distant ones, and the network gateway doesn’t need to be within range of every device on the network. This makes SmartMesh IP networks highly scalable.

Industry 4.0 Initiatives

The term "Industrie 4.0" originates from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government, which provides for the computerization of manufacturing. The first industrial revolution mobilized the mechanization of production using water and steam power. The second industrial revolution then introduced mass production with the help of electrical power, followed by the digital revolution and the use of electronics and IT to further automate production.

The term was first used in 2011 at the Hannover Fair. In October 2012, the Working Group on Industry 4.0, chaired by Siegfried Dais and Henning Kagermann, presented a set of Industry 4.0 implementation recommendations to the German federal government. On 8 April 2013 at the Hannover Fair, the final report of the Working Group Industry 4.0 was presented.

Design Principles for Industry 4.0 Scenarios

Excerpts from a Working Paper by the Technische Universitat−Dormund^[10]:

There are six design principles in Industry 4.0. These principles support companies in identifying and implementing Industry 4.0 scenarios.

• Interoperability: the ability of cyber-physical systems (i.e. workpiece carriers, assembly stations and products), humans and Smart Factories to connect and communicate with each other via the Internet of Things and the Internet of Services
• Virtualization: a virtual copy of the Smart Factory which is created by linking sensor data (from monitoring physical processes) with virtual plant models and simulation models
• Decentralization: the ability of cyber-physical systems within Smart Factories to make decisions on their own
• Real-Time Capability: the capability to collect and analyze data and provide the derived insights immediately
• Service Orientation: offering of services (of cyber-physical systems, humans or Smart Factories) via the Internet of Services
• Modularity: flexible adaptation of Smart Factories to changing requirements by replacing or expanding individual modules
  

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