Collect Data from CNC Machines with Apogean™

HAAS Machines “Only Speak HAAS”

• Nearly all HAAS machines up to 2016 have only one serial port, which means the port can only be used for NC program download or to collect machine data, but not both – if the port is used to collect machine data it’s always in the HAAS proprietary protocol (there are still a few out there that don't even have a serial port!)
• Many HAAS machines from 2016 through today do have an ethernet port, which can be used for both NC program download and to collect machine data, but the data is always in the HAAS proprietary protocol (called HAAS MDC, "machine data collection")

It’s Hard to Collect Data from a HAAS Machine for OEE and Manufacturing Analytics

• Whether your HAAS machine has an ethernet port or serial port, it still can’t provide the necessary data for most OEE, MES, or smart manufacturing systems on the market today. Data from any HAAS machine is always in the HAAS proprietary protocol (called HAAS MDC, "machine data collection") – it’s limited because the HAAS protocol isn’t open source, and most applications on the market can’t communicate with it.
• Until recently, machine shops with HAAS machines that wanted to collect data for OEE, MES, analytics, or smart manufacturing apps had limited options:
1. Use widely available apps and exclude all their HAAS equipment from the initiative
2. Use HAAS apps, which work only with the HAAS machines (so exclude all their other machines)
3. Give up and do nothing

Now it's easy to collect data from HAAS machines for OEE, shop floor analytics, and other apps.

FANUC Machines “Only Speak FOCAS”

• Many machines with FANUC controllers do have an ethernet port, which can be used for both NC program download and to collect machine data, but the data is always in the FANUC proprietary protocol (called FOCAS, “FANUC Open CNC API Specifications)

It can be a hassle to get data from a machine using FANUC for OEE and Manufacturing Analytics

• Until recently, machine shops with machines using FANUC controllers that wanted to collect data for OEE, MES, analytics, or smart manufacturing apps had limited options:
1. Use FANUC apps, and exclude all the other machines in your shop
2. Limit your app choices to only those that support the FANUC protocol
3. Give up and do nothing

Now it's easy to collect data from HAAS machines for OEE, shop floor analytics, and other apps.

Machines and apps that “speak” MTConnect are few and far between

• MTConnect was invented to bridge the gap between CNC machines and smart manufacturing solutions. Some consider it a utopian goal that requires machine builders and app makers to “reinvent” their solutions to provide easy connectivity.
• To date, there has been low adoption among machine builders and smart manufacturing app developers. It’s rare for a machine shop to have both equipment and systems that “speak” MTConnect.
• Until recently, machine shops with machines that speak MTConnect had limited options:
1. Limit your app choices to only those that support the MTConnect protocol
2. Translate the data from the MTConnect protocol to whatever protocol your app requires
3. Give up and do nothing

Now it's easy to collect data from CNC machines for OEE, shop floor analytics, and other apps.

OPC was designed for PLC's not for CNC machines

• OPC (OPC and OPC-UA) was designed for process manufacturing equipment that use PLC’s. Most smart manufacturing apps rely on OPC or OPC-UA. There are no CNC machines that natively use OPC or OPC-UA.
• It’s complicated, time consuming, and expensive to get the data from your machine into smart manufacturing apps using OPC or OPC-UA.
• Until recently, machine shops that wanted to use innovative apps that speak only OPC or OPC-UA had limited options:
1. Translate the data from whatever protocol your machine uses to or OPC-UA
2. Give up and do nothing

Now it's easy to collect data from CNC machines for OEE, shop floor analytics, and other apps.

Legacy CNC machines are “silent” (don't speak any protocol)

• It’s expensive to connect old and legacy equipment to your smart manufacturing apps. It requires specialized knowledge and tools, it takes a lot of time, and every machine model is unique. If you can figure out how to connect one machine, it’s unlikely the next machine will be similar.
• Connecting legacy CNC machines requires a lot of expensive downtime.
• Until recently, machine shops with old and legacy machines that wanted to collect data for OEE, MES, analytics, or smart manufacturing apps had limited options:
1. Hire a specialist to figure out the machine connectivity strategy for each machine, then conduct a cost analysis to determine ROI
2. Select only a few legacy machines to connect, and exclude many others from the smart manufacturing initiative
3. Connect the machines, but end up with too few or the wrong data to feed the smart manufacturing apps
4. Give up and do nothing

Now it's easy to collect data from older CNC machines for OEE, shop floor analytics, and other apps.