Microsoft technology is also a part of OLE for Process Control (OPC)
microsoft.com
General Microsoft white paper on Manufacturing.
OPC (OLE for proces control) is very very significant. This is a standard interface definition for OLE objects in the manufacturing environment.
With such an industry-wide accepted standard, a new industry for manufaturing software objects is enabled. These standard objects can be used and integrated into systems; using visual Basic (or C or other languages).
This has happened in the Office environment (just think of the thousends of OCX's that enhance Windows programs; and for which a separate multimillion market has been created - all thru defining and accepting such an OLE standard).
The same will happen in the manufacturing industry; Wonderware FactorySuite+MS BackOffice together are the platform for this industry.
One can say it differently: FactorySuite is almost part of the NT operating system; the same way BackOffice has become almost part of the NT OS.
Regards,
John
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The Changing Paradigms of Manufacturing Executive Summary
Success in manufacturing depends on being able to respond quickly, accurately and consistently to the changing needs of the marketplace. The need to control and optimize processes and to vary the necessary parameters to obtain the best product on time and on specification has fostered a change from a hierarchical to a client/server architecture for manufacturing systems. Client/server manufacturing systems perform tasks ranging from shop-floor scheduling and process optimization to material and manufacturing resource planning and the upper echelons of finance and strategic planning.
At the plant level, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), distributed control systems (DCSs), man-machine interfaces (MMIs), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and manufacturing execution systems (MESs) control and optimize the process.
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Microsoft technology is also a part of OLE for Process Control (OPC). Representatives from Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc., Intellution Inc., Intuitive Technology Corp., Opto 22 and Rockwell Software Inc. surveyed hundreds of process companies about their use and requirements for OLE technology. The five companies then jointly developed the OPC specification. OPC version 1.0 includes an automation interface that allows users to access data from any OPC-compliant server and a custom interface to improve information exchange from plant-floor servers, such as PLCs and DCSs, to OPC clients. OPC-compliant software can be easily integrated into systems for point solutions and enterprisewide programs, enhancing the use of Windows NT in process manufacturing.
Microsoft's strategy is to provide the network foundation for distributed computing with Windows NT Server, integrated applications in the Microsoft BackOfficer family, distributed object and systems technology with ActiveXr technologies, and a complete set of development tools including the Visual Basicr programming system...
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Global competitiveness is causing manufacturing companies to change the way they do business. New ways of viewing markets and competition have led the movement from legacy information systems to client/server environments. |
