MES Integration Series · Part 1
MES Data Upload from a Machine or Assembly Line
How does the data from a machine end up in the MES, and what should I send?
A machine or an assembly line makes parts. The MES needs to know what was made, how long it took, whether it was good and what went wrong. This page follows that data from the PLC, through an optional edge gateway, to the MES and the ERP, and lets you build the messages yourself. The values are examples, not data from a real plant.
Machines send data through a PLC or an edge gateway to the MES. The MES can be on a server in the plant or in the cloud. The ERP sits above it and is optional. Click each box to see what it does.
The same part, five steps. The text box shows what the data looks like at that step. The values are examples.
| Category | Example data | Purpose |
|---|
Pick what you want to achieve. The chart shows how much each kind of data matters for it (a judgement, not a measurement), and the table lists the examples. Start with the data that serves your first goal.
Change the values and see the same data in three forms: OPC UA tags, an MQTT message and a REST call. The size and the daily volume show why you send only the data you need, and not everything at the fastest rate.
Tick what is already true in your project. It is a guide to what is still missing, not a score to chase.
A simulated machine makes a part about every half second here (each tick stands for one cycle). When you break the network, the edge gateway keeps the data in a buffer and sends it when the link returns, so the MES count catches up and nothing is lost. Without a buffer the data would be gone.
| Stage | Tools shown in the case | What they do here |
|---|
The tools are examples, not recommendations. Choose by what your team owns and what your machines and PLCs support.
The examples are simplified. Choose protocols, security and data design with your IT and automation teams, and test on one machine before you scale.