Cincinnati machines publish their data over OPC-UA through a feature called CI Link. It’s the same open standard Bystronic uses, and not MTConnect: the machine runs an OPC-UA server, and Spall connects as a read-only client to read status, production counts, and errors. This guide covers the one prerequisite worth knowing about up front, turning CI Link on, verifying the endpoint, and connecting Spall.
Prerequisite: the OPC-UA license CI Link is a licensed option. If it isn’t already active on your machine, you’ll likely need to talk to Cincinnati (your OEM) about purchasing the OPC-UA license before any of this works. Sort that out first, everything below assumes CI Link is licensed and available on the control.
Before you start You need a Cincinnati Incorporated machine (laser or press brake) with CI Link licensed, an Ethernet drop, a fixed IP from your network person, and the Spall gateway on the same network. Spall connects as a client and only reads, it never writes to the machine. CI Link is separate from CI Connect, Cincinnati’s own monitoring software, you don’t need CI Connect for Spall, just the CI Link OPC-UA server.
What Spall’s OPC-UA connection supports today Spall connects over an open OPC-UA session, with an optional username and password if your server requires one. It doesn’t yet support certificate-based authentication or signed/encrypted security policies (for example “Sign & Encrypt”), so set CI Link’s security policy to None for the Spall connection, or talk to us before your pilot if that’s not an option on your machine.
1. Turn on CI Link (OPC-UA)
On the machine, enable the CI Link OPC-UA server and set (or confirm) its network address. This is the server Spall will read from. Give the machine a fixed IP in the same range as the Spall gateway so the address never moves.
2. Open the port
CI Link’s OPC-UA server uses the standard OPC-UA port 4840. Open TCP 4840 on any firewall between the machine and the Spall gateway.
3. Verify the endpoint
The CI Link endpoint looks like this:
opc.tcp://192.168.1.80:4840From a PC on the network, point an OPC-UA client (a free one like UaExpert works) at that endpoint with the matching security setting and credentials, and connect. When it opens, browse the nodes, you should see status, production counts, and errors. Those are exactly what Spall reads.
4. Connect it to Spall
In Spall, add the machine, choose OPC-UA as the source, and enter the endpoint plus a username and password if CI Link requires one:
opc.tcp://192.168.1.80:4840Assign the Spall gateway, browse to the status, count, and error nodes, and map them. Run a job and watch the state change and the count climb. Spall manages the OPC-UA session and reconnects.
What Spall does with this data
Availability. Spall reads the CI Link status node and splits the day into running, idle, and down. True availability on the laser or brake, straight from the machine.
Downtime and reasons. Status changes and the error node catch each stop as it happens. Operators tag the reason, and Spall ranks them into a Pareto so the biggest loss gets fixed first.
Production. Spall reads the production and cycle count nodes for target-vs-actual by shift and job, no hand counting.
Quality and OEE. Availability, performance, and quality roll into one OEE view, each loss ranked in dollars so the number points at an action instead of a score.
Quick recap
- License CI Link OPC-UA through Cincinnati
- Turn CI Link on, set a fixed IP, security policy None
- Open TCP 4840
- Verify
opc.tcp://ip:4840 - Add as OPC-UA in Spall
The license is the only real gate, once CI Link is active the connection is quick. Hand us the endpoint and credentials and we’ll bring it on with you.