FORCAM FORCE Edge

Features – Q&A

• Why is it important to connect all types of machines on the shop floor?

  Industry 4.0´s fuel is data and how to make use of it to improve business and production processes. On the shop floor, data can be generated alongside the production processes. State of the art software can then be used to analyze the data and gain insights. It delivers the necessary transparency and important production insights. However, the issue is the diversity of the brownfield. 60% of all industrial companies state in McKinsey’s Industry 4.0 study that about 30% of the existing machines need to be replaced for this purpose. Not all machines were intended for digitization and can collect data by default. These assets create blind spots on the shop floor. To overcome this issue, one might think of replacing existing assets with newer ones capable of data collection. However, this is a cost-intensive approach, which is at the expense of the cash flow. A more valuable approach is to connect all types of machines on the shop floor to modern IT environments. FORCAM offers for this approach a set of methods to connect all machines. Through its methods, it is even possible to integrate the machines of any construction age.

• How to connect machines to the system that were not intended for digitization?

  The market-proven FORCAM IO Box empowers you to connect machines digitally.

• How to connect all common machines?

  FORCAM FORCE™ EDGE supports all kinds of manufacturer-specific control protocols, such as Siemens, Fanuc, Heidenhain, and many others to receive signals and write parameters.

• Can you use NC programs?

  FORCAN FORCE Edge can supply different machines with NC programs in a standardized way and call them up. It enables you to introduce an efficient document management system to the production, which ensures that the right program is active at the right time.

• Which industry communication standards are supported?

  FORCAM FORCE™ Edge supports all industry communication standards, including MQTT, OPC-UA, etc. Our advanced plugin architecture allows new communication standards to be integrated efficiently. Therefore, you are prepared for the future and are not restricted to one manufacturer.

• Can you integrate own application and ensure connectivity to any type of system?

  Our Edge API gives you fast and standardized access to all functionalities, so that we not only support the development of your own applications, but also ensure connectivity to any type of system.