DTU Information

[Overview]

Architecture

Case Study: Eliminating Errors for Good

System Requirements

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Automotive Supplier Enables Quality and Traceabilty with I/Gear DTU

Jan 2003 Start Magazine Article: 'Data: The Key to Automotive'

I/Gear DTU: Architecture

I/Gear DataLink Tree I/Gear is a unique software tool that allows you to collect and distribute information to virtually any device or system. I/Gear is the only tool capable of integrating shop floor devices, MES systems, and ERP systems all within a single software package. And it does all this through a simple "point-and-click" interface eliminating the need of writing custom software.

I/Gear Engine

The core of I/Gear is the I/Gear Engine. The Engine is responsible for managing transmission and reception of information from various devices. The Engine is in many ways the mediator of your data, by determining when to send/receive data from a device and providing mechanisms for distributing that information to other devices.

Management Console

The Management Console is the default user interface for the I/Gear Engine. Its standard Windows Explorer-like layout makes configuring I/Gear easy for anyone familiar with Windows.

DataLinks

To communicate with a particular device or system, the I/Gear Engine uses DataLinks. A DataLink creates a common connection to a device that is used to move information between the I/Gear Engine and the device. There are six standard DataLinks that come with I/Gear: OLEDB, OPC, TCP/Serial, E-Mail, Pager, and Test. The following is an outline of each DataLink type:

OLEDB DataLink

The OLEDB (Object Linking and Embedding Database) DataLink in I/Gear allows interaction with a number of database types. It has complete and secure data management capabilities through formulated queries, stored procedures, and custom SQL statements. This is a pertinent DataLink for data collection and management. The following database types are currently supported:

Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel 2000 & 97
Microsoft Excel 95 & 5
Microsoft Excel 4
Microsoft Excel 3
Microsoft SQL Server
DBase III
DBase IV
DBase V

Lotus WK 4
Lotus WK3
Lotus WK1
Oracle
Paradox 5.x
Paradox 4.x
Paradox 3.x
ODBC Driver - (Any database system with a compliant ODBC driver)
Other OLEDB Providers

OPC DataLink

The OPC (OLE for Process Control) DataLink allows I/Gear to send and receive data to and from any OPC Server. OPC is the newly adopted standard for communicating with plant floor control equipment including PLC's (Programmable Logic Controllers), PC-based controllers, and HMI (Human Machine Interface) Packages.

TCP/Serial DataLink

The TCP/Serial DataLink allows I/Gear to read and write information to generic Serial or Ethernet (TCP/IP) devices. The DataLink allows for interactive sessions that exchange information with host systems such as an ERP system or a serial-based industrial control device. The DataLink also allows for interfacing with devices such as barcode scanners, RFID systems, and Marquees.

E-Mail DataLink

The E-mail DataLink allows I/Gear to send and receive messages through standard e-mail protocols. The DataLink supports the Internet standard protocols (SMTP, POP, IMAP) as well as Microsoft's MAPI protocol. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer messages to e-mail servers locally or over the Internet. POP (Post Office Protocol) can then be used to retrieve messages from those e-mail servers. IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) is a newer retrieval protocol similar to POP that also allows messages to be read from different folders (or mailboxes) under one account on the server. MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface) can also be used to send or receive e-mail messages, but it only works with MAPI-compliant mail servers (like Microsoft Exchange Server), and it is generally only used with local mail servers.

Pager DataLink

The Pager DataLink allows I/Gear to send digital or alphanumeric pages. The DataLink works with TAP (Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol) compliant pager service providers. In addition, the DataLink can emulate telephone key presses for proprietary pager services.

Test DataLink

The Test DataLink allows I/Gear users to generate data for use with other Commands and Scripts or for testing. It allows creation of DataPoints that are incrementing, decrementing, static, random, or possess the current system date and time on each execution.

Combining multiple DataLinks allows for seamless integration between various devices and systems.

Commands

To define how and when information is exchanged between different DataLinks, the I/Gear Engine relies on Commands. Commands are used to define the specifics of how and when data is moved between a particular device and I/Gear. Output Commands write data to a device. Input Commands retrieve data from a device. Moving information between devices is as easy as defining an input command for the source device and an output command for the destination device.

Command Triggering

Command Triggers are defined to activate the execution of a particular Input or Output Command. These triggers can be defined to occur on a recurring time basis or on an event such as the change, increase, decrease, or refresh of the value of a specific DataPoint. For example, a Command Trigger could be defined to execute an Input Command every 30 seconds to read data from a PLC. Additionally, another Command Trigger could be defined to execute an Output Command to log this information to a database system on an event such as a change in the value of a DataPoint. This effectively logs data from the PLC device every 30 seconds to a remote database system.

Sample I/Gear Triggering Window

More complex triggering requirements can be met through I/Gear's Custom Triggering and External Triggering capabilities. Custom Triggering allows the user to extend the basic triggering (time and event based) with a simple VB Script expression. The External Triggering method disables the basic and custom triggering methods and enables the execution of the command via the I/Gear object model.

DataPoints

DataPoints are used to hold information inside the I/Gear engine. DataPoints work in conjunction with Input Commands to define a single piece of data from a specific system or device. For example, if an Input Command were defined to read a block of data from a PLC, DataPoints would define the actual data elements within the block of data.

DataPoints automatically support any required data type, and also may automatically reference single values or arrays.

Another type of DataPoint is the User DataPoint. These DataPoints work in the same manner as other DataPoints except they are not bound to a specific Input Command. User DataPoints are simply used for storing and retrieving system information such as time tags or constant expressions.

Additionally, I/Gear provides a custom expression builder for developing Formulas for processing DataPoints. Each time a DataPoint is referenced in an Output Command or Script, the formula (if defined) is evaluated. The Output Commands and Scripts may reference either the DataPoint's raw data, or the Formula value.

Sample I/Gear Formula Window

Scripting

Scripts are user-defined VBScript macros that can be used to implement the business logic that operates on the information flowing between the devices in the system. The execution of the Scripts is controlled by the same advanced triggering methods available for Input and Output Commands. Scripts have access to the full I/Gear object model.

Sample Window Showing Script in I/Gear

Scripts could be used to implement the logic necessary for tailoring I/Gear to become the core element of a specific solution for a given customer. For example, an error-proofing application could make use of a script that compares actual data collected from a PLC to expected values retrieved from a database. The success or failure in matching these values could be used to trigger an Output Command that passes information back to the PLC to enable or inhibit production.