PI Connector for FANUC Focas operational overview

Each PI Connector (connector) is designed for a specific data source. The connector queries the data source to discover assets, relations between assets, time-series measurements, and relations between assets and time-series measurements that the data source contains. The connector creates generalized streams to convey the assets, relationships, and time-series measurements to one or more PI Connector Relays. The connector output streams are generalized in the sense that they are independent of the databases or historians that store data from the streams. For information about connectors in general, refer to the Overview of PI Connectors user guide.

The following figure shows the data flow from a data source to PI AF and Data Archive. The data source in the figure refers to a CNC machine that supports FANUC Focas library functions.

PI Connector to PI AF and PI Data Archive data flow

In the figure, the connector communicates with PI Connector Relay over an encrypted TCP connection which allows it to be on a different computer. The connector does not communicate directly to any type of historian or database. Also, streams from the connector are strictly one-way to the PI Connector Relay host, which means that it cannot obtain any information from either PI AF or Data Archive.

Although the figure shows one PI Connector Relay host, the connector can replicate its output streams to multiple PI AF hosts. Similarly, a PI Connector Relay can support multiple PI AF servers and Data Archive servers, including collectives.

Both the connector and PI Connector Relay communicate with PI Data Collection Manager through which you specify all settings for the configuration. For additional information about PI Connector Relay and PI Data Collection Manager, refer to the PI Connector Administration user guide.

After the PI Connector for FANUC Focas is configured with a CNC machine (by adding a data source configuration), the connector performs the following operations:

1. Data source validation

The connector performs a validation on the data source configuration parameters configured via the PI Data Collection Manager. If validation fails, that data source will not be added to the connector. Validation on data source configuration includes parsing the measurement configuration file uploaded to the connector.

2. Data source discovery

Once a data source configuration is validated and added to the connector, you can perform a discovery on that data source via the PI Data Collection Manager. A successful discovery will present the data that you can select for collection by the connector.

3. Data selection

After a successful data source discovery, you can select the data via the PI Data Collection Manager. All selected data will be sent back to the connector to initiate asset creation and data collection.

4. Asset creation

Together with the PI Connector Relay, the connector creates PI AF templates and element hierarchies in PI Asset Framework based on the selected data. Each CNC machine is represented as a sub-hierarchy under the connector element, with the root element being the unique identifier (Device ID) of the machine. PI points will also be created based on the selected data to store real-time data.

5. Data collection

The connector collects data from the CNC machines at the polling rates you specify. The scan rate is set per measurement and ranges from 0.1 seconds to 10 seconds. The connector periodically initiates FANUC Focas functions, polls data from the machines, and updates the values for each selected measurement based on the polling rate. The connector automatically optimizes data collection and reduces I/O traffic by grouping the measurement configurations to form as few requests as possible.