"Using Matrikon OPC Tunneller greatly simplified OPC configuration"
Cogeneration (cogen) is the simultaneous production of heat and power in a single thermodynamic process. It is widely used throughout the world for efficient production of heat and power.
In conjunction with a major feedlot operator, the Alberta Research Council (ARC) developed an eight million dollar cogen project that transforms manure into energy, bio-based fertilizers and reusable water, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts associated with land application of manure.
The cogen engine itself is controlled by a PLC, and is monitored through Siemens' WinCC HMI (Human Machine Interface), which supports OPC connections. ARC wrote an OPC enabled Java client using OPI's JOPCClient software, to optimize the performance of the engine.
The problem ARC faced was getting the Java application to communicate with the HMI. Because the two applications were on different domains, standard DCOM settings would not allow the OPC applications to exchange data.
Rather than attempt to bypass DCOM security, ARC chose to use Matrikon OPC Tunneller instead. "Using OPC Tunneller greatly simplified the configuration of the OPC subsystem" said Marc Provencher, System Architect at ARC. "We saved days of configuration and learning time by using the Tunnelling solution".
Currently the system is controlling approximately 65 tags updating every 5 seconds.
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