________________________________________
Support for the MTConnect® Standard
MTConnect is an AMT (Association for Manufacturing Technology) communication standard that allows various automated machine tools to output data in a common format that enables third-party programs or agents to pick up and present the data in a manner meaningful to the user. The OMAX machine has implemented an “adapter” that processes messages that the OMAX generates and then converts these messages into useful data for designated third-party applications or agents.
OMAX supports the MTConnect standard using an “Agent” installed in the Program Files\OMAX Corporation\OMAX_LAYOUT_and_MAKE\ folder named “OMAX_Adapter.exe”. This agent listens to OMAX MAKE and passes data received to a 3rd party application using the MTConnect communication standard. It is up to the OMAX customer to find and configure a suitable 3rd party application to take advantage of this feature.
For more information on MTConnect, visit their web site at http://www.mtconnect.org/.
For a demonstration of MTConnect in action, visit: http://demo.mtconnect.org/devices.
To start the OMAX MTConnect Adapter and send data to any recipient agent:
5) Open OMAX MAKE.
6) Select Setup->Advanced…-> Advanced/Administrator Setup… to open the advanced setup window and enter the password that allows you access.
7) In the bottom-right corner of the SpecifyTable, Pump and Attached Accessories tab, select Enable MTConnect. As soon as MTConnect is selected, the MTConnnect tab appears.
8) Click the MTConnect tab to open it:
9) Enter the port number for the MTConnect adapter and click OK.
The computer’s port number used by the adapter to send out its signals can be changed.
Once you click OK and close the advanced administrator form, the adapter becomes active as a background task and sends out information every 0.5 seconds if there are any changes from the OMAX machine’s last reporting state (such as position of the axes, what operation it is doing, etc.).
To turn off the adapter, repeat steps 1 through 5 above leaving the Enable MTConnect checkbox unchecked. Once done, reboot the computer to close the background adapter process.
