Smart factory equipment integration through standardised OPC UA communication with companion specifications and equipment specific information models

Industry 4.0 promotes digitalisation of manufacturing organisations into smart factories. Communication and connectivity of an operational data collection are required principal. OPC Unified Architecture and standards like ISA95 are key resources to develop automated interfaces between equipment and manufacturing execution system (MES). The target is to integrate complex equipment in a convenient way through the use of a companion specification, a dynamic address space and a OPC UA client characterisation process. Challenges are the reconciliation of the right programming languages, the integration of generic, domain agnostic, domain specific and equipment specific information models. This study describes the generic approach and demonstrates its applicability in a complex manufacturing environment, serving as a blueprint for other environments. The outlined concept is based on C#/LabView source-code developed for semiconductor back-end equipment, which interacts with an MES. The proposed system is validated for a final-testing-unit in the production of kW-class high-power laser diodes.