What are Dataloggers?
Jeremy Oxendine, an Automation Specialist with ES&E introduces you to three products that can be used to store data in a relational database. Kepware, Factorytalk Transaction Manager, and tManager.
These allow other software platforms to access vital plant floor data generated from your equipment. These other systems could be MES, warehouse management, or CMMS.
This video discusses data collection and digital transformation projects. Jeremy Oxendine introduces three products sold at ES&E that can be used to store data in a relational database: Kepware, FactoryTalk Transaction Manager, and tManager.
Kepware is known for its OPC connection products and has an advanced plugin called Data Logger that logs data from Kepware ex servers to any ODBC-compliant database. It is user-friendly, offers automatic table creation, and supports system tags. However, it does not include any reporting tools and is not bi-directional.
FactoryTalk Transaction Manager is a software application that manages the exchange of production information between the shop floor control systems and commercial databases. It can provide both unidirectional and bi-directional data transactions, interfaces with commercial databases, and can handle large volumes of transactions. However, it does not include any analysis or reporting tools.
tManager is a hardware card that can be inserted into a ControlLogix Rack or attached to a CompactLogix. It can send data to AWS, Azure, SQL Server, or Oracle, and has a buffering capability to prevent data loss during database outages.
The key takeaway is that these products can help with digital transformation projects by collecting and storing data from various sources in a relational database.