xCoupler Module Case History - Previous Winners

Fred Tucker, Software Developer
Sage Automation, Inc.

“I am a software developer and I program robots for a living.  Our company manufactures robots of all types, from linear gantry robots to the articulating arm robots familiar in the automotive industry.  Each system we build is a custom machine, built to the customer’s exact specifications. 

“Having done this for years now, I had gotten used to dealing with automation systems as "stand-alone islands of automation", which is another way of saying that out systems would normally be detached from other processes and not part of any plant-wide data exchange system.  Then one day all that changed. We received an order for a large gantry robot that was to interface with the customer’s SQL database. 

“At first, I thought that this was an impossible task as we would be using ladder logic in a PLC to control the robot.  Even if it were possible, I thought, we would have to battle our way through this process as I was certain it would be difficult. To complicate things, we had to query the database before each robot pick and place routine, which would mean that we would be conducting hundreds, if not thousands of queries each day.  Finally, the data received from each data request had to be absolutely 100% accurate since the robot relied on it to tell it where to go and what to do once there.  Bad data could mean a bad crash.  And this was unacceptable. 

“Enter Online Development and their xCoupler module.  I read the literature and was highly doubtful that this was going to be as easy as they claimed it was.  The whole pitch sounded to good to be true.  Nevertheless, we bought an xCoupler module and began testing.  Right away, I was pleasantly surprised that the configuration was so easy.  I literally snapped in the module, powered up, connected using WorkBench setup tool and was scanning our PLC tag database within minutes.  I couldn't believe it – and all of this from a third party vendor. 

“In any case, once I was online, I connected to the local SQL database and used Online Development’s documentation and then followed a few basic instructions to execute my first database query. Success!!! The irony was that I had projected that this portion of the project would take a week of trial and error and a flood of tech support calls.  The reality was that in one afternoon I was up and running and now, ahead of the production schedule.  This was a good omen and in the end, the whole project was a success. 

Submitted by Gerald White, Manufacturing Engineer,
Behr Heat Transfer Systems

“We have used the xCoupler to provide production reporting directly from four of our core building machines to our IBM AS/400 system.  In so doing we have reduced reporting errors thereby reducing stock outs and the need for expedited shipments.  We also saved over $15,000/year in labor costs just by eliminating the extra step of manually reporting production for these four machines. As an additional benefit we are able to use the SMTP features to send alerts for critical process problems and we even monitor our automation server for an offline condition.

“The store and forward capability is a great asset as well.  Our AS/400 server went down for over 24 hours and the xCoupler recorded every transaction and entered them as soon as service was restored.

“Configuration was extremely simple and the people at Online Development have been quick to respond to any questions.  I would recommend this solution to anyone who needs to transfer data from shop floor to top floor.”