Chicago, Ill. … Today, September 16, 2010, at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, the OPC Foundation and the MTConnect ^® Institute are announcing a joint Memorandum of Understanding.  OPC and MTConnect will cooperate in developing standards called MTConnectOpcUa.   MTConnectOpcUa is a set of companion specifications to ensure interoperability and consistency between MTConnect specifications and OPC specifications, as well as the manufacturing technology equipment, devices, software or other products that implement those standards.

Tom Burke, President and Chairman of the Board for the OPC Foundation, stated,  “MTConnect & OPC collaborating will provide the necessary infrastructure to revolutionize interoperability for the complete spectrum of manufacturing technology, by leveraging the standards of both organizations, evolving the technology that has already been well accepted and adopted by the suppliers.”   Dave Edstrom, President and Chairman of the Board for the MTConnect Institute has stated, “This is not just a win for MTConnect and OPC, this is a huge step forward for manufacturing interoperability around the globe.”

This agreement provides a mechanism for OPC and MTConnect to collaborate to extend the reach of the existing manufacturing data exchange standards and implementation technologies in order to:

• Evolve the existing standards for each organization to provide complete manufacturing technology interoperability.
• Provide the mechanism for continuous improvement of standards and specifications overseen by each body.
• Work directly with the end users and suppliers of technology and manufacturing.
• Provide a coordinating function to exchange insights, identify overlaps, and harmonize work where appropriate.
• Facilitate clear communication and education for users and others concerning possible overlaps and the ways the standards and specifications can be used.
• Provide a solid foundation to develop and deliver specifications, technology and processes to facilitate adoption of the technology into real products.

MTConnect ^® Institute
MTConnect Institute is an organization that develops and provides open standards intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing controls, devices and software applications by publishing data over networks using the Internet Protocol (IP).  The standards offer a solution to the exchange of data from shop floor devices to higher level systems.

OPC Foundation
The OPC Foundation pursues interoperability in automation by creating and maintaining open specifications that standardize the communication of acquired process data, alarm and event records, historical data, and batch data to multi-vendor enterprise systems and between production devices.

Contact:
Thomas Burke
OPC Foundation
440-543-2663
Email Contact

Dave Edstrom
MTConnect ^® Institute
703-829-6059
Email Contact