The HMI and supervision applications generally need to integrate with other levels of the company information systems.
Apart from natural connection with the process control (PLC, CNC, regulators, scales, etc.), more and more frequently the possibility of connecting applications among themselves and to make them communicate with the production management levels (MES or EPS system) is requested. The subject of integration, already important now, will become strategic in the very near future.
At the base of all the functions which go towards making it possible to integrate Super-Flash with the surrounding world lies its capability of working efficiently on TCP/IP networks.
Super-Flash makes different possibilities available, which have a different degree of importance depending on the type of integration, horizontal or vertical, that one intends to carry out.
By horizontal integration, connection to software applications of the same level is meant, which can be carried out by means of the following:

• TCP/IP communication channels freely manageable by MicroC
• Client and DDE Server
• MODBUS Master and Slave
• SUPER FLASH Master and Slave
• SUPER FLASH OPC CLIENT
• Support of external DLLs
• Connection to local or remote Databases

By vertical integration, connection to software applications of different levels, in two separate directions: downwards and upwards, is meant.
The downward connection can be made by means of:

• TCP/IP communication channels freely manageable by MicroC
• SUPER FLASH Master
• Specific Drivers for PLC, thermoregulators, etc.
• MODBUS Master
• SUPER FLASH OPC CLIENT
• Applicom Server (field bus and Ethernet)
• Support of external DLLs

The upward one by means of:

• TCP/IP communication channels freely manageable by MicroC
• File management over network
• DDE Slave
• MODBUS Slave
• SUPER FLASH Slave
• Support of external DLLs
• Connection to local or remote Databases

With regard to upward integration, with the future in mind, Automa's commitment in the field of integration projects for production management and data collection becomes fundamental. The competency required in this field is the best guarantee of Automa's capacity to deal with the subject of integration efficiently. The current possibilities, although important and substantial, are therefore to be considered as a valid starting point for the performances which will be inserted in the next versions of the product.

The products currently available are:

• MainteX - Management of the preventive maintenance
  
• MainteX-Web - is MainteX's web client version
  
• SIR - Department Information System
  
• SmartDB - Driver for connection to ODBC and OLEDB Databases
  
• SFWAM - Management of alarms via Web
  
• TP - Trend Publisher - Application for trend data publishing
  
• TPX-DB - Software for automatic publication of trend data on DB
  
• X-Prod - Management of traceability and relative retraceability of materials
  
• X-SMS - Application to send and receive SMS from a PC
  

To obtain information on these and other products, please either contact Automa directly (telephone 035.32.33.911, sales@automa.it) or the area distributor.