Mechatronics and communications technology: an approach based on networks integration

Summary form only given as follows. Shop floor communications networks are evolving towards the increased use of open connecting equipment, that meets standard protocols, under a client-server architecture. An implementation of a such communications server, based in a low cost PC with multiport and field bus cards, is presented. The first prototype has been designed as a black box transparent to flexible manufacturing plants, connecting to sixteen SCARA robots and thirty programmable logic controllers.