MTConnect Ethernet

7 min

Review the following information for setting up and configuring the MTConnect Ethernet driver. The driver reads data from an MTConnect Agent over HTTP. At each polling interval, it requests the agent's /current document and serves tag values from that response. The driver is read-only.

For the protocol reference, see the MTConnect standard.

Note: This driver is experimental. Some features might not work as expected.

Litmus Edge compatible series

Compatibility parameter	Compatible items
Driver type	Ethernet (HTTP)
Validated devices/series	Devices that support the MTConnect standard through an MTConnect Agent

To set up and configure this device in Litmus Edge (LE), do the following:

Step 1: Set up and configure the device

Step 2: Set up the device in Litmus Edge DeviceHub

Step 3: Configure the list of registers

Step 1: Set up and configure the device

Make sure the MTConnect Agent is running and that LE can reach it over the network. Record the following:

The IP address or hostname of the agent

The HTTP port of the agent

The name of the device in the agent, as it appears in the name attribute of the device stream. The name is case-sensitive.

To check the device name, open http://<agent-address>:<port>/probe in a browser.

To try the driver with a public demo agent, see Use the Mazak MTConnect Demo Agent to Connect a DeviceUse the Mazak MTConnect Demo Agent to Connect a Device.

Step 2: Set up the device in Litmus Edge DeviceHub

Configure the following parameters when you Connect a DeviceConnect a Device with this driver. Update default values to the specific setup of your device.

Parameter	Value
Type	MTConnect
Driver	MTConnect Ethernet
NetworkAddress	The IP address or hostname of the MTConnect Agent. Default value 192.168.0.1
NetworkPort	The HTTP port of the MTConnect Agent. Enter a value from 0 to 65535. Default value 5000
DeviceName	The name of the device in the agent. The driver reads data only for this device. The name is case-sensitive. Default value device

The following parameter is under Advanced Parameters.

Parameter	Value
RequestTimeout	How long the driver waits for the agent to respond, in milliseconds. Enter a value from 500 to 30000. Default value 3000

For the Meta Data, Status Register, and Optional Settings options, see Connect a DeviceConnect a Device.

Step 3: Configure the list of registers

When you Add a TagAdd a Tag to the connected device, see the following sections. You can also Browse and Add Tags from a DeviceBrowse and Add Tags from a Device for this device. Browsing reads the agent's /probe document.

See the following additional resources if necessary:

Organize Device and Tag Data by Using MetadataOrganize Device and Tag Data by Using Metadata

Tag Formula VariablesTag Formula Variables

Free tags

This driver doesn't have a list of register names in the DeviceHub Add Tag form. Enter the data item in the form <componentName>.<dataItemName>. The driver matches the name attribute of the component and data item first. If an item has no name, use its ID instead.

For example, Controller.execution or path1.Fovr.

Available value types

string

float

Tag parameters

Name: Enter the data item in the form <componentName>.<dataItemName>. See the Free tags section.

Value Type: Select a data type from the drop-down list.

PollingInterval: Enter how often the tag polls for data, in seconds. Enter 0 to disable polling. Default value 60

Tag Name: Enter a name for the tag.

Description (Optional): Enter a description for the tag.

Tag Formula: Enter a formula for the tag to process the generated data. You can use two variables: value (current tag value) and timestamp (current tag UNIX time in milliseconds). The following math functions are available:

sqrt

power: power(x) performs the operation 10^x.

log: log(x) is the natural logarithm (the logarithm is in base e).

exp: exp(x) performs the operation e^x.

Only Publish on Change of Value: Select the checkbox to publish NATS messages only when the value parameter changes. Change of Value only applies to boolean, numeric (such as int or float), and simple string data types. It does not apply to complex types, such as JSON or array. Poll-once topics are not affected by Change of Value settings, and still receive a single message.

Meta Data: Define key-value pairs to add to the device output payload.

Note: If you use special characters in metadata key names, the special characters are replaced with underscore characters in the payload. This can cause two key names to be combined into one. For example, configuring the key names a**b and a&&b creates only one key name (a__b).