C-Connector provides shop floor to top floor connectivity
15 February 2012
Mitsubishi Electric has introduced C-Connector, a PLC module that cuts through the layers of a plant-wide automation system to deliver real time data directly to a users SAP system. The C Connector PLC module simplifies making the essential link between automation systems and higher level databases, ERP applications and MES applications like SAP. Production data can thus be easily monitored and recorded, and higher level production decisions more easily implemented.
C Connector facilitates direct, bidirectional exchange of data between a PLC and the higher level systems, simplifying the collecting, storage and monitoring of field data within the business application, and the sending of instructions directly to the plant floor.
Eliminating the need for intermediate PC hardware and its inherent infrastructure and IT vulnerabilities such as virus scanner maintenance, OS upgrades and incompatibilities, hardware failures, operator abuse, C Connector runs directly on Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ controller, where it has direct access to live process data and all connected I/O. Here it can also be used to collect data from other automation devices in the field such as RFID sensors, barcode reader, weighing systems or vision systems.
Setting up bidirectional communications is as simple as selecting an integration template for the target system from the extensive library of pre-configured templates. These cover many different SAP solutions including direct BAPI interfacing, MII connection, web services and even Pco connection is planned. Data can also be output as standard CSV, Excel or XML files. This eliminates the need for detailed knowledge of the target system and its interfaces, dramatically simplifying integration overhead.
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