The MTConnect Institute, a newly established organization that seeks to promote manufacturing system interoperability, seeks new members to assist in developing and promoting the standards and materials required to fully implement MTConnect.
The development of MTConnect—an open, royalty-free standard—began in early 2007. It is a means of improving the ability to collect data across manufacturing technologies that addresses interoperability between controls, devices, and software applications and is similar to what has been achieved in the information technology arena. MTConnect seeks to develop standardized communication protocols that ultimately will allow devices, equipment, and systems to output data in a common format that can be read by any other technology that is using the same standard.
Membership in the MTConnect Institute is open to any individual, company, or organization interested in participating in the MTConnect implementation. Four levels of membership are available: Founding Sponsor, Institute Partner, MTConnect Institute Technical Advisory Group (MTCTAG) Member, and Registered Member. Each level of membership provides different levels of benefits within the institute.
“The aim of the MTConnect standard is to utilize existing open standards such as XML and HTTP to provide a common means to communicate with manufacturing equipment and enable the development of capabilities in new and existing technologies not currently achievable,” says Paul Warndorf, vice president-technology at AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “This in turn will permit providers to enhance their product offerings that address opportunities to better improve manufacturing efficiencies and productivity.”
Those interested in joining can contact Paul Warndorf at (703) 827-5291 or pwarndorf@mtconnect.hyperoffice.com. Go online to [www.mtconnect.org].
