Malvern Instruments has announced its participation in the newly-formed OPC Analyzer Device Integration Working Group. The group has been constituted to develop a common method for data exchange and an analyzer data model for process and laboratory analyzers. It comprises interested members of the OPC Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring interoperability in automation via open standards.

Both instrument manufacturers and industrial users of analytical instrumentation are represented on the Working Group which currently includes ABB, Abbott, Arla Foods Global IT, BRL Consulting, CAS, GlaxoSmithKline, Malvern Process Systems, Mettler-Toledo Autochem Inc., OPC Foundation, Pfizer Inc., Siemens nv, Software Toolbox Inc., and Umetrics.

Oliver Schmitt, business line manager for Malvern Process Systems, feels that working in close co-operation with all parties is extremely important. “With the current focus on process optimization, and with initiatives such as PAT pushing forward analyzer integration, it is vital that we develop the standard interfaces needed to achieve co-ordination and control of systems from different companies,” he said. “Right now there are no standard solutions, but as a leader in on-line particle size analysis across the process industries, Malvern looks forward to playing an active role in their development.”

The Working Group is adopting OPC-UA (Unified Architecture) as the basis for the Analyzer Device Integration (ADI) standard and aims to define a compatible data model. OPC-UA has the advantages of being a platform-neutral standard designed to support complex data types and object models. It can achieve high-speed data transfers and has broad industry support beyond simply process automation.

For more information about OPC visit www.opcfoundation.org. For details of Malvern’s range of analyzers for materials characterization, visit www.malvern.com.