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COMPRESSED AIR COMPRESSORS WITH OPC UA CAPABILITY
Atlas Copco has introduced OPC UA-enabled compressors, allowing users to take advantage of this single universal communication protocol for industrial connectivity and control in their plants
until recent times, air compressors have not been able to offer OPC UA interconnectivity to other production equipment, with some remaining mostly offline and others using different communication protocols. This post-pandemic era has seen major
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changes in working practices and challenging issues in the production environment resulting from the new normal − everything from the ability to shift to remote operations and control, the need for operational resilience and sustainability, to the implementation of cybersecurity protection. So there has never been a more
appropriate time within industrial operations for the standardisation of production equipment connectivity and communication; the need for a single framework for secure interoperability and information exchange and a common technology from cloud service providers to control and process multiple types of production hardware. Put simply, a universal language for connected machines. Seamless communication is becoming a
reality, with the increasing adoption of OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) machine-to-machine communication protocol developed specifically for industrial automation. It is a
5 JUNE 2022 | PROCESS & CONTROL 0
hen machines can communicate and understand each other, processes run more smoothly. But up
universal language for machines in a production environment, enabling them to be connected and run as a more reliable and efficient system. It is a development that is particularly relevant to the integration of air compressor systems. An increasing number of vendors already
offer OPC UA-capable technologies, and more products are being added all the time. For example, Atlas Copco has launched its first compressor range. Atlas Copco is dedicated to the seamless,
secure, and optimal integration of compressed air systems into production plants, and is
aware that the application of OPC UA communication technology is essential to achieving this goal. As a Class A member of the OPC
Foundation, the company has put theory into practice by introducing the OPC UA-enabled compressors. Because, as the heart of a production process, compressors are too important to not be a part of Industry 4.0. Atlas Copco’s GA 22-37 VSDs and the
GA37+ - 45+ range of oil-injected screw compressors are the first models now available with OPC-UA as an integrated part of the controller, a milestone in compressor integration. Their plug and play installation makes the set-up and harmonisation with other equipment easy. It is intended that these introductory machines will be followed soon by other oil-free and oil-injected compressors, as well as auxiliary equipment that will also incorporate OPC UA technology.
How does OPC UA work?
OPC UA was developed as the successor to the traditional OPC standard. According to the OPC Foundation, it is already the “most widely adopted interoperability standard for secure, reliable and platform-independent information exchange in the world.” While most technologies are designed for a
single application, OPC UA is much more flexible. It offers connectivity benefits throughout an entire production process, i.e., it
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