Introduction

This article walks through the features of the Assets > Machines page that support adding and connecting machines to MachineMetrics. Before attempting to add and connect Machines to your account, ensure you have completed all of the preliminary setup steps, you can review the following list of articles for more information.

Important! If you are trying to learn how to add an I/O-enabled machine to your account, please read the following article first: Adding an I/O-enabled Machine to Your Account. If you are attempting to add a machine using any other data collection method (MTConnect, FANUC FOCAS, etc.) please continue. 

Adding Machines

There are two ways to add machines to MachineMetrics. Machines can be manually added or imported from a csv file. 

To add machines to your account, navigate to the Assets > Machines page in the sidebar navigation. Then click the Add Machines button. The following screen displays.

Enter a unique name for each machine, the machine's ip address, and select the desired edge device.

Note: When entering ip addresses do not include a port number.

To proceed with connecting machines the machine's ip address and an assigned edge device are required. If you are ready to connect the added machines, click Save & Connect to proceed.

Connecting Machines

To start connecting your machines to MachineMetrics, navigate to the Assets > Machines page in the sidebar navigation. Then click the Connect button. Newly added machines and machines that have never been connected will appear.

Step 1: Scan Machines

The first step of the connection process involves a scan to determine network readiness and MachineMetrics will attempt to determine the correct data collection method for the machine.

If your machine uses one of the following data collection methods, MachineMetrics will be able to determine the correct data collection method automatically, simplifying the connection process.

The following machines capable of OPC-UA may be able to be identified but will require manual configuration.

⚠️Note: Some data collection methods require manual configuration to report data properly.

Scan Results

Once the scan is complete you will see a Scan Results screen. Here you can see the results of the scan for each machine. This will display the machines that are Ready to Connect, machines requiring manual configuration, and any failed network scans.

Scan Result Statuses

The scan result statuses fall into 2 categories:

No action required

• Ready To Connect

Action required

• OPC-UA Detected
  • Requires manual configuration of the OPC-UA data collection method.
  • To manually configure the data collection method, expand the machine row and add or edit a data collection method.
  • How to Configure Data Collection with OPC-UA | Step-by-Step Guide
• Digital I/O T4 or T7 Detected
  • Requires manual configuration of the data collection method's adapter script.
  • To manually configure the data collection method, expand the machine row and add or edit a data collection method.
  • How to Add an I/O-Enabled Machine to Your Account
• Manual Configuration Required
  • To manually configure the data collection method, expand the machine row and add or edit a data collection method.
• Scan Failed 
  • This communicates a network issue attempting to scan the machine.
    • Ensure the machine being scanned is powered on.
    • Ensure the selected edge device is online and reporting.
    • For wired connections, check the ethernet cables.
    • For wireless connections, check the wireless network status.
    • Confirm that the machine and edge device are able to reach each other from their respective ip addresses.

Manually Configured Data Collection Methods

If a machine requires a manually configured data collection method or you wish to modify the data collection method chosen by the scan, expand the row of the machine you wish to edit. From here you can edit the existing data collection method or add a data collection method.

Step 2: Connect Machines

Once you are ready to complete the connection process for the selected machines, click the Connect button. This will start the connection attempt on all selected machines. It may take 5 minutes for the connection process to complete or before a machine reports data. You can close the connect screen and allow the connection process to run in the background.

Connection Results

Once the scan is complete you will see a screen displaying the scan results of each machine.