Connecting with an OPC UA client
Overview
OPC UA is a protocol for secure, standardized data communication between industrial equipment and higher-level systems. With the OPC UA server function of KEYENCE KV series PLCs, data can be shared with SCADA, MES, HMIs, PC applications and more. This page covers the OPC UA server settings and variable publishing in KV-STUDIO, and how to check the connection using UaExpert and Matrikon OPC UA Explorer.
What Is OPC UA?
OPC UA is one of the protocols for exchanging data between multiple vendors; as a highly reliable protocol it is a recommended standard in Industry 4.0
OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) is an international standard for exchanging data between equipment and software from different manufacturers, such as PLCs, SCADA, MES and ERP. Compared with EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP, it has richer security and information modeling features, and it is widely adopted in Industry 4.0 and smart factories.
PLC settings
Unit settings
Open the Unit Editor and set "OPC UA server" to "Use" under "Unit Settings"
Open <Settings> for the OPC UA server settings near the bottom of the unit settings
Change the OPC UA server settings as needed
Variables
Set "OPC UA" of the global variables to "Input/Output" or "Output"
OPC UA clients
General-purpose clients
Checking the connection to the PLC and reading/writing variables
- UaExpert
- Matrikon UA Explorer
- OPC UA Viewer / Free OPC UA Client GUI (open source / free clients)
Advanced / commercial clients
Connecting to SCADA/MES, etc.
- Kepware OPC UA Client Driver (by Kepware)
- AVEVA Edge (formerly InduSoft Web Studio)
- Ignition SCADA
- Node-RED + OPC UA nodes
For development
Tools/libraries for building your own applications
- MATLAB Industrial Communication Toolbox
- LabVIEW OPC UA Toolkit
- Eclipse Milo
- Various SDKs/libraries (.NET, Python OPC UA libraries)
