Automations for More than 1 Connector

Automations Beta
1

Hey,

I was trying to work through a concept for Automations. Right now I have a several Edge MC’s that will be interacting with the same App. The plan is to set up a connector to interact with Edge MC.

My goal is to use an automation to route the data that would trigger the appropriate connector. The question I have is if a connector takes about 500-600ms to engage, will the automation add any time to the operation?

-Matt

2

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your question! It sounds like you’re thinking about how to get data from your Edge MC at a particular point in time. Does your intended flow look something like this?

Application(to kick off the automation) → Automation → Connector → Edge MC → Automation → Tulip Table

The automation does take time to respond to an event and then execute. A time-sensitive event should utilize machine triggers or machine events when they are released.

I have a few questions for you that would help me better understand your intended use:

  • What’s the importance of the datetime - are you trying to use it as a unique identifier or for another reason?

  • Is your application time-sensitive or are you curious if automations take a few seconds/minutes/hours to run?

Thanks,

Jake

3

Hey Jake,

  • I am not using the datetime for this application

  • The application would be time sensitive. My goal is to use the Edge MC to communicate to a PLC. In this specific case it would be a trigger that would come from an operator to initiate an event. In this case, would Automations add on several seconds this operation?

-Matt

4

Hi Matt,

  • Automations isn’t a time-sensitive application - it sounds like you need to record the time that your request was triggered from the application. Automations run time could range from seconds to ~several minutes.

If you’re concerned about tracking OEE, I would recommend that you utilize the timestamp from the operator as the event kick-off. If you’re worried about latency between that trigger firing and when the PLC receives the event, I would push towards automation machine events or a machine trigger.

Thanks,

Jake