Integration of manufacturing applications: overcoming heterogeneity to preserve investment

Abstract

The work presented in this paper consisted on the integration of several areas within a factory by using different communication standards. The described implementation satisfies several types of requirements, which include not only the functional requirements, but also the preservation of previous investments. The fulfilment of the latter imposed the use of heterogeneous technologies, both in terms of vendors and generations. This resulted in additional difficulties for the integration that were overcome. The use of OSI based technologies, such as those developed in the scope of CCE-CNMA, contributed to the success of this work.