Q & A

Site preparation

What requirements must the machines in the plant meet for CoroPlus® Machining Insights to run successfully?

• Ensure that your machine has an Ethernet board
  
• All machines need to be connected to the network via Ethernet cable.
• No RS-232 connectors will not work.
• Yes, WiFi connectivity is possible but not as reliable as a hardwired connection. This is why we lean toward a Ethernet connection.
• Each machine must be assigned a unique, static IP address.
  Note:
  A static IP address is an IP address that was manually configured for a device instead of one that was assigned by a DHCP server. It's called static because it doesn't change vs. a dynamic IP address, which does change.
• Ensure that MTConnect capability features are turned on in the machines control.
  Note:
  You may have to contact your machine service team for assistance on this.
  

What requirements must the factory server meet for CoroPlus® Machining Insights to run successfully?

The Site Manager application will be installed on your local factory server (computer). All machines must be networked with this server.

Minimum requirements for the server:

• Operating System: Windows 10 / Server 2012/2016
• Processor: 2Ghz
• Harddrive: 80GB
• RAM: 8GB
• Architecture: x64
• Install/Enable Telnet Client
• Uninterrupted access to the internet

Note:

The Site Manager application is a software program installed by Sandvik Coromant on a factory server/gateway provided by the customer. The software program collects data from the machines via the factory network and then sends (or buffer) compressed data to the MachiningInsights in the cloud thru a secure tunnel.

What requirements must our company IT meet for CoroPlus® Machining Insights to run successfully?

For other IT specifications please see the IT requirements document

General information

What does CoroPlus® Machining Insights cost?

When purchasing CoroPlus® Machining Insights you buy a subscription per machine. It is offered in three subscription packages:

• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

There is a onetime installation cost for connecting the factory/site. Please reach out to your Sandvik Coromant representative for details on subscription packages and pricing.

What data is being collected and how often?

The data collected from the machine depends on make, model, controller, year and selected options.

Can I choose what data is being sent to the cloud?

Yes, CoroPlus® Machining Insights provides you with the option to remove the data that you do not wish to send to the cloud.

Where are the data centres located and which cloud vendor is used?

CoroPlus® Machining Insights is hosted in data centres located in the United States operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS is the dominating market actor since it started offering cloud services in 2006. A Synergy Research report from February 2017 puts AWS' market share at 40 percent, while Microsoft, Google and IBM, have a combined market share of 23 percent.

The IT infrastructure provided by AWS is designed and managed in alignment with security best practices and a variety of IT security standards, including SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS Level 1, and ISO 270011.

For more information on AWS Security and Compliance, please visit: https://aws.amazon.com/security/ and https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/

Can CoroPlus® Machining Insights be installed without a cloud connection?

No. The cloud solution is a more cost-efficient alternative, where we also can provide you with:

• Continuous updates
• Improvements of the solution
  
  

How does CoroPlus® Machining Insights address security?

The connection between the factory site and CoroPlus® Machining Insights located in the cloud is provided by HTTPSecure which is TLS encrypted. The connection is established utilizing unique Client ID and system generated Secrets.

Does CoroPlus® Machining Insights fulfil GDPR legislation in the EU?

Yes, it is GDPR compliant.

Installation

Which machines/controllers can CoroPlus® Machining Insights be installed on?

CoroPlus® Machining Insights can be installed on most modern and older machines.
Sandvik Coromant will install an application called Site Manager on your server that has a connection to the shop’s machines.
The Site Manager application includes adapters, which will communicate and get the data from the shop floor devices. An adapter is a program specifically customized to the device and translates the data from the machine to MTConnect terminology.

With the connection, CoroPlus® Machining Insights can pull various data points directly from the machines, like part kind information, machine movements, and alarms. However, depending on the device make, model, year, and options on the machine, the data items can vary. Here are options for connection to various machine types:

1. MTConnect/ OPC compatible equipment can directly communicate to the MTConnect Agent located on the factory server. Equipment might require MTConnect Adapters to be installed on the controller for compatibility (example: Siemens and Bosch Rexroth controllers
2. For equipment that is not MTConnect/OPC compatible but has networking capabilities, Site Manager adapters are used to establish MTConnect support. These adapters are installed on the Data Aggregator (Fanuc, Heidenhain controllers).
3. With Legacy Devices, CoroPlus® Machining Insights can help you contact a partner for hardware adapters to interface the machine. Once the hardware is installed, the Site Manager application will utilize a legacy adapter to pull information from the hardware. The adaptors are network-enabled devices and will need to be added to the facility’s internal network. These hard​ware adapters will also require a software component that needs to be installed on the Data Aggregator.
   

Examples of machines and controllers that can be connected are:

• Siemens
• Fanuc
• Mazak
• DMG MORI
• Doosan
• Heidenhain
• Fagor
• GF Agie Charmilles
• Haas
• LinuxCNC
• FINS
• MakerBot
• Makino
• Mitsubishi
• Mitutoyo
• MODBUS
• NUM
• Okuma
• OPOS
• PCDMIS
• ROS-Industrial
• Sodick
• Allen-Bradley (CNC)
• Balluff
• ControlLogix & Toyo
  

What is the installation time?

When the prerequisites are in place at the site (networked machines, static IP set, Firewall open for data traffic etc.)

• Installation takes about an hour
• Majority of installations are done remotely
• Machine do not have to be stopped for installation
• There are some machines that require adapters on the control to be installed
• Legacy machines will also be outside this “norm”​
  
  

Besides MTConnect, does CoroPlus® Machining Insights support OPC?

Yes, Both

• OPC UA.​
  
• OPC DA.
  

Support

Contact us for technical support.

Terms and conditions

• CoroPlus® Machining Insights - Terms of service​ (English)
• CoroPlus® Acceptable use policy (English)
• CoroPlus® Privacy Notice (English)
• CoroPlus® Data Processing Agreement (English)
• CoroPlus® Cookie policy​ (English)​
  
  
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